Rating:
I bought a Veloped Tour (with 12-inch wheels) online from Trionic in May 2020 for my 86-year-old father. To everyone’s delight, my father was immediately able to walk much faster, much further, and much more easily than before.
One of the specific difficulties had been the very uneven ground all around my parents’ house, especially gravel paths. Trying to go for a walk on gravel with a “conventional” rollator was very hard work and very frustrating. In contrast, the Veloped has been able to handle rough terrain with ease, right from the first outing. My father finds it extremely easy to use and to push, and can now walk without stopping for an astonishingly long time. Instead of being confined to the small patio/terrace by the house, he can now go and explore all around.
When I asked my father for his review, his comments were, “everyone admires the design”, “easy and pleasant to use”, “a quality product”, “easy to fold” (and easy to squeeze to make it go through narrow doors). As an engineer, my father especially admired the design of the brakes. He asked whether the Veloped could be turned into a wheelchair (it can't), but I suspect this is because he can now walk much further than before, and maybe would rather not have to walk all the way back! Maybe this is an idea for the “next generation” of Velopeds? In the meantime, my father uses the seat when he needs to rest, and finds it quite comfortable.
My father also mentioned that he would have appreciated a small (bicycle) pump as part of the package, in case the tires need to be inflated. However, this has not been an issue so far (and pumps are readily available from other family members, or I believe as a separate accessory from Trionic).
Overall, I am thrilled to see the immediate positive difference that the Veloped has made in my father’s life. I feel the Veloped is allowing my father to rediscover his adventurous self, and enabling him to “boldly go where no rollator has gone before”!
I would like to add that it has been a pleasure to communicate with Trionic (Stefan), who has always responded to my enquiries (by phone or email) with speed, technical knowledge, and efficiency. At first, I thought Trionic was not responding to emails, but their initial responses had been misdirected to my “junk” mail.
One last comment: the Veloped was delivered to Belgium by UPS (courier service), which allows package tracking and should normally result in prompt delivery. However, my parents’ house is a bit hard to find, and in the end, my family had to collect the 18kg box from the UPS distribution centre. So if you place an order, I would suggest including plenty of details to help UPS find the delivery address for this very special package.
Regards,
M Cummings
Herr B.C.
