(Patent pending - European patent no. 07252385.5)
crossbreed foldable wheels
NEWS: FOLDABLE WHEELS SELECTED AS ONE OF 10 DESIGNS FOR 2010 BY WALLPAPER* MAGAZINE AND WOLFF OLINS - more info.
Wheel size is the limiting constraint on the design of folding or portable bicycles and wheelchairs. Foldable wheels enable a bicycle or wheelchair to be stored and transported more easily than ever before.
Do you use a wheelchair or have experience living or working with wheelchairs? We'd love to hear from you!
Please click here to answer our online questionnaire.
We're working hard to develop the best way to bring these wheels to market and your experiences and views are a vital part of this process.
At the end of the questionnaire you can let us know if you're interested in helping to test and evaluate the new wheelchair wheel prototypes. If you are, then you can leave you contact details at the end of the questionnaire and we'll be in touch soon!
crossbreed foldable wheels enable a full sized adult bicycle or wheelchair to be folded into a compact and convenient package for transportation and storage. With foldable wheels, a wheelchair can fit in the trunk of a Smart car, a storage cupboard at home, or an overhead locker on an airplane.
The crossbreed project is being developed in association with InnovationRCA, at the Royal College of Art, London. We are more than happy to hear from any parties interested in licensing the design of the crossbreed wheel or in collaborating with us in its commercialisation. For the first time, it will be possible to easily pack an entire manual wheelchair into bags small enough to take as hand luggage on commercial flights or for storage of spare chairs in the home.
Packed away in a suitable bag, these images demonstrate how wheelchairs can be packed into a much smaller and more convenient package.
Current prototypes of foldable wheelchair wheels are currently being fabricated in collaboration with Racing Fabrications Ltd. They will be ready for user testing and demonstration in January 2010!
If this projects interests you, or if you would like to get involved, please feel free to contact me on duncfitz@gmail.com or feel free to leave any thoughts or suggestions on the crossbreed wheel comments page.
Early prototype testing on a mountain bike:
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The first ever pre-test prototype, showing the crossbreed's unique folding motion.
With thanks...
Design and product development in collaboration with the Royal College of Art and InnovationRCA and with kind support from the Wingate Foundation.
User insights research conducted in collaboration
with the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Inclusive Design.
…and with many thanks for help and support from:
David Constantine – founder, Motivation.
Charles Moreland – former head of Leonard Cheshire.
Martin Sabry – Founder, aIDEAS.
Jacqui Jones – Executive Director, Mobility Choice.
Back to Duncan Fitzsimons shomepage.
2008. Duncan Fitzsimons - InnovationRCA.