Our first ever Mountain Trike customer powers up his all terrain wheelchair

5th November 2019

Back in 2011, Richard Brooks was one of the very first customers for the Mountain Trike Company - you can read about his early journey with us on our blog, here. Richard who lives in West Yorkshire has benign multiple sclerosis M.S. - which means his symptoms stay pretty much the same - but as with any debilitating condition he has good days and bad days.

Due to balance issues and his love of the outdoors Richard’s Mountain Trike, all terrain wheelchair, has provided him with 8 years of enjoyment and Richard has used it in all manor of situations, such as shopping, rambles and expeditions, using it for exercise, leisure, appointments and of course holidays. However, at times Richard has found it hard work either keeping up or having enough breath left for talking to friends and family.

A unique lever drive system is used to self-propel the Mountain Trike and also where the steering and braking takes place - the lever drive system is easy to use and also means clean, dry hands, whatever the weather. Whilst you don’t have to be super fit there is obviously a certain level of fitness required and the more you do the easier and fitter you become. The Mountain Trike Company recognised that by offering an electric version it would open up the outdoors to even more wheelchair users. MD and inventor Tim Morgan set about designing the eTrike - an electric power assist all terrain wheelchair, which came to the market earlier this year (2019).

Ahead of launch of the new eTrike, Mountain Trike were keen for customer feedback and a number of customers test rode the eTrike. Richard was one of those customers and he instantly knew the eTrike & the eKit would be a game changer. The eKit is able to be fitted to the Mountain Trike lever drive wheelchair, offering flexibility for previous Mountain Trike customers and for future customers as and when their circumstances may change.

Richard says, “Tim contacted me to let me know about the eTrike and eKit and I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to try out the production model, within the first few minutes I knew I had to have one!”

Take a look at the short video as Richard test rides the new eTrike:

“As soon as possible I placed my order for the eKit - eager to help, on the day of fitting the eKit to my Mountain Trike I headed to MT HQ to assist Tim. For me this was really useful as I already do all my own maintenance so it gave me hands on knowledge of the workings and fittings, which will allow me to maintain my Trike more regularly.”

Richard Brooks eKit fitting to his all terrain wheelchair — Richard headed to MT HQ to help with the fitting of his eKit to his all terrain wheelchair

The road ahead…

"Tim and his crew at Mountain Trike have been so helpful in getting me up and running and I am so grateful. It’s been a few weeks now but already the eKit has made a massive difference. For the last couple of months I have been ferrying my father in law to a hospital about 30 miles away, then taking him to London to visit my mother in law at another hospital. As we all know, parking within the hospital can be a nightmare - so the eTrike comes into its own, allowing me to park elsewhere and then Trike in, having the confidence that I won’t run out of steam getting there.

I have found that it is very good for just whizzing along at a good speed, but also feathering the throttle to give a little boost on each push forward. This allows me to go further afield without straining too much, it also means I can climb hills without stopping every third push for a long break. It is also very reassuring to know that I can always get back, even if I am suffering from fatigue linked to my M.S.

It is also possible to still get my Trike in the car as the extra weight is only approximately 5kg - but I can always remove the battery to make it lighter.

I haven’t found anything negative about it, but there are so many positives. I would recommend anyone to buy one - it makes a manual Trike so much more versatile."

For more information about the Mountain Trike Company and their all terrain wheelchair products visit the website, www.mountaintrike.com.