My father has advanced Parkinson’s with significant freezing of gait. He has an unstoppable will, but his feet often don’t comply. He has various walkers/ rollators around the house, and one excellent lightweight foldable rollator which we keep in the back of the car - an Acre Carbon Ultralight. It has just one problem - its wheels/tyres (they seem to be an all-one-piece combination, without the possibility to just replace the tyre part) do not have good grip on quite smooth floors, as we find with polished wood floors in the house, and especially the polished concrete floors of some shops. I telephoned Acre to ask if they offered a different wheel/tyre, and the answer was no, they make only the one.
So I’m reaching out here in hopes that someone has come across a third party manufacturer of a wheel/tyre which is compatible with the Acre Carbon Ultralight and which has much better tread/traction.
Thank you!
Hi @libove, sorry to hear about the challenges your father is experiencing. We know how important walkers and rollators are to ensuring you can remain safe while keeping mobile with Parkinson’s.
We do have some information on our website about choosing the right equipment Equipment to help you get around | Parkinson's UK. We would also recommend reaching out to our helpline on 0808 800 0303, as our advisers may be able to make some recommendations or share places where you can shop for this.
All the best,
Parkinson’s UK Moderation Team
Hi Ibovd,
Just some ideas thinking out the box ,
Are the wheels removable? If so replace with similar fitting wheels.
Would it be possible to find a tyre the same diameter from a bike or similar and cut and glue to the existing tyre .
Hi again ,
Just thought of two more ideas a bit wacky,
You could use a coarse file to take the shine of the tyre surface ie rough the surface up,
And of use a non slip paint ?
Thank you for the ideas Lar.
The wheels are very easy to remove. The problem is that there does not seem to exist a standard for wheels of this size/ for these types of mobility aids, so I have no idea what other wheel product I might order. Thus, my posting here.
Regarding roughing up the existing wheels, I have thought of that, with the idea of asking a car tire repair centre to do it properly; a further challenge that I have is that I’m advising Mom and Dad, but I can’t make a unilateral decision. Dad would go along with it; Mom is … just resistant, to anything “complicated” or that adds to her existing heavy load (even when I can do much of the planning work for them), or would cost a lot of money (even though, and I really mean this, they can easily afford it). It’s … tough sometimes.
I’m still hopeful to find a manufactured product that is axle-and -wheelsize/brakes -compatible with the original wheels, as that would be a “unscrew, replace, screw back on”, clean operation, that Mom couldn’t complain about.
But maybe I will just take a coarse file to a wheel and test the theory…
Thank you again.
Have you taken the wheel to a mobility shop to find a similar wheel I am sure they will advise you .
Hello libove
Pending your finding a solution for the wheel/tyre it may be worth thinking about the shoes youir father wears. I have no idea what he wears of course but he should maybe consider getting a pair of shoes that are described as slip resistant. It could be that if his shoes gave a bit of traction he may find he can manage the rollator better. It’s a bit of a long shot and you don’t want to complicate his mobility, but he might feel a little more stable when walking and in turn this may help him keep the rollator in check when using it on the surfaces you described. Just a thought.
Tot
So, I tried roughing the wheels with a coarse metal file. It made no difference. The rubber just isn’t that grippy.
I have already spoken with the manufacturer and with two mobility aids shops; there are no alternative wheels for these things, unfortunately.
About dad’s shoes, the problem isn’t his feet slipping, it’s the rollator’s wheels slipping. With the freezing of gait, his feet will stop moving, and even with the brakes completely locked and the rollator not so very far in front of him, the forward vector of the force of his weight on the rollator’s handles cause these not-grippy-enough wheels to slide right over any kind of smooth floor.
Thank you everyone for your ideas; it’s just sadly that case that this otherwise excellent rollator has a (literally, nearly) fatal design flaw.
I am really sorry to hear that because I have 2 a standard one and the slightly bigger and heavier all terrain one and have had no problem with them at all on any surface - the smaller one i have used on similar surfaces to your father in shops and the like the all terrain one I use on footpaths etc but have used both on all surfaces with no problems at all. I know this won’t help your father but I can only tell you I haven’t had any problems at all so I have to wonder if there is another problem going on here. i live at the top of a steep hill, pull on the brake slightly to reduce/control the speed and that works fine - maybe he could try that?
Tot
Hello libove
I have just re-read your post and apologies my bit about trying to use the brakes as I do going down the steep hill near me, doesn’t seem to apply to your father as you have already tried this. However I was wondering if it is possible to borrow hire or maybe just go to a mobility shop or showroom to try a standard rollator by a different company. If your father has the same problems when using a different rollator on surfaces that you describe, then this would suggest to me that it’s not the rollator that is at fault, rather that it may not be the right mobility aid for him. It could be worth gettting him referred for a physio assessment so that you can be sure he has the right mobility aid for his needs - he or she may also assess him using the Acre rollator to see if they can identify the real problem.
I wish you luck in resolving this and would be interested to know what happened next some time.
Tot