At the Disability Equality Training (DET) workshop last year, two foreign participants had problems with the wheels of their wheelchairs. One had a puncture while the other was running on under-inflated tyres. We had a difficult time looking for a replacement for the punctured tube.
Wheelchair shops in the Klang Valley that I called up to enquire did not stock 24″ x 1″ inner tubes. Fortunately, the organiser found one and averted a crisis. The spare wheelchair that he was using was a very poor fit. His independence and mobility would have been severely restricted if he had to use that wheelchair for the entire two weeks at the training.
My Tilite ZRA Series 2 wheelchair also runs on 24″ x 1″ tyres and tubes. Bicycle shops do not usually carry these sizes. It would take at least two weeks for replacement parts to arrive from the USA. With the problems the two participants faced in mind, I ordered extra tyres, inner tubes and spokes when I ordered the wheelchair just to be sure I would not be caught without spares.
Although the Schwalbe Marathon Plus Evolution tyres are puncture resistant, I carry a spare inner tube together with a set of Allen Keys whenever I go out for those just-in-case moments. One of the other few things missing from this kit is a pump that is small enough to fit into my wheelchair pouch. I looked around in online bicycle stores and Ebay and found one that I liked.
Lezyne Pressure Drive.
The Lezyne Pressure Drive M is a sleek looking hand pump that is not only tiny but can inflate up to 120 psi. That is just the pressure I need for the tyres. Before ReallyBites came back from the United Kingdom, I got her to buy one for me from Rotec Cycles, an Ebay shop based there. She passed the pump to me when we met up last Friday. I have not had the opportunity to put it through its paces yet but I like that it felt solid in my hand.