Buying Guide

Welcome to the Scooter Buying Guide

We put together a quick buying guide to help make it easier to understand and purchase scooters and scooter parts.

Let’s start with the basics, the scooters we sell are in the kick / push scooter family and are called Freestyle Scooters.

Back in early 2000, Razor was the first was the company that brought kick/push scooters into the spotlight in the US with the Razor A model and the Razor Pro Model. Since then they have come up with a bunch of new products including; electric scooters, kick scooters, dirt bikes, wagons, and other electric ride on toys.

2 years ago the Razor Pro Model was really the only fairly decent complete push/kick scooter you could buy and it was only available online or at very very few local shops. The cheap Razor A model was available for $29.99 at target, walmart and other stores but it is really a toy. Today there are a lot more choices and local bike and skate shops are starting to carry Freestyle Scooters and Freestyle Scooter Parts.

Here is an overview of Freestyle Scooter parts (pics coming soon)

Deck
The main component of the freestyle scooter is the scooter deck. Decks come in a few different widths and lengths and vary by manufacturer. We prefer the 4” and 4.5” widths and 20” lengths. The 4.5” width is good for bigger riders that have bigger feet while the 4” deck is a lighter and easier to handle for the smaller or inexperienced riders. Decks need to have Grip Tape applied just like a skateboard so you can stay on the scooter.

Head Tube
The head tube is the front part of the deck where the fork and bars mount. Head tubes usually come in a few different angles that give the rider a different feel. We prefer the 81.5 / 82 degree angle but also make a 79 degree which is like the original Razor Pro Model.

HeadSet
The headset is what keeps the fork on the scooter and it gets installed into the head tube. There are two types, threaded and thread less headsets and depending on what type of fork you want to ride will determine which head set you need. Or whatever headset you have will determine which fork you can ride. The two main brands are FSA and Cane Creek, the FSA DH PRO is popular and Cane Creek S1 is popular. They also come in sealed bearing models like the DH PRO and the open bearing models like the FSA PIG, the sealed bearing models hold up better and are usually smoother and quieter.

Compression System
If you have a thread less headset you need a compression system to keep your fork on the scooter. There are three main types, ICS or inverted/internal compression systems, HIC or Hidden Internal Compression, and SCS or Standard Compression System. SCS is good but expensive, HIC is great and inexpensive but you need to have an oversized (1 3/8”) Bars to use it, so ICS is still used a lot. I won’t go into detail on how they each work but we will have videos soon to show you and some diagrams.

Forks
Forks come in two main types, threadless and threaded, and also can be made of two different types of  materials, aluminum and steel. Usually the aluminum forks are thread less but the steel come in threaded and thread less most of the time.

Bars
There are two main types of bars, one piece and 3 piece. Three piece bars or buff bars as they were named have a scooter stem that you bolt two pieces of aluminum or steel into and can be changed out pretty easily. One piece bars are the most popular and are usually made from 4130 chromoly steel and welded together but aluminum 1 piece are starting to show up. When you purchase bars you usually select the size both height and width to fit the rider. The height is usually just at the belly button as a guide. The width is usually a little wider than shoulder width.

Clamps
The clamp is what keeps your bars on the scooter and from moving side to side. A good solid clamp is important if you are riding hard and doing big tricks. Clamps are pretty basic, the only thing to know is the size, if you are buying oversized bars you need an oversized clamp 1 3/8”.

Grips
Just like bicycles, scooters need grips to hold onto, we prefer the ODI Longknecks and Animal Edwins.

Wheels
Wheels have two main components, the core or center part where the bearings go and the urethane that touches the ground. The Cores come in metal/aluminum and plastic. A good plastic core wheel is the Yak Original and our Pro riders prefer a good metal core scooter wheel like the Lucky or Eagle. Wheels also come in two main sizes, 100mm and 110mm. 110mm are popular on Freestyle scooters and the 100mm are more popular on the Razor Pro Model type scooters and for younger riders. 110mm wheels do not fit on Razor Pro Model forks and other forks. All of our forks fits 100mm and 110mm wheels.

Bearings
Every wheel has to have two bearings and a bearing spacer in the middle so the bearings do get damaged by over tightening. Bearings come in ABEC ratings with the higher the rating the faster the roll and less friction.

Brakes
The brake is pretty self explanatory, the main components are the brake itself, the mounting mechanism, usually a bolt, and the spring mechanism, usually a spring. We made our brakes adjustable so you can adjust the amount of distance between the brake and the wheel to make sure it feels good.