I have been using Frog Legs casters and forks for 22 years. I had the privilege of testing the new prototype Whisper Wheel in the development phase. This new caster was an immediately noticeable improvement from the traditional soft-roll casters that I had grown to know, love and demand on all of my wheelchairs. The first thing I notice was how silent they were over minor deviations in flooring and tile. At home, my cats were startled because they couldn’t hear me coming up to them since the wheels absorb so much of the vibration that traditionally causes minor sounds. I accidentally startled family members who couldn’t hear me coming up (who are well used to the sounds of my wheelchair with traditional casters). Honestly, I was shocked at what an improvement in acoustics these new wheels provide.
When, traveling in Europe, I was extremely impressed how much they improved the rolling and dampening characteristics of driving over cobbled streets (even heavy indented and worn cobblestones).
With upper-motor-neuron, velocity driven clonus secondary to my T2 paraplegia, I am keenly aware of the effects of vibration transmitted from uneven ground through my wheelchair, triggering spasms and making balance difficult. The new Whisper Wheels have a marked improvement in mitigating spasticity on all terrains.
Perhaps most impressive from a use-case perspective… the new wheels handle uneven transitions (like catching the edge of a caster while rolling parallel to an uneven surface such as the beginning of a carpet or a molding piece or transition to a ramp. Normally, once the caster comes in contact, the fork immediately deviates and pulls the wheelchair one direction or another… or worse, takes a chunk out of the caster as I have had happen on inferior casters in the past. The new Whisper Wheels handle these transitions seamlessly by accommodating and flexing as needed and rebounding without disrupting the wheelchairs forward propulsion dynamics in any way. Truly remarkable, but it is more difficult to describe than it would be to demonstrate.
The bottom line is that these new casters are the perfect evolution which improves upon the best caster in the industry: the Frog Legs Soft-Roll Caster. The Whisper Wheels set the bar impossibly high for any competitor to catch-up to. After decades of improvements in materials processing and fabrication, the technology finally caught up with the design brilliance of Frog Legs to finally offer end-users the next evolution in rolling perfection. As I joke with my friends: “These are the casters John Wick would choose.” Hyperbole aside, these new wheels perform great on the Uni-Tine forks; adding a degree of dampening noticeable immediately with no downsides. Pair the new Whisper Wheels with a Phase II hybrid fork, and you will have the ultimate, no-compromises suspension offering unparalleled rolling dynamics and unbelievable dampening and vibration mitigation.
As a Frog Legs user for over two decades, all I can say is Thank You Frog Legs for your constant innovation and attention to our community!
