"Mike" wrote in message
...
It would help people such as yourself, it the load was more over the
wheel.
I have just looked at my wheel barrow and the centre of the wheel is under
the centre of the sloping front, therefore none of the load is on the
wheel,
well, relatively little. With more over the wheel and the handles made
lower
to the ground in the resting position, then tall or short alike could use
the barrow with arms straight.

With this method of design, when carrying a wet load, such as a barrow
full
of redimix, the load would not 'slurp' out of the front, the front would
be
higher and the back brought up to the level.

Unfortunately, putting the wheel under the load in the case of a wheelbarrow
creates more problems than it solves. The load then becomes that much
higher, meaning you have to shovel your contents higher, unless a very small
wheel is used, in which case it tends to bog in on wet ground.

Also, it puts the C of G much higher, which results in a tendency to topple
over sideways, and the pusher is forced to try to counteract it, which puts
much strain on the arms.

The design of the wheelbarrow is obviously not perfect, but it is one of
those things which has evolved as far as is practical. Various improvements
have been tried, but AFAIK none have seriously improved the breed. I believe
it has reached the optimum compromise. I wish the OP every success in
his/her endeavours, but I think the wheelbarrow "as is" is going to be the
norm for the foreseeable future.

As regards the ballbarrow, I read a while ago that Dyson was *allegedly*
levered out of his own company by his partner(s) of the time, and lost the
rights to his own invention.

Steve