What is a Loopwheel?

A Loopwheel is a wheel with integral suspension, designed to reduce vibration and increase performance and provide greater comfort.

Loopwheels give you a smoother ride. They are more comfortable than standard wheels: the carbon springs absorb tiring vibration, as well as bumps and shocks. They’re designed for everyday use and are strong and durable. They don’t run as true as a spoked wheel, and you’ll notice more sideways movement, especially in the Loopwheels Classic, but they’re a lot more comfortable.

Loopwheels are not just a wheel, they’re a suspension system.

How do Loopwheels help on wheelchairs?

Our Loopwheels for wheelchairs help you push over uneven streets, rough tracks and gravel paths more easily, and the carbon springs can give you extra power to get up or down kerbs. They reduce jolting and vibration, by as much as two thirds compared with a spoked wheel. Some customers tell us this helps them manage discomfort.

With standard quick release axles, a choice between 12mm or ½ inch bearings and available in 24″ and 25″ sizes, Loopwheels fit most manual wheelchairs.

Loopwheels take you more places, more easily, and more comfortably.

Kerbs are less of an obstacle with Loopwheels. Loopwheels reduce jolting, soften the impact of landing, and so can help manage discomfort.

Up to 70mm of movement to reduce jolts.

The constant rumble and vibration from bumpy roads is tiring and can cause you problems. Loopwheels reduce vibration on average 65% compared to a traditional spoked wheels.

Loopwheels are different from spoked wheels. They look, feel and perform differently. You will be used to a wheel being a rigid thing, Loopwheels have flexibility in them in order to provide vibration reduction. The hub moves within the rim as the springs flex. The whole wheel acts as a flexible moving system which constantly adjusts to the load it carries and the obstacles it encounters.

You may notice some differences:

A loopwheel doesn’t have the same rigidity and stiffness that’s necessary in a spoked wheel.

The spokes on a standard spoked wheel hold it in tension. If the spokes lose tension, they start to break and the rim will buckle. A Loopwheel is not held in tension by its springs.

You’ll notice your loopwheel has more movement, vertically and laterally. As soon as the springs are loaded, they compress and further change their concentricity. This is what gives you wheelchair comfort and shock absorption. A Loopwheel is designed to absorb shocks, reduce jolting and cushion your body against vibration. You’ll notice more sideways movement than with a spoked wheel, but you’re trading rigidity for greater comfort.

The Loopwheel is a different beast. When you have spent your whole life with rigid spoked wheels, they may seem strange to you at first. But we believe you’ll soon love the differences of the Loopwheel.

Enjoy the difference!
Loopwheels Reduce Vibration – Read the Study

Loopwheels Whole Body Vibration (WBV) Study: ISO 2631-1

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