[tsumnia]

Most of the comments have criticized the price point for what you are getting; however, I would say this looks like a great quality of life tool for disabled individuals. If you are wheelchair bound, there are a number of terrains that a traditional wheelchair will not operate on. They even point this out with their rig on beach sand. There are designs that handle sandy terrain [1], but they would not work well on other surfaces.

Without knowing much about the couple's relationship, I would say they are trying to create a design that allows for other outdoor terrains, such as a dirt road. If you imagine a traditional wheelchair design, the subtle bumps and dips on a dirt road would make it taxing for the rider or anyone assisting them. Jerry's Rig tries to mitigate those issues to offer a quality of life improvement so that wheelchair bound outdoorsy people can still be outdoorsy people.

Like codekansas said, people can very quickly scope creep into making an all together badass arm when all the person wants is something to get them through the day.

[1] https://www.sandriderusa.com/product/sand-rider/

[black_puppydog]

The price point for the beach wheelchair you linked is $2,440.00. That's about half the price of this rig, and it does not get you to the beach. You need to have (and park/stash?) another wheelchair for that. Oh and you have to have someone push you.

By the way, I read @codekansas' comment [1] not as a warning about feature creep, but as a comment on the inertia in the medical industry (emphasis on "industry") versus just a few enthusiasts who don't feel bound by patents, conventions and markets, and simply want to build something to improve their lives.

[1]: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23703179

[sandworm101]

The hint is in the name. This thing simply is not a wheelchair. It isn't even trying to be one. It is meant to carry a folding wheelchair as cargo. Therefore we shouldn't compare it to wheelchairs, those things capable of doors and elevators. This thing is a different type of vehicle, something between a bicycle and an electric go-cart. It isn't for daily mobility, for taking to the grocery store. It is for a specific type of wheelchair user: those with dexterity and strength to handle and setup the machine who want to get onto trails at bicycle speeds.

[gonehome]

Yeah I think this is awesome.

I've thought about what a cool wheelchair would be like since the 'regular' stuff that exists seems disappointing. I wonder if e-bikes and more accessible battery packs are what make this possible now.

I think there's a lot of opportunity in this space for making something that you'd actually want to use if you were disabled.

A lot of the stuff that exists in the current market seems overpriced (though I'd guess there are regulatory reasons for this and it's not a simple fix).

I'm glad they made this, hopefully more people will hack on things like this too.

[JshWright]

> Jerry's Rig

His name is Zach...

[tsumnia]

Thanks, I'm not a subscriber to their channel, so I went off the channel's name.

[JshWright]

Ah, "jerry rig" is an expression

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerry-rigged

[ljf]

Ha the same, I'd assumed it was a play on his name. He does some great videos but I don't love his presenting style - but the content is great.

[pkaye]

I think its his father's name.

[alanbernstein]

I don't know this guy, but he refers to himself as Jerry in the video...