The levers attach really easily to the chair. You push them to go forward, squeeze them together to brake, or use them to do a wheelie up a curb.
These are the original levers made by Nu Drive, not the Nu Drive Air version, which is a much better and improved product. The levers attach really easily to the chair, although ours were bought second-hand, and one lever never worked perfectly from the start. You push the levers to go forward, squeeze them together to brake, or use them to do a wheelie up a curb.
The concept is great and really helps people with shoulder and wrist problems, which I had at the time. However, it had one flaw: the levers didn’t automatically return if you needed to remove your hands and manoeuvre with just the wheels quickly. This issue was addressed with the release of the Nu Drive Air as a follow-up. An example of this would be getting in or out of a car, or even when you have one lever on and one lever off.
Some people have complained that they don’t like the lever return system on the Nu Drive Air, but I think it really depends if you’re going to be using the levers for exercise or if you’re likely to combine tasking with them. Also, if you want to use them with a steering attachment like the German Vosara, then you will need to upgrade to the Nu Drive Air because the return then becomes part of the driving process.
I think it’s good for people with unstable joints, arthritis, EDS, and any other condition where you need to protect your shoulders. At the time, I had severe Chronic Pain Disorder in one of my shoulders, so I could not use a normal wheelchair properly or build any strength up. It is also useful if you have neck issues, as I do, where pushing can aggravate headaches or even wear out joints in the neck, which are already degenerating. They could even be good for parents who need to keep their hands clean but want to push a chair indoors.
I don’t think a strong, healthy person who can push easily would benefit from these unless they wanted to use them on more challenging terrain, such as the great outdoors, because then they really come into their own, especially with a front wheel attachment.
