Firefly users

[darlagee22]

Has anyone found a way to weight the front of the Firefly so it gets more traction and can go up hills better? Mine seems to have lots of power and battery time, but it spins out going uphill and really limits me. Thats my only disappointment. I'm thinking of just hanging wristweights on it to see if that helps.

[Gordy1]

My son got very good at pushing one rear wheel with one hand while still keeping the Firefly accelerating with the other hand. And he would zigzag up grassy hills, which helped.

You could try changing the angle of the Firefly - bring the front wheel towards you will put more weight on it.

(FYI the Dragonfly has significantly worse traction than the Firefly. My son was able to hire one for a week...I think he only used it once!).

[darlagee22]

How would u make it closer? Would I attach it higher on my wheelchair?

[nonoise]

You are not going to want to hear this, but changing your cog to put more weight on your casters is what is needed to add weight to the Firefly wheel. Chas went so far as adding a second axle to his wheelchair so he can move his wheels to the rear axle when he wants to use his Firefly.

[Gordy1]

How would u make it closer? Would I attach it higher on my wheelchair?

Assuming you have the older version of the Firefly, you have 4 arms each with adjustable length. If they are all extended to some degree you can reduce the length of all of them, which will bring both the handlebars and the wheel closer to the chair. Or you can just reduce the length of the lower 2 arms (and/or increase the lengths of the top two arms), which will bring the wheel closer, not the handlebars.

I imagine you can do something similar with the newest model, but I've not adjusted one of those before.

[Gordy1]

You are not going to want to hear this, but changing your cog to put more weight on your casters is what is needed to add weight to the Firefly wheel. Chas went so far as adding a second axle to his wheelchair so he can move his wheels to the rear axle when he wants to use his Firefly.

I think Chas owns a Dragonfly, not a Firefly? Which, as I mentioned below, is far worse for traction than the Firefly. (But I agree with what you are saying, but it's not always possible to do!).

[nonoise]

I think Chas owns a Dragonfly, not a Firefly? Which, as I mentioned below, is far worse for traction than the Firefly. (But I agree with what you are saying, but it's not always possible to do!).

Absolutely, I got the names mixed up. Chas hates batteries. However he figured out the issue is to get one's body weight forward and the way to do that is to change the cog.

[chasmengr]

Having the second axle (mounted on amputee adapters) works absolutely wonderfully with my Dragonfly!!! Up steep (paved) hills, across parks, soccer fields, cemeteries

Loose gravel remains a killer though (because of tire width).

NO batteries

[robotnik]

I own a Dragonfly too, but my solution can help a firefly rider if he has the same 4 arms rigging.
To put all the weight possible on the front wheel without using a 2nd back axle (It's the best solution I agree, but I should have it removable to still use my ZX-1?) I've made 2 legrest, very similar to handbikes.
They are made of aluminium bent tubes and nylon straps. To mount the tubes on the arms, we used 2 BMX stems with 2 adapters specially machined to fit the diameter. I bought the stems on eBay 6$ each, and 50$ for the tubing and work.
It gives a very noticeable amount of grip, now my front wheel is stuck to the ground !
Of course I can understand this solution is a bit tricky and doesn't fit for you Darlagee. A friend of mine as a very powerful front wheel too, and when it starts spinning he leans on the handlebar as much as he can. It seems to work...
Here are picts of my rig : (-edit- I don't understand why my picts have turned on the side ??)

[spinner]

That's brilliant, I might try that. I don't use my firefly unless I'm going somewhere flat and paved. Otherwise it's almost useless to me on my farm.

[darlagee22]

I used my Firefly to get around a campus on a pretty steep hill where I just lived for 3 months in Kona, Hawaii. The front wheel ended up wearing out quickly because it would spin out a lot. I replaced the wheel with their knobby wheel and wrapped a 5# ankle weight on each side of the front bar so there was 10# extra weight on either side right below the battery. I also learned to lean forward and kind of lift up on the handlebars a bit (the same motion you do when you are attaching it and lifting up the front castors to clamp it in place). This help tremendously and the weights are just part of it now. Its what made it possible for me to be there and get around independently. I'm so glad I found it! It was a little cumbersome getting on the airplane with it and they were a little hard on it, but it was well worth having it.

[djrolling]

I do not have the same attachment but all have the same problem. I use a Quickie GPV with my attachment and they have an axle plate with about a 4-inch long opening where the wheels can be adjusted frontwards and backward. I got an extra set of axle sleeves and set them as far back as possible which is about 2 or 2.5 inches further back than I normally run my wheels on my chair. This way before I put my attachment on I just pull my chair up on one side and move the wheel in the air to the back position and then do the same on the other side and I am ready to go. You might be surprised how much difference that 2 or 2.5 inches make. If you look through to the other side you get a better idea of the distance between the two positions