Photo: Tamara Ristic
Even though it may sound a bit too grim to some, wheelchairs and motorcycles sort of go hand in hand, and this happened ever since riders started crashing and becoming injured. Still, there are plenty of inspirational examples around the world that show there's life after a serious crash, and that wheelchairs can be so much more than a confinement space.
Designer Tamara Ristic reveals the Cheetah, a new wheelchair engineered for racing and which introduces a new approach to both usability and aerodynamics. The streamlined design of the Cheetah is more than eloquent as to its purpose, and we dare say that this wheelchair looks truly beautiful.
However, despite the fluid shapes of the Cheetah, there is another feature that sets it apart in the racing wheelchair world. One of the major drawbacks of most such wheelchairs is that their design demands that athletes are assisted to climb aboard.
Tamara Ristic' Cheetah proposes a different seat model that allows athletes to enter and exit the wheelchair without needing any help. Needless to say, this comes with two major advantages that are a serious boon for the disabled.
First of all, the athletes using the Cheetah can practice at any time, with an assistant no longer mandatory to help them in and out of the wheelchair. Secondly, being able to do so represents a most welcome boost of the sense of independence that strengthens the spirit of the users, adding even more weight and value to what they are doing.
The seat is designed in such a way that it allows a rocking movement, regulated by a hydraulic piston. The hydraulic element could even be engineered in such a way so that it performs a double function, with a locking point once the athlete is in the seat, yet serving as a shock absorber for the seat.
All in all, even though the perspective of spending the rest of the lifetime in a wheelchair is clearly not the happiest thing that may come to mind, seeing designers like Tamara Ristic bending their creativity to making these objects better makes us appreciate their work even more.
However, despite the fluid shapes of the Cheetah, there is another feature that sets it apart in the racing wheelchair world. One of the major drawbacks of most such wheelchairs is that their design demands that athletes are assisted to climb aboard.
Tamara Ristic' Cheetah proposes a different seat model that allows athletes to enter and exit the wheelchair without needing any help. Needless to say, this comes with two major advantages that are a serious boon for the disabled.
First of all, the athletes using the Cheetah can practice at any time, with an assistant no longer mandatory to help them in and out of the wheelchair. Secondly, being able to do so represents a most welcome boost of the sense of independence that strengthens the spirit of the users, adding even more weight and value to what they are doing.
The seat is designed in such a way that it allows a rocking movement, regulated by a hydraulic piston. The hydraulic element could even be engineered in such a way so that it performs a double function, with a locking point once the athlete is in the seat, yet serving as a shock absorber for the seat.
All in all, even though the perspective of spending the rest of the lifetime in a wheelchair is clearly not the happiest thing that may come to mind, seeing designers like Tamara Ristic bending their creativity to making these objects better makes us appreciate their work even more.
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