Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2025 Mar 6;8(2):28.
doi: 10.3390/mps8020028.

Measurement of Wheel Skidding on Racing Wheelchairs

Nolwenn Poquerusse  1 , Arnaud Hays  2 , Aurélie Cortial  1 , Opale Vigié  1 , Ilona Alberca  1 , Mathieu Deves  1 , Lorian Honnorat  1 , Safiya Noury  1 , Bruno Watier  3 , Arnaud Faupin  1
Affiliations

Measurement of Wheel Skidding on Racing Wheelchairs

Nolwenn Poquerusse et al. Methods Protoc. .

Abstract

In the context of wheelchair racing, research primarily focuses on studying wheelchair ergonomics and determining kinematic, kinetic, and rolling resistance variables. One factor identified as influencing athletes' performance is wheel skidding on the ground, a parameter complementary to rolling resistance. The objective of this study, therefore, is to identify, within a laboratory setting, the parameters that influence the risk of skidding in racing wheelchairs by measuring skidding torque. The ultimate goal is to enhance athletes' performance by optimizing the interaction between the athlete and their wheelchair, and the wheelchair and the environment. In this perspective, four parameters were examined: the type of tubular, the camber angle, the tire pressure, and the load applied to the wheel using a skidometer. This tool characterizes a tire's grip on a surface by measuring torques. The aim is to develop a system for classifying tire grip on dry athletics track at ambient temperature. The findings revealed that only the effects of load and tubular type had a significant impact on the torque values obtained. The tire that minimized the risk of skidding, among all tested combinations, is the Vittoria Pista Speed 23-28″. Furthermore, as the mass applied to the wheel increases, so do the resulting torques. This implies that a heavier athlete would require a greater force to be applied to the hand rim for the tire to skid. However, it was also demonstrated that the risk of skidding in a racing wheelchair is unlikely, as the torques obtained were over a range of 90 to 190 Nm. These values far exceed those typically exerted by para-athletes, which are a maximum of 60 Nm. The long-term goal would be to adjust the mode of torque application on the wheel using the skidometer for a more realistic field approach.

Keywords: biomechanics; skidding; wheelchair racing.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Skidometer with (a) front view, (b) rear view (electronics and motor).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Wheel mounting system on the handrail.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Bland–Altman plot for (a) grip loss torques, (b) grip recovery torques.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplot graphs of the influence of the effects of (a) tubular type; (b) load on the resulting torques. The results of the post hoc tests are shown in this figure. Significance levels of the post hoc tests: * low (p < 0.05), *** high (p < 0.001).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Boxplot graphs of the influence of the effects of (a) camber angle; (b) tubular pressure, on the resulting torques.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lepoutre F.X. The Manual Wheelchair: Choice and Settings. Sauramps Medica; Montpellier, France: 2011. The manual wheelchair: A multidisciplinary approach to help with choice and adjustment; p. 290.
    1. Mason B.S., van der Woude L.H.V., Goosey-Tolfrey V.L. The ergonomics of wheelchair configuration for optimal performance in the wheelchair court sports. Sports Med. 2013;43:23–38. doi: 10.1007/s40279-012-0005-x. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Masson G., Bégin M.-A., Poncelas M.L., Pelletier S.-K., Lessard J.-L., Laroche J., Berrigan F., Langelier E., Smeesters C., Rancourt D. Contribution of limb momentum to power transfer in athletic wheelchair pushing. J. Biomech. 2016;49:2577–2583. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2016.05.009. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cooper R.A. Wheelchair racing sports science: A review. J. Rehabil. Res. Dev. 1990;27:295. doi: 10.1682/JRRD.1990.07.0297. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Forte P., Marinho D.A., Morais J.E., Morouço P.G., Barbosa T.M. Estimation of mechanical power and energy cost in elite wheelchair racing by analytical procedures and numerical simulations. Comput. Methods Biomech. Biomed. Eng. 2018;21:585–592. doi: 10.1080/10255842.2018.1502277. - DOI

LinkOut - more resources