TiLite Wheelchairs

[elarson]

The only thing that TiLite will accomplish by this is annoying customers and potential customers to use a proxy server or VPN. Providing MSRP in US dollars is fully under the control of TiLite and does not imply any control of international pricing by TiLite. To imply anything else is complete rubbish.

For anyone else international being blocked from the order forms if you search for "web proxy" you will find many servers that you can use to view the TiLite order forms.

I see you are in the Netherlands. Unfortunately TiLite does not control international pricing so we do not publish PDF order forms internationally with pricing. You will need to contact your Dealer. Sorry for the inconvenience.

[elarson]

Yes they have if you are in a country that they have blocked the IP Address. Also TiLite's EZ-Ti Online System blocks prices.

The only thing these kind of tactics do is annoy international customers. We had a situation that a local dealer was using an old order form, and I would have not known about some options if I had not been able to check the latest US order form.

Because of TiLite's policy of only going through local dealers, many internationals buy online and ship via another address. Especially with the demise of titanium chairs in the US, because of the loss of K0009 coding, I find this especially short sighted of TiLite to limit that market even more internationally.

PDF order forms have not disappeared.

[Blue Dog]

Beware of TiLite Customer Service

Feb 23, 2015 I sent customer service (customerservice@tilite.com) an email. See Below.

Feb 25, I re-send the same email and request confirmation of email?.. "I would appreciate confirmation that you received my email and that a response will be forthcoming. Thank you."

March 2, not having received confirmation or a response to my email, I called customer service to confirm that my email had in deed been received. First, she could not find my emails, then with my help she finally found one of them. She could not confirm that the emails had been forwarded to customer service. Then she wanted my phone number. My response was "no, you don't need my phone number, when you forward the emails to customer service tell them I want a response by email". She would not give me the name or phone number of a specific person that I could call who could address my concerns.

April 12, and I have NEVER had a response from TiLite.

Below is my initial email request for assistance?.

Hello Customer Service,


This is regarding the above identified ZR wheelchair and issues that I am having.


On a regular ongoing basis my hands are getting grey/black from the hand rims. I have cleaned and wiped off the hand rims, and it continues to happen. It is very embarrassing to always have my hands dirty. It is not the same as getting the hands dirty from grabbing part of the tire, it is definitely coming off the hand rim. Can you explain why and what I can do about it? Do I need to replace the hand rims or is there another solution???


Last Spring I ordered "soft rolls tires" to replace the ones that originally came with my chair. I really liked those soft rolls!!
Apparently you discontinued the ones that I initially had on, and the dealer accepted the ones that you were providing at the time. When they were put on they did not spin in place AT ALL, zilch, zero spin. I was always under the impression that the front wheels should spin freely when off the ground and the longer they spinned the better it was and an indication of good bearings etc.


I want my front wheels to spin so that when I am putting my chair in the car, I can spin them and while they spin I can put my finger on them and remove snow, sand and dirt outside of my car instead of having it all carried into my car where the snow melts and drips on to my upholstery. Can you tell me, did I get a bad set and why there is no spin to them????


The ones you provided are a pain in the butt for another reason. Wet leaves and grass cling to them like a magnet, and I have to run my hand or a rag over the them to get the stuff off and in order to not have it fall off once I am in the house. JUST SAYING you had a great product with the soft rolls, and what you replaced them with is not a great product and I don't like them at all. They feel different too when rolling.


Finally I might as well complain about the upholstery replacement that I got at the same time as I when I ordered my new front wheels. The back upholstery was not a nice fit to my chair at all as it had wrinkles in it and excess material. We measured it to make sure we ordered and received the right size but the fit was sloppy and sloppy looking. Considering that TiLite advertises how each chair is "made to measure, optimally fitted, ultimate of customization, best fitting, best looking, classy and sleek," I was very disappointed with the replacement back upholstery that I received because it was not and is not a classy sleek fit.


Please don't get me wrong, I REALLY like my Ti Chair, am glad that I got one, and would get one again in a heart beat!!! However, not so sure about replacement parts.

Sincerely,

[t8burst]

So you expect TiLite to:

1. have some magic way to keep your hands from getting dirty? Wear gloves.
2. You had some third party put on wheels incorrectly and want TiLite to do what? Magically correct that? Make wheels so it is impossible for morons to install incorrectly?

Feb 23, 2015 I sent customer service (customerservice@tilite.com) an email. See Below.

Feb 25, I re-send the same email and request confirmation of email?.. "I would appreciate confirmation that you received my email and that a response will be forthcoming. Thank you."

March 2, not having received confirmation or a response to my email, I called customer service to confirm that my email had in deed been received. First, she could not find my emails, then with my help she finally found one of them. She could not confirm that the emails had been forwarded to customer service. Then she wanted my phone number. My response was "no, you don't need my phone number, when you forward the emails to customer service tell them I want a response by email". She would not give me the name or phone number of a specific person that I could call who could address my concerns.

April 12, and I have NEVER had a response from TiLite.

Below is my initial email request for assistance?.

Hello Customer Service,


This is regarding the above identified ZR wheelchair and issues that I am having.


On a regular ongoing basis my hands are getting grey/black from the hand rims. I have cleaned and wiped off the hand rims, and it continues to happen. It is very embarrassing to always have my hands dirty. It is not the same as getting the hands dirty from grabbing part of the tire, it is definitely coming off the hand rim. Can you explain why and what I can do about it? Do I need to replace the hand rims or is there another solution???


Last Spring I ordered "soft rolls tires" to replace the ones that originally came with my chair. I really liked those soft rolls!!
Apparently you discontinued the ones that I initially had on, and the dealer accepted the ones that you were providing at the time. When they were put on they did not spin in place AT ALL, zilch, zero spin. I was always under the impression that the front wheels should spin freely when off the ground and the longer they spinned the better it was and an indication of good bearings etc.


I want my front wheels to spin so that when I am putting my chair in the car, I can spin them and while they spin I can put my finger on them and remove snow, sand and dirt outside of my car instead of having it all carried into my car where the snow melts and drips on to my upholstery. Can you tell me, did I get a bad set and why there is no spin to them????


The ones you provided are a pain in the butt for another reason. Wet leaves and grass cling to them like a magnet, and I have to run my hand or a rag over the them to get the stuff off and in order to not have it fall off once I am in the house. JUST SAYING you had a great product with the soft rolls, and what you replaced them with is not a great product and I don't like them at all. They feel different too when rolling.


Finally I might as well complain about the upholstery replacement that I got at the same time as I when I ordered my new front wheels. The back upholstery was not a nice fit to my chair at all as it had wrinkles in it and excess material. We measured it to make sure we ordered and received the right size but the fit was sloppy and sloppy looking. Considering that TiLite advertises how each chair is "made to measure, optimally fitted, ultimate of customization, best fitting, best looking, classy and sleek," I was very disappointed with the replacement back upholstery that I received because it was not and is not a classy sleek fit.


Please don't get me wrong, I REALLY like my Ti Chair, am glad that I got one, and would get one again in a heart beat!!! However, not so sure about replacement parts.

Sincerely,

[Blue Dog]

REALLY, this is your response as a Forum and TiLite Moderator and a representative of TiLite???? OMG, TiLite has a more serious customer service problem than I thought.


Your sarcasm is not appreciated and certainly does not help the image of TiLite. If you wish to make snide remarks as an individual representing yourself on this forum that is one thing, but responding as a forum moderator I find your response demeaning and rude.


By posting on this forum I was giving TiLite a 4th chance to respond, and what I got was your nastiness. Shame on you and TiLite for the kind of response that I received.


Re: your third party comment, my insurance requires me to go thru my DME, they have been around for a long time, I have never had problems with their work in the past. I don't know what might have gone wrong when they put the wheels on as I don't have expertise in this area. I did complain about the wheels not turning, and got no response. Helpful advice or direction from you would have been beneficial.


With over 45 years of using a chair I think I have figured out when I need to wear gloves and when not to wear gloves. Wearing gloves "inside my house" is not an option!! In case you did not know, wearing gloves is not conducive to good health when cooking and handling food such as peeling potatoes or boiled eggs, making burger patties, kneading homemade bread, caring for a baby, etc etc etc.


Having gone thru several chairs in my lifetime, I have never experienced hands getting dirty as they do with these particular hand rims. I can clean the hand rims, push thirty feet on hard wood floors and my hands will be black from only touching the push rims. There have been other posts on this and other forums with people complaining about the same situation.


TiLite could have looked up my chair's serial #, and seen that I have aluminum hand rims. With that knowledge they could have advised me that the grey/black matter coming off the hand rim is most likely due to the aluminum shedding a fine black dust possibly due the anodization having worn off thus the oxidization is causing black dust which causes the hands to get black. However I still do not know if I need to simply replace my hand rims, or find someone who can anodize them again.

After much research on the internet I found the following references to this problem.
Aluminum Anodized Handrims?...https://mobilitybasics.ca/wheelchairs/handrims

Aluminum handrims are by far the most common handrims and are usually standard equipment on many wheelchair models. Because aluminum is a dirty material and will continually shed a fine black dust the manufacturers will have their aluminum handrims anodized to seal them and prevent the oxidization that causes the black dust.



And there is this post by IsMaisin 03-09-2013, 08:31 AM /forum/archive/index.php/t-144391.html
Titanium weighs 4.5 grams per cubic centimeter.
Aluminium weighs 2.7 grams.
Steel weighs 7.9 grams.

Stronger metals need less thickness. That is why, in some applications, aluminum is capable of being lighter than steel. It is simply thinner. Titanium is not only light weight, but is also capable of being formed still thinner. Also, there are many different alloys of these metals and weight, strength, and resistance to oxidation vary by alloy.

The reason that Aluminum is dirty is that it forms a protective oxidized coat when it is exposed to air. The coat forms faster when exposed to water. The same thing happens to mild steel. You see this coat as a dullness in the aluminum. It shows up as very dark grey on your hands or gloves.

Anodizing aluminum is done by dipping it in a tank with an electrolyte and using an electrical current to pull some of the reagent into the surface of the aluminum. The color produced depends on the specific voltage used. This is commonly done to produce a colored surface but it also protects from oxidation. Titanium is also capable of being anodized, but fewer places do it. If you are working with a shop that specializes in anodizing, you can specify how deep you want the anodizing to go.

Anodizing and powder coating are both susceptible to scratches. Deep anodizing, which is not done by any chair manufacturer that I know of, would show fewer scratches but would still show the deep ones. Class III (Standard Commercial) anodizing is .1 mil deep, Class II is .4, and Class I is .7. Custom depths of greater thickness can be done.

You can continue to regularly polish aluminum to prevent the build up of oxidation and even polish out scratches, bit this is prohibitively laborious for something the size of a chair. You can also use a car wax to prevent oxidation after you have polished, this will save you having to re-polish the whole chair, you can just polish and re-wax the scratches. It's still a LOT of work.

If you don't like the scratches and don't want to spend much effort keeping them under control, your best bet is to apply an exterior protector over your scratch areas. Some people use adhesive chain stays, bicycle handlebar tape, or sew on leather.

So you expect TiLite to:

1. have some magic way to keep your hands from getting dirty? Wear gloves.
2. You had some third party put on wheels incorrectly and want TiLite to do what? Magically correct that? Make wheels so it is impossible for morons to install incorrectly?

[stumpybushman]

So you expect TiLite to:

1. have some magic way to keep your hands from getting dirty? Wear gloves.
2. You had some third party put on wheels incorrectly and want TiLite to do what? Magically correct that? Make wheels so it is impossible for morons to install incorrectly?

I agree with t8 100%! That has to be one of the worse piss and moan email/phone call/post that I've seen.

Totally unbelievable at the things some ppl want and expect.

[t8burst]

I moderate the Veteran's an Pain forum not the equipment forum. I responded not as a representative of Care Cure OR TiLite (I own one of their chairs but in no way speak for them except as a customer) but simply as a member of the community.

REALLY, this is your response as a Forum and TiLite Moderator and a representative of TiLite???? OMG, TiLite has a more serious customer service problem than I thought.

Again I have no relation to TiLite at all.

It is a public forum. I have no love or hate for TiLite, but as someone who has done some customer service in the past people you fall into the group of people who will complain about anything. If you want to get a reasonable response from any company possibly consider that complaining about things like wet grass sticks to something is not going to get your email taken seriously.

[randomryan007]

What's the lowest rear seat height tilite can go on the tr with 24 in rims? Also can you do custom rididizer bars?

[TiLite]

What's the lowest rear seat height tilite can go on the tr with 24 in rims? Also can you do custom rididizer bars?

I'm sorry. I missed this post yesterday. Just saw it. I've forwarded this on to our Engineering team. I hope to have you an answer first thing in the morning.

[stephen212]

What's the lowest rear seat height tilite can go on the tr with 24 in rims? Also can you do custom rididizer bars?

I'm sorry. I missed this post yesterday. Just saw it. I've forwarded this on to our Engineering team. I hope to have you an answer first thing in the morning.

Prediction: For a ZR or TR, 14"-14.5"

[ZEN12many]

I love my TiLites. Re forum, I will use it to ask for a future addition/option. I would like a handy switch on one of the arm rests that would light up lights especially on the sides of the wheelchair. When I'm going for the mail in the evening, and have to cross the road, I could hit the switch and light up brightly and be much safer.

[stephen212]

I love my TiLites. Re forum, I will use it to ask for a future addition/option. I would like a handy switch on one of the arm rests that would light up lights especially on the sides of the wheelchair. When I'm going for the mail in the evening, and have to cross the road, I could hit the switch and light up brightly and be much safer.

Micro Drive LED Light

http://www.roundbetty.com/shop-page....rive-led-light

[wheeliecoach]

Feb 23, 2015 I sent customer service (customerservice@tilite.com) an email. See Below.

Feb 25, I re-send the same email and request confirmation of email?.. "I would appreciate confirmation that you received my email and that a response will be forthcoming. Thank you."

March 2, not having received confirmation or a response to my email, I called customer service to confirm that my email had in deed been received. First, she could not find my emails, then with my help she finally found one of them. She could not confirm that the emails had been forwarded to customer service. Then she wanted my phone number. My response was "no, you don't need my phone number, when you forward the emails to customer service tell them I want a response by email". She would not give me the name or phone number of a specific person that I could call who could address my concerns.

April 12, and I have NEVER had a response from TiLite.

Below is my initial email request for assistance?.

Hello Customer Service,


This is regarding the above identified ZR wheelchair and issues that I am having.


On a regular ongoing basis my hands are getting grey/black from the hand rims. I have cleaned and wiped off the hand rims, and it continues to happen. It is very embarrassing to always have my hands dirty. It is not the same as getting the hands dirty from grabbing part of the tire, it is definitely coming off the hand rim. Can you explain why and what I can do about it? Do I need to replace the hand rims or is there another solution???


Last Spring I ordered "soft rolls tires" to replace the ones that originally came with my chair. I really liked those soft rolls!!
Apparently you discontinued the ones that I initially had on, and the dealer accepted the ones that you were providing at the time. When they were put on they did not spin in place AT ALL, zilch, zero spin. I was always under the impression that the front wheels should spin freely when off the ground and the longer they spinned the better it was and an indication of good bearings etc.


I want my front wheels to spin so that when I am putting my chair in the car, I can spin them and while they spin I can put my finger on them and remove snow, sand and dirt outside of my car instead of having it all carried into my car where the snow melts and drips on to my upholstery. Can you tell me, did I get a bad set and why there is no spin to them????


The ones you provided are a pain in the butt for another reason. Wet leaves and grass cling to them like a magnet, and I have to run my hand or a rag over the them to get the stuff off and in order to not have it fall off once I am in the house. JUST SAYING you had a great product with the soft rolls, and what you replaced them with is not a great product and I don't like them at all. They feel different too when rolling.


Finally I might as well complain about the upholstery replacement that I got at the same time as I when I ordered my new front wheels. The back upholstery was not a nice fit to my chair at all as it had wrinkles in it and excess material. We measured it to make sure we ordered and received the right size but the fit was sloppy and sloppy looking. Considering that TiLite advertises how each chair is "made to measure, optimally fitted, ultimate of customization, best fitting, best looking, classy and sleek," I was very disappointed with the replacement back upholstery that I received because it was not and is not a classy sleek fit.


Please don't get me wrong, I REALLY like my Ti Chair, am glad that I got one, and would get one again in a heart beat!!! However, not so sure about replacement parts.

Sincerely,

I am not a representative of TiLite...just wanted to get that out there.

For your issue with your push rims...it sounds like the coating has come off of them. I had that issue all of the time and then I got the anodized push rims and they are much better.

For your issue with your soft rolls...it seems as though someone tightened them too tight which binds the bearings and does not allow them to turn. I would suggest loosening up your wheels a bit to see if that helps. They should spin freely once you do that. If not, loosen some more. There is a point where you can tighten them too tightly.

[TiLite]

Prediction: For a ZR or TR, 14"-14.5"

Good prediction Stephen212!
Our Engineering Team indicates 14.5" with no rear suspension and 16.5" with Frog Leg Rear Suspension. There are some exceptions to this (i.e. center of gravity, seat slope, etc.) This is just a guideline. Ask your Dealer for a CAD drawing and ask them to ask us to see if we can hit whatever your rear seat height desire is. The first CAD is free of charge. Subsequent ones are $75/ea.

Yes - we do do custom rigidizer bars (within limits of course).

[TiLite]

REALLY, this is your response as a Forum and TiLite Moderator and a representative of TiLite???? OMG, TiLite has a more serious customer service problem than I thought.


Your sarcasm is not appreciated and certainly does not help the image of TiLite. If you wish to make snide remarks as an individual representing yourself on this forum that is one thing, but responding as a forum moderator I find your response demeaning and rude.


By posting on this forum I was giving TiLite a 4th chance to respond, and what I got was your nastiness. Shame on you and TiLite for the kind of response that I received.


Re: your third party comment, my insurance requires me to go thru my DME, they have been around for a long time, I have never had problems with their work in the past. I don't know what might have gone wrong when they put the wheels on as I don't have expertise in this area. I did complain about the wheels not turning, and got no response. Helpful advice or direction from you would have been beneficial.


With over 45 years of using a chair I think I have figured out when I need to wear gloves and when not to wear gloves. Wearing gloves "inside my house" is not an option!! In case you did not know, wearing gloves is not conducive to good health when cooking and handling food such as peeling potatoes or boiled eggs, making burger patties, kneading homemade bread, caring for a baby, etc etc etc.


Having gone thru several chairs in my lifetime, I have never experienced hands getting dirty as they do with these particular hand rims. I can clean the hand rims, push thirty feet on hard wood floors and my hands will be black from only touching the push rims. There have been other posts on this and other forums with people complaining about the same situation.


TiLite could have looked up my chair's serial #, and seen that I have aluminum hand rims. With that knowledge they could have advised me that the grey/black matter coming off the hand rim is most likely due to the aluminum shedding a fine black dust possibly due the anodization having worn off thus the oxidization is causing black dust which causes the hands to get black. However I still do not know if I need to simply replace my hand rims, or find someone who can anodize them again.

After much research on the internet I found the following references to this problem.
Aluminum Anodized Handrims?...https://mobilitybasics.ca/wheelchairs/handrims

Aluminum handrims are by far the most common handrims and are usually standard equipment on many wheelchair models. Because aluminum is a dirty material and will continually shed a fine black dust the manufacturers will have their aluminum handrims anodized to seal them and prevent the oxidization that causes the black dust.



And there is this post by IsMaisin 03-09-2013, 08:31 AM https://www.carecure.net/forum/archi.../t-144391.html
Titanium weighs 4.5 grams per cubic centimeter.
Aluminium weighs 2.7 grams.
Steel weighs 7.9 grams.

Stronger metals need less thickness. That is why, in some applications, aluminum is capable of being lighter than steel. It is simply thinner. Titanium is not only light weight, but is also capable of being formed still thinner. Also, there are many different alloys of these metals and weight, strength, and resistance to oxidation vary by alloy.

The reason that Aluminum is dirty is that it forms a protective oxidized coat when it is exposed to air. The coat forms faster when exposed to water. The same thing happens to mild steel. You see this coat as a dullness in the aluminum. It shows up as very dark grey on your hands or gloves.

Anodizing aluminum is done by dipping it in a tank with an electrolyte and using an electrical current to pull some of the reagent into the surface of the aluminum. The color produced depends on the specific voltage used. This is commonly done to produce a colored surface but it also protects from oxidation. Titanium is also capable of being anodized, but fewer places do it. If you are working with a shop that specializes in anodizing, you can specify how deep you want the anodizing to go.

Anodizing and powder coating are both susceptible to scratches. Deep anodizing, which is not done by any chair manufacturer that I know of, would show fewer scratches but would still show the deep ones. Class III (Standard Commercial) anodizing is .1 mil deep, Class II is .4, and Class I is .7. Custom depths of greater thickness can be done.

You can continue to regularly polish aluminum to prevent the build up of oxidation and even polish out scratches, bit this is prohibitively laborious for something the size of a chair. You can also use a car wax to prevent oxidation after you have polished, this will save you having to re-polish the whole chair, you can just polish and re-wax the scratches. It's still a LOT of work.

If you don't like the scratches and don't want to spend much effort keeping them under control, your best bet is to apply an exterior protector over your scratch areas. Some people use adhesive chain stays, bicycle handlebar tape, or sew on leather.

Blue Dog - I'm sorry for the confusion. The response you are referring to was not from TiLite. Our customer service manager has contacted you and spoken directly to you and we think we have things squared away now. Hope all is well in your world. You can contact the manager directly if you have further questions. Thanks.