Wheelchair design question

Factual Questions
1

At breakfast the other day, my husband and I saw a man in a wheelchair that had angled wheels. Being engineers, we discussed the possible reasons, and decided that it was a stability feature. The chair got a wider wheelbase without making the whole chair all that much wider, and since the tops of the wheels angled in, it would be as easy to propel as a straight-wheeled chair.

We wondered secondarily if it had to do with maneuverability.

So, anybody able to enlighten us?

2

Many modern wheel chairs have adjustable camber. Lateral stability is one reason for introducing camber - there are others:

http://www.usatechguide.org/articledisplay.php?artid=23

3

Racing wheelchairs are built this way … presumably for greater manoevrability (sp?).

As a wheelchair user, I have to say I think it would drive me mad!

4

Thanks for the links! Very informative.