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What should the perfect rollator look like?
Recently, I had the unique opportunity to work with a junior industrial design student on a class project to improve rollators for users. It was a fun experience to list my ideas and suggestions, send them off, and see them come back as sketches and “ideations.”
You can read more about it here: Reimagining the Rollator.
If you could meet with a rollator designer, what suggestions would you have? What would your “perfect” rollator look like, and be able to do?
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8 Replies
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Here’s my wish-list, probably you’ve seen them all:
Wheels that don’t caster outside the width of the frame. Seat arrangement allowing you to sit down without turning around. Clips for cane, grabber, etc. Fold-down shelf and cup/glass holder. -
Rollator with many colours, with a seat where you can seat and be
pushed on both sides i mean back to the person who is pushing you and/or facing this person
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Hi Dagmar,
Bless you for posting this. I agree to all the wise comments above.
As a former bicycle mechanic and trainer, when I got my rollator I was not impressed. So here goes:
1. Large wheels (20″ diameter) with rims – any small wheeled bike is inherently less stable.
2. Quick release wheels -like on all semi-decent bikes. This means that a quick pull on the quick-release lever will remove the wheel. Makes loading into a car simple, as long as someone with adequate dexterity is available.
3. Option of knobbly, fat tyres or soft compound semi-slick tyres, so it can handle rough terrain and pavements – like my all-terrain mobility trike. In fact, no slick tyres – every time I brake on our slate floor, or carpet or steep tarmac drive, the wheels slide and I have to hope I can stop.
4. Brakes that operate on the rims, or cable operated disc brakes rather than the useless brakes that have claws that dig into and degrade the wheels.
5. How about a new design for adjusting brake cables? I’m lucky in having full strength & mobility in one hand and a full set of bike tools including a ‘third hand’ cable tool. The brakes need constant adjustment. So rather than a very fiddly threaded ferrule and outer lock nut (sorry for the tech-talk), how about a lever with a ratchet mechanism that can be adjusted from the handlebar? I know what I have in mind, so if your engineer wants to know more, put him in touch.
6. A seat with height adjustment. I’m 6’3″ and need a high seat. I bet I’m not alone.
7. All around non-marking soft bumpers.
I think that’ll do.
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@David, those are some great ideas! I wonder if a company would listen to you if you wrote a letter. Think of all the people that would help.
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I’ve just ordered a pair of Toolflex tool holders to fix to my rollator so I can clip my walking stick onto it. My Tramper TWS all-terrain scooter has one fitted. Duh! I should have engaged my normally lateral thinking brain: I have similar clips in my workshop to hold all the tools I’ve acquired.
I’ll post again with the results.
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And I just watched a TV report about new Mums now joining up to walk in parks as we come out of lockdown – over half the adult population now vaccinated in the UK.
Rollator manufacturers need to look at modern prams and pushchairs. They are way more advanced than rollators.
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Update: I now have a walking stick holder on my rollator. The Toolflex fittings are perfect. They are attached temporarily with zip ties until I work out their best location.
This afternoon I plan to get my drill and rivet gun out to fix them permanently in place. I reckon my left arm & hand are just about strong and dexterous ( should that be sinisterous?) enough to complete the task. But it’s below zero (centigrade) outside, so the warm kitchen will be my workshop.
I’ll try to post a photo if I can manage the technology.
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David – – if you take a final photo, message me and I will help post the photo. Your innovations and ideas are so helpful to our members.
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Ah well as Robbie Burns so aptly put it: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.”
WARNING! Tech language coming:
I managed to drill a hole in one of the rollator legs, but the rivet gun won’t fit in the Toolflex fitting. So next I need a little helper (my 6’5″ son) to cut a section of aluminium (you desecrate this word in the US!), which I will rivet to the rollator and then self-tapping screws & glue to fix the Toolflex fitting to the aluminium plate. All so easy before ALS. Handy that I have sheet aluminium from when I repaired a Grumman alu canoe.
Now to relax and sooth those aching and fasciculating muscles.
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