Wheels What's The Difference

[NW-Will]

Yeah the physics is a wash, rolling resistance vs extra weight etc..
I roll on 26" and 25"

26" increases your footprint by the amount of over hang out the back of your chair, somaneuvering in tight spots becomes an issue. Bigger wheel are a hassle getting in and out of the car.
25" wheels have a massive selection of tires. pretty much my reason for moving to 25" wheels

I would say it all depends how tall and how long your arms are. Test them out and see which feels better, and hopefully you have a PT and can point out which size will cause your shoulders the least issues.

If I'm just rolling around town the 26" wheels feel way more efficient for me, but then I think they just fit my body size better. The 24" rims drive me up the wall

[nonoise]

how much difference is there between 25 inch wheels and 26 inch wheels? What does everyone prefer and why?

An increase of one inch is not so much, but my chair that has 26's seems like I'm sitting down between the wheels and it is more difficult to transfer to/from because of them seeming so tall. The other chairs I use having 24's and 25 setup with the same FSH and RSH do not give this impression.

[Sit-N-Fly]

One of the main reasons I switched to 25" rims is tire selection. Most mountain bike and city bike tires fit 25" rims.

[pacrossbow]

Other things to consider are:
Your seat heights
Camber
Center of gravity
Cushion height(s)

These all affect your hand position. Easier to do this when having a chair built as all factors are taken into consideration.

There is more to it than just more out of each push.

My latest chairs:
25s on a 16" RST, 4 degrees of camber, and 6" COG
25s on a 16.5" RST, 4 degrees of camber, and 6" COG
24s on a 16.5" RST (Ergo seat), 2 degrees of camber, and 6" COG

[fasdude]

You can look at wheels like gears on a bicycle. if you spend most of your time wheeling on short trips where you have to go up and down ramps/hills I would pick 24 inch rims. If you do longer, mostly flat trips I would pick 25inch tires. Unless you are really tall I wouldn't see the need for 26 inch tires.

To further clarify, think of a tall person and a short person walking the same distance. The tall person will have less strides to cover the same distance as a short person. For wheels, one push on a 26" wheel will get you slightly further than the same push on a 24" wheel. I use a 25" wheel as a compromise between the other two sizes. The 25s fits better in my lifestyle for my usual transfers and fitting in my car. They allow me to grab things off the floor without stretching too much and I still have pretty good high reach for stuff on grocery store shelves. You need to try all three sizes to see which works best for you. (I'm a stocky 5'6" with relatively short arms.)

[Oddity]

To help decide, the 'text book' for wheelchair fitting says, with your preferred seat height, you will achieve the most optimal biometrics for your push stroke if your finger tips reach the top center of your axle with arms hanging relaxed by your side.

[Oddity]

To help decide, the 'text book' for wheelchair fitting says, with your preferred seat height, you will achieve the most optimal biometrics for your push stroke if your finger tips reach the top center of your axle with arms hanging relaxed by your side.

Some people pick a wheel then pick the seat height and axle position to center their fingertips on the axle, some pick their seat height then choose a wheel that achieves the same thing. When spec'ing a new chair this is mere preference (which is more important to you: wheel size or seat height), but, with an existing chair (especially if it isn't adjustable) you might need to pick a wheel for biometrics of push stroke (arguably more important for our long term health) than for which size rolls like you prefer.

[funklab]

I prefer a 26" wheel to a 25" wheel for maneuverability and going up curbs. However there are two big downsides which is why I will be switching back to 25s on my next chair.

1. The larger wheels are larger (harder to fit in the car, bump stuff out behind me more when I turn)
2. And this is the most important (for me) - It's impossible to find a tire to fit a 26" rim at your average bicycle shop, but 25" is a fairly common bicycle tire size. I got a bad tire one time and spent 4 days waiting for my rush order ($110 shipping) out of town riding around work on a tire at 25-30 psi, hoping and praying that it didn't pop off the rim (it did when you aired it up above 45 psi). Had it been a 25" they could have sold me a $15 tire off the shelf to get me around until I get what I really wanted.

[fasdude]

To help decide, the 'text book' for wheelchair fitting says, with your preferred seat height, you will achieve the most optimal biometrics for your push stroke if your finger tips reach the top center of your axle with arms hanging relaxed by your side.

No one has ever told me that, but I just checked and with my arms relaxed straight down by my sides, I can just touch the top of my axle button. I came to this setup by years of trial and error and what was most comfortable though without anyone telling me to set my chair up this way.