Wheels of Fortune

ROLLING ALONG THE streets and malls, it brings appreciative stares from strangers--just like a flashy bike or any other set of slick wheels would. In dazzling neon colors, it can take curves as quickly as any skateboard. But this is no scooter or street surfer. This is a wheelchair. Ramps not included.

Twelve years ago, Marilyn Hamilton crash-landed a hang glider on a cliff and became paralyzed from the waist down. Suddenly, sports-loving Hamilton found herself stuck in a standard, heavy steel “dinosaur” chair, which cramped her style--but not for long.

The Fresno businesswoman enlisted a couple of glider buddies with backgrounds in aerospace engineering to develop a model that would keep her rolling fast. The result was the aluminum Quickie. Soon it became part of a new generation of lightweight (about 20 pounds), maneuverable designs, ideal for people whose injuries or handicaps allow them to participate in sports, including competitive wheelchair tennis, basketball and road racing.

Cypress College student John Tatum recalls attacking his big 68-pounder with a hacksaw to scale it down and get relief from the severe upper-back pain it caused. Now he buzzes around campus in a custom-fitted, wine-red lightweight; lately, he’s been playing wheelchair tennis three times a week and says his back feels “pretty good.”

Manufactured with lightweight metals, polyurethane casters and precision- sealed bearings, these chairs glide almost effortlessly, turning corners with pizazz. Perfect for offices, classrooms, restaurants, discos--or a strollaround the block.