Quote Originally Posted by garyv View Post
I quit using the smaller wheels a few years back because I had the roller blade wheels on a chair once and hit a small palm berry when I was pushing down the road and on the forward stroke hit the berry , the chair stopped and I ended up iin the middle of the road with a broken leg..
So I use the 5" soft rolls now with no problems and really smoothe ride.
I know you where going to the 4" softrolls but just saying that the smaller the front wheel the faster they stop if you even hit a small stone..
Gary
4x1.5 FLASHR's are generally good for the end user who is able to keep their front end light and they the difference between that caster design and a 4" rollerblade style caster is huge.

If I had to travel out of town more than I currently do and was spec'ing a new chair, I'd give serious thought to spec'ing a fork placement/swivel radius to allow a 5x1.5 FLASHR caster to be used--even if the initial plan was to stay with 4x1.5 casters. While 4x1.5's have served me well, I have found it a little disconcerting on occasion to be going at a decent clip outside at night without knowing that I may not see an uneven sidewalk crack or expansion strip until I am right on top of it.

Anyone contemplating using power assist wheels in the near future should consider doing the same thing for either a 5 or 6" caster. Most people do not realize that power assist wheels make it impossible to perform some wheelchair skills.