USER MANUAL | RIGID WHEELCHAIRS –
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
NOTE: If you ignore these warnings or fail to inspect or maintain your wheelchair as directed in the manual, you may fall, tip over or lose control of the wheelchair and seriously injure yourself or others and damage the
wheelchair.
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6.5.4 CLIMBING A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
WARNING
DO NOT CLIMB a flight of stairs with the user in the wheel-
chair.
Motion Composites recognizes that wheelchair users may, on occa-
sion, have no other choice and will need to be moved up or down a
flight of stairs or will need to be lifted. Only when there is no other
alternative, caregivers and wheelchair users should follow these
steps to climb a flight of stairs.
1. NEVER attempt to negotiate more than one step unless you
have 2 (two) able adult assistants.
2. ALWAYS position the wheelchair and user facing away from
the stairs, with one assistant at the rear (facing away from the
stairs) and one at the front of the wheelchair (facing the user).
3. The assistant behind the wheelchair is in control and know how
to climb a flight of stairs. He or she must tilt the wheelchair
back to find its balance point on the rear wheels.
4. NEVER attempt to lift a wheelchair using any removable (de-
tachable) parts, including upholstery, removable push handles
or push handle grips.
5. ALWAYS hold the wheelchair from a solid part of the frame.
6. The second assistant at the front must firmly grip the frame
(NOT the footrests) with both hands and lift the wheelchair up
and over one stair at a time.
7. Each assistant then carefully moves the wheelchair to the next
stair.
8. Repeat steps 1 to 6 for each stair, until you reach the top of the
stairs.
9. Once at the top of the stairs, the assistants should roll the
wheelchair backward on the two rear wheels until the casters
clear the last step. At this point, assistants can gently lower the
casters on the floor.
10. Assistants should always grab the frame of the wheelchair to
lift you. NEVER grab the push handles, back canes, wheels,
footrest or any moving parts to lift the wheelchair.
6.5.5 DESCENDING A FLIGHT OF STAIRS
WARNING
DO NOT DESCEND a flight of stairs with the user in the
wheelchair.
Motion Composites recognizes that wheelchair users may, on occa-
sion, have no other choice and will need to be moved up or down a
flight of stairs. Only when there is no other alternative, caregivers
and wheelchair users should follow these steps to descend a flight
of stairs.
1. NEVER attempt to negotiate more than one step unless you
have 2 (two) able adult assistants.
2. ALWAYS position the wheelchair and user facing the stairs, with
one assistant at the rear (facing away from the stairs) and one
at the front of the wheelchair (facing the user).
3. The assistant in front of the wheelchair is in control and knows
how to descend a flight of stairs. He or she must tilt the wheel-
chair back to find its balance point on the rear wheels.
4. NEVER attempt to lift a wheelchair using any removable (de-
tachable) parts, including upholstery, removable push handles
or push handle grips.
5. ALWAYS hold the wheelchair from a solid part of the frame.
6. The second assistant at the front must firmly grip the frame
(NOT the footrest) with both hands and control as the user goes
down the wheelchair over one stair at a time.
7. Each assistant then carefully moves down to the next stair.
8. Repeat steps 1 to 6 for each stair, until you reach the bottom of
the stairs.
9. When you reach down of the flight of stairs, the assistants may
gently lower the casters and rear wheels on the floor.
10. Assistants should always grab the frame of the wheelchair to
lift you. NEVER grab the push handles, back canes, wheels,
footrest or any moving parts to lift the wheelchair.
If you ignore these warnings, you may fall, tip over or lose control of
the wheelchair and seriously injure yourself or others and damage
your wheelchair.
6.5.6 ESCALATOR
Under no circumstances should this wheelchair be used on an
escalator, not even with the help of an attendant. This could cause
severe injuries.
7. HOW TO USE YOUR APEX
7.1 FOLDING & UNFOLDING
7.1.1 FOLDING THE BACKREST
• Remove any side guards, mudguards or armrest (if equipped).
• Pull the backrest release cable located behind the seat to
unlock the backrest.
• Fold the backrest until it locks in the closed position if applica-
ble.
7.1.2 UNFOLDING THE BACKREST
WARNING
When unfolding the backrest, be careful not to put your fin-
gers between the pivot links. Make sure the backrest is fully
unfolded before transferring or sitting.
• Pull the backrest release cable located behind the seat to
unlock the backrest.
• Unfold the backrest until it locks in the closed position if appli-
cable..
7.2 WHEEL LOCKS
WARNING
Never use wheel locks to slow or stop wheelchair movement.
WHEEL LOCKS ARE NOT BRAKES. Make sure the surface is
not slippery as the wheelchair could move even though the
wheel locks are engaged.
WARNING
Ensure that the stem locks embed at least 3 mm into the
tire when chair is in locked position. Tire must be inflated
properly.
WARNING
Ensure the wheelchair is stable and locked before engaging
wheel locks.
• To engage the wheel locks, push wheel lock handle forward (for
push-to-lock type) or pull wheel lock handle backward (for pull-
to-lock type) until the wheel locks is fully engaged.
• To release the wheel locks, pull wheel lock handle backward
(for push-to-lock type) or push wheel lock handle forward (for
pull-to lock type) until the lock is fully disengaged.
