Pick your kick scooter for sightseeing by taking into account your weight, height, and shoe size.
All scooters are rated for body weight. While you can usually stretch their specifications a bit, a 275 pound person should not scoot on a scooter rated for 220 pounds. The lower weight rating on scooters often indicates that they are better suited for short people.
Your height, not your weight, determines whether you can properly stand on a scooter. Ideally, a kicks scooter’s fully extended handlebar should at least reach your waist. If, when you stand upright on its floorboard, you bend slightly to touch its handlebar, the kick scooter is too small. If you must “make do,” you can usually have a longer handlebar/poll crafted at a bike shop, but the new length might alter some other feature that the kick scooter provides.
While children often scoot on smooth asphalt playgrounds, sightseers cannot pre-select uniform scooting surfaces. More likely, you’ll find yourself traveling from smooth to rough surfaces, such as those found in San Antonio’s glorious Riverwalk. If your push scooter doesn’t fit your body type, rough areas will be very uncomfortable, cause imbalance, and possibly be dangerous due to poor shock absorption that’s stressed by your weight.
Scooting techniques: Take the time to learn your scooter’s navigational behavior. Speed control, for example, is exceptionally important. Keep in mind that it is very easy to travel at speeds far faster than walking. Dragging your kick foot along the ground for speed control is not enough to suddenly stop it (especially when rolling downhill) without pitching forward.
I prefer an alternate-leg pushing technique because it equalizes the pressure on my hips and can greatly extend the time spent traveling. To execute this maneuver, however, the floorboard must be long enough to rest two feet. The picture below shows that I can execute the alternate-leg push on my beloved Original Kickboard (a 3-wheel scooter), but just barely when wearing size 9 woman’s athletic shoes. Small feet on this kick scooter rule.
Micro kick scooter
photo: Karen Little
No matter which pushing technique you use, you need enough room on the floorboard to position a foot near the back fender brake without continuously resting it on the brake itself. Overall, when rolling (or “cruising”) having the ability to place both feet on your scooter’s foot-board makes sightseeing and the distances covered during it more pleasurable.
Carrying and packing a scooter: An adult kick scooter takes up less floor space than a bike, about the same space as a portable shopping cart, and less space than a baby stroller. This means that unfolded scooters can be pulled in areas used by carts, strollers, and bike-accessible areas.
When folded, my preference is to roll my kick scooter like a shopping cart. Not all scooters allow this, although adjustments can be made. No matter what, minimize your need to haul a folded scooter.After all, the object of this portable transportation device is to scoot. Click for a quality selection of adult kick scooters.
To contact the editor of this story, email Karen Little
Karen Little is the publisher of Littleviews.com
Do you know the brand of that 3 wheeled scooter shown on this page? I think it may offer a little more stability for someone that is not as crazy about the “wobble”. Thanks.
Hi – that is me on a Kickboard Kick – http://www.kickboardusa.com/ – and that is me riding it. Here’s the problem: This scooter was designed for people who skateboard. These people can steer with their feet. The model I tried actually had a handlebar and it was put together for me. With the handlebar, it did not steer as well as a regular scooter BUT it had a number of other pluses – it was very light, it stood by itself (a great plus), it was very stable, and it folded very easily.
I believe that Kick is selling a smaller model of this scooter with a handlebar, but not this one, which works well for an adult (at least an adult around 5’5″ tall). IMHO, if Kick re-engineers this scooter for a handlebar and better steering, it would be a success for the adult market. As it is, it is not really usable.
Hello,
Thank you so much for sharing. I tripped over the “KickPed” scooter while looking for folding bikes. I am so excited. I looked around at scooters and thought to myself that the KickPed looked like the one. We usually gather info and read and look and look some more and then gather more info and on and on. Some how I just felt that the KickPed could be it (not knowing a thing about scooters and not having been on one once since I was a kid).
My husband is about six feet and 180 lbs. He is narrow at the hips and broader at the shoulders with long arms, fingers, toes and legs. He might be 5’10″. (sister of almost six feet, brother of 6’5″ and another brother of 6’7″). Pieter is 57 and I am 54. I, on the other hand am about 5’8″, not very long arms, and not very long below the knee and fairly long above the knee. I can wear a size large (elastic at top) pants, stretchy things. I do, how ever weigh about 215 to 220. Have not looked lately. I am fitting into smaller sizes, so, I’m not worrying. I have always been a solid one. I can imagine that the long handle on the KickPed would be good for Pieter. I am wondering about the handle length for me. I would imagine the shorter of the two. I felt allot better reading the 300lb. limit for the scooter. I did not feel very stable at reading the other scooter limits might be at my very weight. I’m working on it, but, from a 22-24 size down to a large? I’m not asking any questions. I have a diet, it’s called the “shut your mouth diet”.
My idea was not to walk around five miles while we go to DC to see all the spectaculars that our taxes have paid for. Do you know if you can get off a scooter and walk it through a store or museum or ride it on the side walk? Walking so much in any heat would just do me in. The KickPed does not seem to fold down as much as the others, but we may not have to go there very often. It is smaller than a folding bike. When I bring something up and I never even hear a grunt about the idea, I know there is not much excitement around it. Maybe this will do the job.
We have a small 21′ class C motor home that we drive across country in. His mother is in NJ. I was born and grew up in the Bay area. Now we are clear up North and about to turn into ducks with all this rain. (better than being fined because you went over your rationed water-Santa Cruz) Still need to take care of it where ever you are.
Thanks for your time in reading this and replying if that is so the case.
from Vicki