When shopping for a power wheelchair, suspension probably isn't the first specification you look at.

Speed, driving range, seat comfort, turning radius, and battery life usually receive more attention.

But once you start using a power wheelchair every day, suspension can become much more important.

Why?

Because the surfaces we travel across aren't perfectly smooth.

Door thresholds, flooring transitions, sidewalk joints, curb ramps, cracked pavement, and parking lots can all send movement and vibration through a wheelchair.

That's where suspension comes in.

What Does Power Wheelchair Suspension Actually Do?

A power wheelchair suspension system helps the power base respond to bumps, changes in elevation, and uneven surfaces.

The basic idea is similar to suspension on a vehicle.

When a wheel encounters an obstacle, you don't necessarily want the entire wheelchair and its user to experience that movement in exactly the same way.

A suspension system allows parts of the power base to move and respond to the terrain.

But suspension isn't simply about making a chair feel softer.

Good suspension design also considers comfort, stability, traction, and keeping the drive wheels properly engaged with the surface.

Wheelchair Vibration Is a Real Consideration

Researchers have studied whole-body vibration in wheelchair users because repeated vibration and shock can affect comfort.

A 2023 study published in Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology noted that research has demonstrated negative effects associated with whole-body vibration and examined methods for measuring vibration during real-world power wheelchair driving.

Other research has specifically examined power wheelchairs crossing different surface transitions and thresholds.

The important takeaway isn't that every bump is dangerous.

It's that the surface underneath a power wheelchair can affect what the user experiences while driving.

For someone who spends hours each day in a power chair, ride quality deserves consideration.

Even Your Home Has Uneven Surfaces

You don't have to go outside to encounter surface changes.

Think about moving from:

• Hardwood to carpet
• Tile to hardwood
• One room into another
• Across a doorway threshold
• Over flooring transition strips
• From inside the house onto a porch or ramp

These may seem like very small obstacles when you're walking.

A power wheelchair has to move several wheels across each transition while carrying the user and the weight of the chair.

Suspension can help the power base respond to those changes.

Why Thresholds Matter

A doorway threshold is a good example.

The front casters encounter the obstacle first.

Then the drive wheels cross it.

Finally, the rear casters follow.

The wheelchair's suspension, wheel size, caster design, tires, and drivetrain all influence how that transition feels.

This is also why looking for the word "suspension" on a specification sheet isn't enough.

The entire power base works as a system.

Suspension Is Especially Important With Mid-Wheel Drive

In the first article in this series, we explained that mid-wheel drive places the powered wheels near the center of the wheelchair.

That design can provide excellent maneuverability and a tight turning radius.

But there's another consideration.

When the front or rear casters encounter an obstacle, the power base needs to respond while keeping the center drive wheels in useful contact with the ground.

If a wheelchair becomes high-centered, the powered wheels can lose traction.

Suspension design helps manage how the different wheels move as the chair crosses uneven surfaces.

That's why mid-wheel drive and suspension should be considered together rather than as completely separate features.

Comfort, Stability, and Traction

When evaluating power wheelchair suspension, three words are worth remembering:

Comfort

Suspension can help reduce some of the impact and vibration transmitted through the wheelchair.

Stability

The power base needs to remain controlled as it travels across changing surfaces, accelerates, brakes, and turns.

Traction

The powered wheels need effective contact with the ground so the wheelchair can continue moving.

A good suspension system attempts to balance all three.

What Happens Outside the Home?

Once you go outside, the number of surface changes increases considerably.

Typical sidewalks may have:

• Expansion joints
• Cracks
• Uneven sections
• Repairs
• Driveway crossings
• Curb ramps
• Changes in slope

Parking lots introduce additional pavement seams, drainage areas, patches, and transitions.

These aren't necessarily extreme conditions.

They're normal environments that many power wheelchair users encounter regularly.

Suspension becomes especially relevant when a chair is expected to transition between indoor and outdoor environments throughout the day.

Does Suspension Mean a Power Chair Can Go Off-Road?

No.

This is an important distinction.

A power wheelchair having suspension doesn't automatically make it an off-road mobility device.

Suspension is only one part of the design.

Outdoor capability also depends on:

• Ground clearance
• Drive-wheel size
• Caster size
• Tire design
• Motor performance
• Traction
• Wheelchair stability

Deep gravel, mud, sand, rough trails, and steep terrain can still be inappropriate for many everyday power wheelchairs.

Always follow the manufacturer's operating guidelines.

Wheel Size Matters Too

Suspension doesn't work by itself.

Wheel size can also influence how a wheelchair approaches small obstacles and surface changes.

Larger drive wheels generally negotiate certain small obstacles differently than smaller wheels.

Caster size matters as well because the casters are often the first wheels to encounter a threshold or pavement transition.

That's why it's useful to look at wheel size, suspension, ground clearance, and drivetrain together.

What About Solid Tires?

Many everyday power wheelchairs use solid tires.

The obvious advantage is reliability.

A solid tire can't develop the type of flat associated with a pneumatic tire.

For someone who depends on a power wheelchair every day, that's valuable.

However, air-filled tires can provide some cushioning of their own.

With solid tires, the design of the wheelchair's suspension becomes an important part of managing bumps and surface transitions.

Not All Suspension Systems Are the Same

This is another important lesson from the research and other power wheelchair manufacturers.

Suspension isn't simply something a wheelchair either "has" or "doesn't have."

Different manufacturers use different suspension designs, springs, chassis geometry, tires, caster systems, and methods of keeping the drive wheels engaged with the ground.

Some systems are adjustable.

Some are active.

Others use more traditional suspension designs.

So when comparing power wheelchairs, don't assume two chairs will ride the same simply because both advertise suspension.

A Real-World Example: Jazzy EVO 613 Li

The Jazzy EVO 613 Li gives us a useful example of how several components can work together.

Pride equips the chair with:

• Active-Trac ATX Suspension
• Mid-Wheel 6 Technology
• 13-inch solid drive wheels
• 5-inch front casters
• 5-inch rear casters
• 3 inches of ground clearance at the motor bracket

Pride describes its Active-Trac ATX system as helping provide a smoother ride over uneven surfaces.

But the suspension shouldn't be considered in isolation.

The EVO 613 Li also has a narrow 22-inch base and 22-inch turning radius.

That combination is intended to provide tight indoor maneuverability while still giving the chair the ability to handle common everyday surfaces outside the home.

Will Suspension Help on Grass?

Possibly, but suspension isn't what determines whether a chair can successfully travel across every grassy surface.

Short, firm, dry grass is very different from:

• Wet grass
• Deep grass
• Soft soil
• Mud
• Uneven ground

Suspension may help the chair respond to changes in the terrain, but it can't create traction where there isn't enough.

The same principle applies to gravel and other loose surfaces.

Who Should Pay Particular Attention to Suspension?

Suspension becomes more important if you regularly move between:

• Home and driveway
• Sidewalks and parking lots
• Medical offices and stores
• Restaurants and community spaces

If nearly all of your wheelchair use occurs on smooth indoor flooring, other features may rank higher on your priority list.

Your environment should determine how important suspension is to your buying decision.

What Should You Compare?

When comparing power wheelchairs, look beyond the name of the suspension system.

Consider:

• Suspension design
• Drive-wheel position
• Drive-wheel size
• Caster size
• Tire type
• Ground clearance
• Overall width
• Turning radius
• Manufacturer recommendations for terrain

Then think about where you actually travel.

That's when the specifications start becoming meaningful.

Final Thoughts

So, does power wheelchair suspension really matter?

For many users, yes.

Suspension can affect how a wheelchair responds to thresholds, flooring transitions, sidewalk joints, pavement changes, and other surfaces encountered throughout everyday life.

But suspension isn't a magic feature that makes every wheelchair comfortable on every surface.

The complete power base matters.

Wheel size, caster design, tires, drivetrain, ground clearance, and suspension all work together to determine how a chair behaves.

The Jazzy EVO 613 Li is a good example, combining Active-Trac ATX Suspension with Mid-Wheel 6 Technology and 13-inch solid drive wheels.

When comparing power wheelchairs, don't just ask how fast they go or how far they travel.

Ask how the chair is designed to handle the surfaces between where you are and where you want to go.

Continue Learning

This article is part of our Jazzy EVO 613 Li Resource Series.

So far, we've covered:

• What Is Mid-Wheel Drive in a Power Wheelchair?
• Power Wheelchair Width and Turning Radius: Why Both Matter

Next, we'll move into one of the biggest reasons we're building this series around the EVO 613 Li:

Lithium Power Wheelchairs: What Changes When Your Chair Uses Lithium?

And when you're ready to see how everything comes together, the final article in this series is our complete buyer's guide:

Pride Jazzy EVO 613 Li Buyer's Guide: Is It Right for You?

Official References and Additional Resources

• National Library of Medicine / PMC – Analysis of Whole-Body Vibration Using Electric Powered Wheelchairs on Surface Transitions
• RESNA – Effects of Suspension on the Vibrations Experienced During Wheelchair Propulsion
• Sunrise Medical – Power Wheelchair Suspension
• Pride Mobility – Jazzy EVO 613 Li
• Pride Mobility – Jazzy EVO 613 Li Specifications
• Pride Mobility – Jazzy EVO 613 Li Manuals and Resources