Testimonials

TED & PAT,

"...The difference in Ted physically as well as socially and emotionally has made a remarkable change in his life..."

MATTHEW, SIDNEY, BC

I'm sure there are other chairs like this but I’ve never seen one. I honestly think this chair is really needed. I am really happy to have found this pedal wheelchair. Not to be dramatic but this provides much needed exercise that otherwise would be difficult for me to find. Thanks.

I used to bike a lot and over the years my health has decreased and I no longer could ride safely. I was fortunate enough to see a local news story on the Extreme Rhino pedal wheelchair. I looked into it and contacted Jeff. He came out to my house and I tried it out. With any movement disorder, exercise is very important and it’s not always safe, accessible, or convenient. I ride at least 4 times a week for about 30 mins per ride. All you need is a sidewalk or a quiet road. The benefits I get from this are increased cardio. The chair also helps me keep my limited mobility which is very important to me. I feel very fortunate to use this. KEEP MOVING!

DIANE, HAWAII, USA

I started looking into a pedal type chair a few years ago. I didn't know exactly what was wrong and I still don't. It was getting harder and harder for me to walk the distances I was used to walking. I was having back and hip pain and my muscles seemed to be losing strength and seemed to be getting more clumsy. If I kept walking as much as I wanted it meant that back, leg, and foot pain got so bad that I couldn't take care of my house, do shopping, and cook my meals. Less activity also meant more weight gain so I was in kind of a negative loop always ending up more inactive, in more pain, heavier, and my diet wasn't as healthy because cooking and cleaning up after that was just too painful.

There were a few chairs on the market that I knew about but I thought they didn't look like they would bear up to the use I wanted to put them to. Then one day I did another search and there was this AJ / Extreme Rhino Pedal Wheelchair beauty. The large front wheels are like bike wheels and I knew that they would go the distance for me and they would probably be as durable as bike wheels. I wrote to the address on the site and got a quick informative reply. I had a lot of questions and every one of them was answered in a thorough and thoughtful manner. Shipping to Hawaii turned out to be almost prohibitive but Jeff tackled the problem with a lot of tenacity and managed to get to a solution. I was impressed with the way he worked on the problem and never stopped even when I was on the verge of giving up myself. I got my chair just recently and it is a godsend. I am so glad I let go of my fear and went ahead with the purchase.

Concerns I had and how it worked out.

I worried that I wouldn't be strong enough or in good enough shape to operate the chair. From the first time I pedaled the chair I was impressed with how easy it is. This chair seems to defy the law of conservation of energy -- that it can be neither created or destroyed. My lack of muscular strength doesn't impact the way I can use this chair. I can accomplish slight inclines and the wheelchair access curbs easily. This chair is a marvel of design that actually seems to give me power even though I know that is impossible.

I was worried the muscle weakness and stiffness would be a problem when it came to manipulating the chair. It is kind of hard to lift my foot up to the pedal, and it is a little awkward mounting the chair but that is all improving with practice. I think the muscles in my legs are gaining strength to be able to do that even though I have been using the chair for less than a week now. I have no problems steering the chair in stores and through a crowd. I can go forward and backward and maneuver myself into any space I need.

I suspect that my cardiovascular system was starting to get compromised because of inactivity. I worried that I might be getting heart failure or something because I was feeling a congestion in my lungs and was aware of my heart beating differently (I never had an awareness of my heart beats before). My blood pressure was going up. I had a non productive cough because of that congestive lung feeling. All of that is getting better as I gain distance on the AJ / Extreme Rhino chair and as I spend more time with it. I don't have the doomed feeling any more. I think my cardiovascular system is improving and I know my blood pressure is down.

I was worried I would be too heavy and I was too embarrassed to broach the subject. Being inactive and going through the pandemic gave me some poundage that I couldn't accept and I could never get used to. It is a tight fit but I am comfortable enough in this chair and even after just a few days I am fitting the chair better. I have a long torso and really short legs and there is an adjustment I can make for that. I think it won't be long before I am back to a better weight.

I was worried about how it would fit into my tiny apartment and how I would manage the elevator. Elevators are a bit tricky. Most of the time I get out of the chair and push it into and out of the elevator but I can see that one day I will be able to manage it without a thought. I am finding good ways to position it in my apartment so that it doesn't get in the way.

I worried that I wouldn't be able to do maintenance. I think I will be taking the chair to the local bike shop to do routine maintenance and they had some useful suggestions about bike upkeep that I will keep in mind. When I have a question, help is only an email away. Today I had a concern and Jeff answered it within the hour.

I feel happy when I am riding this chair. Every time I come home I have a sense of disappointment that the time is ending already. I have such a sense of freedom and joy that I don't want it to end even for just the night. I can go places and do things like I used to. freely and painlessly.

Getting The AJ / Extreme Rhino chair or something similar was not my only choice. These are other options available to me that I spent time thinking about:

One of those rollator things. I have noticed that if you are a tall person at all you actually need to bend over to push it (or at least that was my impression from watching users of those devices). Bending over at that angle for any length of time and pushing something that might have its own weight plus the weight of any shopping could only serve to aggravate lower back pain and worsen arthritic degeneration in the lower spine and hips. Additionally I could imagine that I would progress on to needing some seated alternative. I also have arthritis in my hand and I could imagine that one day it would hurt too much to push one of those things. (the AJ / Extreme Rhino brake is so well designed that it is actually easier to apply the break than it is to operate a can opener.)

Bike or a tricycle. I was afraid to go for a bike because I had already fallen flat on my face a couple of times. That was hard enough to endure just walking, I didn't want it to happen from a bike. I worried about riding either option in traffic for the same reason. And both of these would have to be stored outside where there is a lot of bike theft. They also require a forward leaning bent back posture that might aggravate the lower back problems I was already experiencing.

A motorized wheelchair or cart. I remembered talking to my doctor a long time ago when it came time for knee replacements. She told me that once people get into either one of those they begin to loose body tone and fitness. Their cardiac function deteriorates. They often gain weight. None of this seemed like like a healthy alternative. Additionally, I worried that if I were out on a motorized chair and the battery wore out I would be in trouble. I would be stuck away from home afraid to leave my cart because of theft and likely would be having to pay some big fee for someone to rescue me. Not something I was willing to let happen to me. AJ / Extreme Rhino chair was an easy choice to make.