A WISPER FROM DOWNUNDER
Hi everyone,
When I was 12 years of age my parents bought me a new bike with a cautionary advice “ look after it because you will not get another one!” And so I did. Then in my mid-seventies I had a thought that now I had retired to this bonza township of Otaki (situated on the West Coast of New Zealand, in the lower North Island) with it’s abundance of flat land and great weather, (the snow we see is on the tops of the Tararua mountain ranges just east of Otaki in the winter), now would be a good time to reintroduce myself to cycling again.
I treated myself to a bike (no one else volunteered!) That had 21 gears, wobbled off, learning how to use the gears as I had never ridden a bike with gears before, and before long I felt that on a bike I was in my youth again, thanks mainly to the gears.
This, not being my biography, brings me to about four months ago, now 83 years of age, when I started having serious breathing problems that turned out to be a heart condition and cycling seemed to be at an end. But then we really don’t give up that easily do we?
I started looking into a possible solution of a cycle with an electrical motor to assist the rider. I have to say that bikes with electric assist in New Zealand are a rare species with just the occasional agent selling a particular brand (about four) in different parts of the North Island. Then I arrived at this site. Thanks guy’s for your input in this forum because without you I would not have been able to evaluate and buy the 905SE Sport, sight unseen, from Richard in Auckland, New Zealand. I’m talking to friends on this forum here, not strangers.
So I finally get to the point where I received the Wisper, Tuesday last at 3pm. The first thing that impressed me was the box as it was being wheeled into the garage. It is without a doubt the strongest cardboard box I have ever seen. The second thing that impressed me was that it had a lid that simply had to be lifted off to get at the contents once the ties had been removed. No ripping the box to pieces. No cussing either.
The first thing was to charge the battery, although in the event, the first ride took place the next morning because of the time it took to fully charge the battery in relation to the amount of daylight left. Taking the bike pieces out of the box wasn’t a problem, neither was the assembling of the pieces to the bike. It was before the bike arrived that assembling the pieces was a problem. The things that the mind throws up at you!
What a handsome bike the Wisper is! I’ve seen photo’s of some other electric assist bikes, names that would be strange to you on this forum, that bring to mind words like chunky and ugly, you know the extra’s have been thrown at the bike and stuck.
The next morning, with a great deal of anticipation, I checked the bike to make sure that everything was ready for the initial ride. The saddle and handlebars were in their respective place on the bike, transposed they could have caused a fair bit of consternation. Hey, at my age anything could happen. Turned the battery key one notch, seems like turning the key to the second setting only achieves the same result so forget that, got my 83 year old male leg over the saddle, pressed the red button on the handlebar, pressed down on the pedal. Whew! That’s hard work getting the bike moving, involuntary turned the throttle a little and shot forward. Fortunately I was still in the driveway and because I wasn’t peddling the bike stopped. So forewarned I used the throttle gently when pressing the pedal and took off in a controlled and gentle way. Then I was on the busy road gingerly moving gears while controlling the throttle. I suppose that within a hundred yards from where I started it could be reasonably said that I was in control of the bike. That alone says a lot for the bike design.
On that first ride it was the throttle that disconcerted me. Instead of a smooth progression like you get on a motorcycle there is an internal strong spring that was at war with my hand. The spring wanted to shut the throttle off, my hand wanted to open throttle to achieve a pedal speed suitable to me. I should say that we have reached some sort of agreement of compromise since then that allows me to reach a suitable pedal speed while the spring is a constant reminder that I can’t have it all my way. Richard confirms that the spring is a safety feature.
That first ride showed that I needn’t give up cycling after all. Can’t say how much this means to me but cycling is part of my life. I wouldn’t enjoy riding the bike by the use of the motor only though, to me using the pedals is a great part of the pleasure of bike riding but I do now need the assistance of the motor to achieve this.
To sum up my four days limited experience of riding the Wisper. I love it. It could be the bike for almost everyone. It can be a tiger, it can be a pussycat. Rider’s choice I think. Thanks again guys. Best wishes John.
Hi everyone,
When I was 12 years of age my parents bought me a new bike with a cautionary advice “ look after it because you will not get another one!” And so I did. Then in my mid-seventies I had a thought that now I had retired to this bonza township of Otaki (situated on the West Coast of New Zealand, in the lower North Island) with it’s abundance of flat land and great weather, (the snow we see is on the tops of the Tararua mountain ranges just east of Otaki in the winter), now would be a good time to reintroduce myself to cycling again.
I treated myself to a bike (no one else volunteered!) That had 21 gears, wobbled off, learning how to use the gears as I had never ridden a bike with gears before, and before long I felt that on a bike I was in my youth again, thanks mainly to the gears.
This, not being my biography, brings me to about four months ago, now 83 years of age, when I started having serious breathing problems that turned out to be a heart condition and cycling seemed to be at an end. But then we really don’t give up that easily do we?
I started looking into a possible solution of a cycle with an electrical motor to assist the rider. I have to say that bikes with electric assist in New Zealand are a rare species with just the occasional agent selling a particular brand (about four) in different parts of the North Island. Then I arrived at this site. Thanks guy’s for your input in this forum because without you I would not have been able to evaluate and buy the 905SE Sport, sight unseen, from Richard in Auckland, New Zealand. I’m talking to friends on this forum here, not strangers.
So I finally get to the point where I received the Wisper, Tuesday last at 3pm. The first thing that impressed me was the box as it was being wheeled into the garage. It is without a doubt the strongest cardboard box I have ever seen. The second thing that impressed me was that it had a lid that simply had to be lifted off to get at the contents once the ties had been removed. No ripping the box to pieces. No cussing either.
The first thing was to charge the battery, although in the event, the first ride took place the next morning because of the time it took to fully charge the battery in relation to the amount of daylight left. Taking the bike pieces out of the box wasn’t a problem, neither was the assembling of the pieces to the bike. It was before the bike arrived that assembling the pieces was a problem. The things that the mind throws up at you!
What a handsome bike the Wisper is! I’ve seen photo’s of some other electric assist bikes, names that would be strange to you on this forum, that bring to mind words like chunky and ugly, you know the extra’s have been thrown at the bike and stuck.
The next morning, with a great deal of anticipation, I checked the bike to make sure that everything was ready for the initial ride. The saddle and handlebars were in their respective place on the bike, transposed they could have caused a fair bit of consternation. Hey, at my age anything could happen. Turned the battery key one notch, seems like turning the key to the second setting only achieves the same result so forget that, got my 83 year old male leg over the saddle, pressed the red button on the handlebar, pressed down on the pedal. Whew! That’s hard work getting the bike moving, involuntary turned the throttle a little and shot forward. Fortunately I was still in the driveway and because I wasn’t peddling the bike stopped. So forewarned I used the throttle gently when pressing the pedal and took off in a controlled and gentle way. Then I was on the busy road gingerly moving gears while controlling the throttle. I suppose that within a hundred yards from where I started it could be reasonably said that I was in control of the bike. That alone says a lot for the bike design.
On that first ride it was the throttle that disconcerted me. Instead of a smooth progression like you get on a motorcycle there is an internal strong spring that was at war with my hand. The spring wanted to shut the throttle off, my hand wanted to open throttle to achieve a pedal speed suitable to me. I should say that we have reached some sort of agreement of compromise since then that allows me to reach a suitable pedal speed while the spring is a constant reminder that I can’t have it all my way. Richard confirms that the spring is a safety feature.
That first ride showed that I needn’t give up cycling after all. Can’t say how much this means to me but cycling is part of my life. I wouldn’t enjoy riding the bike by the use of the motor only though, to me using the pedals is a great part of the pleasure of bike riding but I do now need the assistance of the motor to achieve this.
To sum up my four days limited experience of riding the Wisper. I love it. It could be the bike for almost everyone. It can be a tiger, it can be a pussycat. Rider’s choice I think. Thanks again guys. Best wishes John.
