In a Nutshell:
The TrailRider has been affectionately described as a cross between a rickshaw and a wheelbarrow. It’s fun to use and offers a “team” experience. Recommended for anyone with a severe mobility issue and friends who can help take them anywhere they want to go.
Customization options
Ease of Use
Comfort
Performance
Overall Rating
4.1/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone with a severe mobility issue and friends who can help take them anywhere they want to go.
Do you have what you’d classify as an extreme mobility issue? One that’s severe enough that it’s impractical, if not impossible, to provide your own locomotion if you’re in a conventional wheelchair?
Are you surrounded by family and friends who can help you get where you want to go? Do you love the great outdoors?
If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’ll be intrigued and probably fall in love with the Black Diamond TrailRider, which placed fourth in our recent roundup review of the best manual, all-terrain wheelchairs on the market today.
This chair has a lot in common with the Joelette. Both are “rickshaw-style” designs that aren’t commonly seen in the US and as such, they are guaranteed to get the attention of anyone who happens to see you in them.
As cool as these chairs are, we’ll quickly note that they’re not for everyone. As you get deeper into this review, you may decide this isn’t what you’re looking for, and you’ll have to continue your search for the perfect chair. Even if that happens, though, we think you’ll agree; the TrailRider is an impressive piece of engineering!
Let’s jump right in and see what it can (and can’t) do!
Key Features of the Black Diamond TrailRider All-Terrain Wheelchair
Distinctive. That’s the first word that springs to mind when most people see the TrailRider for the first time (in the US, at least). It’s an innovative, great-looking design with an interesting mix of Old-World charm, updated with Canadian manufacturing excellence, guaranteed to be a conversation starter anywhere you go.
“Small” is the other word that springs to mind for most people, and there’s truth in that. Its seat is only 17” wide and can support a maximum weight of just 240 pounds.
Given those two things and the unusual method of conveyance, which we’ll discuss more in a later section of this Black Diamond TrailRider review, this wheelchair isn’t a good fit for everyone. For that reason, we regard it as a niche product.
Niche product or not, though, it’s a good-looking machine you’ll be proud to own. Even better, Black Diamond wheelchairs are manufactured in Vancouver, Canada, offering rugged, durable construction that will last you a lifetime. And although it only sports a single wheel, it’s an all-terrain tire that can carry you over just about any terrain.
Adjustability & Comfort
The TrailRider is ergonomically designed, top to bottom, to provide a comfortable seating experience for the person sitting in the chair. Unfortunately, the designers didn’t pay as much attention to the needs of the “Sherpas” you’ll need to have available to do the heavy lifting.
While the hand grips are comfortable, if you plan on using the TrailRider for more than a short trip, your Sherpas will need padded harnesses to help evenly distribute the weight of the chair and the person in it.
We’ll have more to say about the team-oriented nature of using the chair in a later section, but for the moment, it’s enough to say that in the ideal situation, you’ll want to have at least two and possibly three Sherpas to help you move around using the chair. At the very least, the person in the front should have a padded harness to make heavy lifting more comfortable.
Only One Extra Offered
Only one extra bit of equipment is offered for the TrailRider, but it’s situationally useful. You can get an optional seat insert designed to make the chair comfortable for children or anyone under five feet tall. Other than that, what you see is what you get.
The chair has a decently sized cargo compartment, so you can store water, sundries, and gear for whatever adventure you plan.
Highly Portable
The Black Diamond Trail Rider is delightfully portable, folding down to a footprint of 67.7” x 32.2” x 24”. Combined with its 50-pound weight, the handy storage bag with the chair means you shouldn’t have any difficulty storing it in the trunk space of any full-sized SUV or hatchback. Storage is even easier if you have an SUV, truck, or van.
Breaking it down for transport and getting it ready to ride when you get where you’re going is similarly hassle-free. Thanks to the excellent design of the machine and the use of quick-release pins.
Easy for Your Family and Friends to Use (You Have A Role to Play Too!)
Wheelchairs like this are a breed apart. Mechanically, they’re easy to use. Anyone who has used a wheelbarrow will pick up the basics instantly.
That said, using the Trail Rider Black Diamond is a team endeavor. Since the person sitting in the chair cannot provide their own means of locomotion, two or more “Sherpas” are required to get the passenger from one place to another.
If you’re using a conventional, manual wheelchair, it’s pretty simple. Your trusty assistant gets behind the chair and pushes.
Moving around in the TrailRider requires coordination. The person in front is the “point person,” providing the primary muscle, pulling the occupant forward. The team’s second and optional third members are behind the chair, holding the handles there, providing balance and stability.
The seat occupant is the director or “team captain.” Since he or she can feel every wobble of the chair, he or she provides direction to the other team members to keep everything on track and moving in the right direction.
It sounds pretty straightforward, and it is, but there are a couple of wrinkles when moving up or down a hill.
For uphill movement, the people in the back provide some much-needed assistance to the person on point so that no one individual gets too much of a workout. Communication from the point man is vital, so the people behind don’t push too hard and wind up running him over.
When moving downhill, the people in the back serve as the brakes (manually operating the brakes and holding the chair back to keep it from running over the person on point). Again, communication is critical to ensuring everything goes smoothly.
This part – the teamwork aspect will take practice and some getting used to, but it’s time well spent. Before you know it, your crew will be operating as a smoothly functional unit, capable of navigating just about any terrain and taking you anywhere you want to go.
Pros and Cons of the Black Diamond Trail Rider
In our view, here are the two things you’ll like best about the Black Diamond TrailRider:
On the other hand, if you don’t have a group of reliable assistants or would rather not rely on others to get you where you want to go, you’re much better off getting a powered all-terrain wheelchair. In that regard, then, a machine like this is self-selecting.
Black Diamond TrailRider Review Conclusion
It’s a great design, but it’s not for everyone. We recommend it, but only for people who can identify with one or more of the following statements:
The more these statements apply to you, the more you’ll love this device, and we give it a hearty recommendation. If just one or none of the statements above describe you and your circumstance, we can’t recommend this model and urge you to continue your search.
Recommended Reading
Top End Crossfire All-Terrain Wheelchair Reviews
Our evaluation of the Crossfire reveals a superb manual, all-terrain wheelchair, perfect for outdoor and indoor use.
Joelette Wheelchair All-Terrain Chair Review
Discover the durable Joelette in this review, a wheelchair ideal for severe mobility issues with dedicated assistants.
References & Resources
- Black Diamond TrailRider User Manual.
- British Columbia Mobility Opportunities Society, Official Brand Website.
- Quadriplegic Man Seeks His Chance to Live Out A Dream, Ledger-Enquirer.
- TrailRider Track Opens in Daylesford, Wild Australia.