With over 1 billion people tuning in to New Year’s celebrations around the world, it is clear that the turn of the year remains a global moment of reflection, and we at Loopwheels are no different!
With January approaching, now is a great time to look back at our achievements and lessons learnt this year, before looking ahead to what 2025 may hold.
Celebrating 2024: Achievements, Learnings, and Your Impact
2024 has been a year of growth, and valuable lessons for Loopwheels! We’ve had the privilege of working with you, our customers, whose feedback has been a driving force behind our success.
How Your Feedback Shaped 2024 (and Will Continue to Shape 2025)
We’ve always believed that listening to our customers is key to creating the best possible solutions. Your feedback played a vital role in the development of Loopwheels for wheelchairs 10 years ago, when we released Loopwheels Classics in 2015.
After seven years’ experience manufacturing, we launched the second generation of Loopwheels (Loopwheels Urban, Extreme and LT) in late 2019, incorporating insights we gained from our customers. The response was overwhelmingly positive, and by late 2021, Loopwheels Urban had emerged as our top seller.
By 2024, it became clear that Loopwheels Classics no longer aligned with customer demand, and we made the decision to cease production. It is important that we constantly listen and respond to customer preferences, and Loopwheels Urban is a versatile, durable wheel which so many of our customers love.
We’re committed to continuously responding to customer preferences, and as a result, we’re excited to share that new variations of your favourite Loopwheels may be coming soon…
Be the first to know! By signing up to the Loopwheels mailing list, you will gain access to exclusive insights and offers on our products as well as much more!
Loopwheels’ Success in Clinical Studies: What’s Next?
Another milestone in 2024 came with the success of Loopwheels Urban in the first phase of an important study conducted by the University of Pittsburgh, on ‘the Effects of In-Wheel Suspension on Whole-Body Vibration and Comfort in Manual Wheelchair Users’.
Published in the respected scientific journal Vibration, the paper compares Loopwheels, Spinergy CLX Wheels and basic spoked wheels. Accelerometery data was collected at the footrest, seat, and backrest. It concludes that the in-wheel suspension in Loopwheels helps reduce harmful levels of shock and vibration, even when propelling manually.
The second phase of the study is due to be released in early Spring, 2025. This study examines participants’ experiences with Loopwheels over an extended period, providing a more accurate reflection of their long-term impact. Loopwheels’ Managing Director Gemma Pearce will be attending the International Seating Symposium in Pittsburgh, USA where the research team will be presenting their findings.
Some of the findings of the first phase included:
- Loopwheels lowered vibrations by 10% at the backrest compared to the standard and CLX wheels and by 7% at the footrest compared to the CLX
- Loopwheels also reduced shocks by 7% at the backrest compared to the standard wheel and CLX.
- Assuming a Manual Wheelchair User occupies their wheelchair for an average of 13 hours a day, a 7-10% reduction in backrest and footrest vibration would reduce the amount of exposure to harmful Whole-Body Vibration by around an hour, and potentially increase the amount of time a manual wheelchair user can safely push before it becomes it becomes hazardous to health.
As we await the results from the second phase in 2025, we’re proud of the results which Loopwheels have delivered so far. Independent study evidence is essential for helping people gain a better understanding of Loopwheels and their benefits.
Where We’ve Been and Where We’re Headed in 2025:
This year has also been a busy one, with our team attending several exhibitions and events. These face-to-face interactions allow us to hear directly from you, our customers. It’s also a great chance for our team to connect with other professionals, to share the work which we are doing and learn about new innovations on the market.
In 2024, we had the pleasure of attending exciting shows including:
- The Posture and Mobility Group (PMG) Conference
- Rehacare: International Trade Fair for Rehabilitation and Care
- Naidex: National Accessibility, Inclusion & Disability Expo
- The Occupational Therapy Show
Additionally, we were proud to be represented by our amazing partners:
- Aurum XXI at Ajutec, Porto, Portugal
- Tetra Equipment at IRMA, Bremen, Germany
- Celtic Therapy and Access Your Life at Action Duchenne, Leicestershire, UK
- RehaPro at Swiss Abilities, Lucerne, Switzerland
And many more!
Looking ahead to 2025, we’re preparing for even more exhibitions and events. We’ll be kicking off the year by exhibiting at Naidex in Birmingham, UK and we’d love to see you there!
Celebrating Milestones: The 10th Anniversary of Loopwheels for Wheelchairs
As if 2025 wasn’t already shaping up to be a big year, we will also be celebrating the 10th anniversary of Loopwheels for wheelchairs in April! Loopwheels was the first company to put suspension inside a wheel, and this milestone represents a decade of innovation. We can’t wait to share more details with you about our plans to celebrate!
A HUGE Thank You, and a Happy Holidays!
As we wrap up this year and look ahead to 2025, we want to extend a huge thanks to each of you. We’re excited about what’s to come and look forward to another year of working together to achieve even greater things.
Everyone here at Loopwheels is wishing you a joyful and peaceful time of year, whether you are celebrating or not.
We are looking forward to a fantastic year ahead! 🎉