Looking to buy a used (aka cheap) race wheelchair

Hey buddy.  Not sure about the chair, but I know my neighbor has been in a wheel chair since Viet Nam.  He used to be in a wheelchair basketball league and has some fancy wheels hanging in his garage.  So if and when you find a chair, let me know about wheels, and I'll see if he is still using them.  

P.S.  6 kids!  Yikes, I have my hands full with two...

Here are a couple of thoughts:

• Look at the Challenged Athletes Foundation grants (http://www.challengedathletes.org/site/c.4nJHJQPqEiKUE/b.6452665/k.AFE4/Grant_Application.htm). Their grant process is a little cumbersome and it's very time constrained (the grant application window opens in December), but they fund the vast majority of grant requests that meet their criteria. They will also assist with finding someone to measure and fill out the order form - a racing wheelchair is very technical and must fit correctly or there's no point.
• If your wife is by any chance a veteran, talk to the VA, which will fund sports equipment.
• Assuming you can find some expert assistance in measuring, racing chairs do come up on Ebay and Craigslist.
• Another source for used chairs is Bike-on (http://bike-on.com/)
• Look for an adaptive sports organization or Paralympic Sports Club (http://findaclub.usparalympics.org/) in your area.
• Some city/county recreation departments also have adaptive sports programs or therapeutic recreational specialists who can be a useful resource.

That said, as a non-veteran with a relatively good income (computer programmer), after scrounging around for a while I wound up buying a new racing chair at full price, but I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of it.

Oh, and most of the above assumes you are in the US.

Here's another thought.

Depending on your wife's fitness level, endurance, tolerance for discomfort, and the nature of her impairment, she may want to consider handcycling instead.

Body position in a racing chair is a tight Z, with hips and knees fully flexed. In a handcycle (unless it's a kneeler), the rider is semi-recumbent with legs fully extended. Handcycles have gears, so a novice will be able to train to do a marathon distance much faster than a wheelchair racer.

There is currently a debate going on in the adaptive sports community about handcycles in road races, and the handcycle faction is winning: more and more marathons now have handcycle divisions separate from the pushrim (racing) wheelchair division.

Two things:

1. Post a wanted ad over on slowtwitch's classifeds. I've seen rarer requests fulfilled.

2. I've got a friend in the custom wheelchair business. I'm not certain he could help, but it's worth a shot. PM me your e-mail address and I'll put you in touch with him.