Hi,
As others have pointed out, they are solid rubber tires.  However, users report
it provides a noticeably smoother ride than other scooters (e.g. A5, Xooter, not
so sure about the "Micro Black" (not many have that model)).  The smoother ride
is probably due to the use of softer tire material and the fact the tires i
think are wider.  Here's a user review from Amazon.com comparing the A5 and
Knowped.  The xooter would be similar to the A5 in ride, I'm told, maybe harsher
even.


http://www.amazon.com/Razor-A5-Lux-Scooter/product-reviews/B004C6BGII/ref=cm_cr_\
pr_btm_link_next_4?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=0&pageNumber=4&sortBy=bySubmissionDate\
Descending

"Scooter Comparison, Razor A5, Go-Peds, Airwalk Grande, December 28, 2010"

As new reviews are added to the Amazon product page the link above will no
longer be accurate, so you'll have then list the reviews by date and find it
that way.


Will

Hi Valerie:

Thanks for such a helpful post. It came just in the nick of time, as I already had the Xootr MG in my shopping cart, but kept hesitating because of one troubling review in Amazon, a portion of which I quote below:

"Unfortunately, (the Xooter)  keeps trying to kill me.

Every time I hit a discontinuity on the road surface of more than a half-inch (a crack in the pavement, the edge of a metal plate placed on the street for repairs) the Xootr tries to take me on a 360 degree head-over-heels ride with the final destination, no doubt, being my head splashed on the pavement like a watermelon. (So far I've managed to leap off in time.)

Every time I ride it now it's with intense fear and concentration, scanning the road surface with life-and-death intensity, ready to leap aside and tumble should I hit a bump."

I am a mature baby boomer, and all I wanted to do was take out a scooter during lunch break, leisurely and safely scoot in front of and around the White House and down the Washington DC Mall area while dressed in my federal worker attire (dress shoes, long-sleeve shirt and tie, leaving the suit in the office). My sense of fashion says that the Xootr would be a more elegant solution because I could slip it into its bag and sneak out of the office without attracting attention, then unfold the scooter incognito once I'm out there, then sneaking back into the office. I've never seen a kick scooter in downtown DC, though there are lots of rental bikes and Segways. I guess there's a guy in the Veterans Admin agency who has one but I haven't seen him ride it.

Given my probably irrational fear (as in "Help! I'm falling, I can't get up!" ) of  falling, the pendulum is swinging again from the elegance of the Xootr design to the safety of the Goped which your post helped solidify in my mind. As to portability, I plan to take the scooter about once a week from home to the office and back, so as long as it fits in the commuter bus on my lap or between my legs, the Goped might fit the bill.

Finally, I am such a slow and bad rider that I once took the Virginia Motorcycle Safety course and I flunked because I could not negotiate a curve at high speed without slowing down. So I guess a slow, lumbering Goped would not be so bad after all.

Thanks again, and I guess I'll wait till this pm in case others want to weigh in on this issue - what will it be: the elegance and portability of the Xootr or the comfort and safety of the Goped? Decisions, decisions, decisions ...tsk, tsk, tsk.

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, Valerie Yaros <vyaros@...> wrote:
>
> Hello Fernando -- and everyone -- this is the first time I have replied to a
> post for the group, although I have been reading them for many months. I
> bought my Know-Ped in August 2009 (without being able to test it out, as no
> one carried them) and use it constantly -- although I had never been on a
> scooter in my life before.

I would like to put in my $0.02

I am somewhat of an avid standup scooter fan (to put it mildly).  I have 2
Xootrs, Razors (A5 Lux, A3), several Gopeds (gas and electric) and various other
motorized scooters.

Here's my take on ride comfort:

Xootr Street - good low rolling resistance, the wheels are wide enough to be
safe on the sidewalk and on the street - you should always keep your eye on the
road regardless - I always look ahead for any pot holes or cracks - I have not
had any problems with falling due to surface imperfections.  I have both front
and rear brakes on these and overall it works well for stopping - no abrupt
locking up of the wheels when braking.

Razor A5 - also good rolling resistance, wheels are about the same, perhaps a
bit narrower, rear brakes work OK, no abrupt stops.

Goped Sport - this is a similar setup as the Knowped, except for the fact that
there's a gas motor in the back.  Overall good for the street - the wheels have
a definitely wider track for cracks, but again, larger potholes will still be a
problem.  One thing to note, I had an "incident" last year where I was just
riding back/forth in my backyard and hit the front brakes which caused me to
fall forward, ending up tearing a tendon on my big toe....ouch.... it was likely
mostly my fault, but the brakes are definitely "grippy".  I am also currently
using my Goped ESR (electric) for commuting to work, this works much better as
it has pneumatic tires which cruise through road imperfections.

Here's my take on portability which I know is another important consideration:

Xootr Street - My wife and I have each packed our Xootrs in checked luggage and
have used them for various vacations in New York (I will definitely try to plan
our next trip around a scoot with the group in Central Park - which we did scoot
thru during our last trip there), California and New Orleans, they are also
relatively light to transport around town - I have the shoulder straps as well.

Razor A5 - I have used this on business trips, but I do not have a carrying
strap for this.

Goped Sport/Knowped - This is somewhat heavier - I believe the Xootr MG is
9.9lbs (my Street is 10.9lbs), the A5 is 13 lbs, the Knowped is 13lbs, which
would make it a bit harder to get around on public transport/travels.  The Xootr
and A5 handle bars also retract, cutting about 3 inches off the overall length
when folded.

Over the weekend, my wife and I took a 8 mile (round trip) scoot on our Xootrs
along the Chicago lakefront, no problems, and especially easy when we can simply
stop, fold up the Xootrs and strap them around our shoulders for carrying.  It
is an elegant and simply setup which just works.

Hope that helps.

Leonard

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "Filibogado" <fernando.tonolete@...>
wrote:
>
>
> Hi Valerie:
>
> Thanks for such a helpful post. It came just in the nick of time, as I
> already had the Xootr MG in my shopping cart, but kept hesitating
> because of one troubling review in Amazon, a portion of which I quote
> below:
>
> "Unfortunately, (the Xooter)  keeps trying to kill me.
>
> Every time I hit a discontinuity on the road surface of more than a
> half-inch (a crack in the pavement, the edge of a metal plate placed on
> the street for repairs) the Xootr tries to take me on a 360 degree
> head-over-heels ride with the final destination, no doubt, being my head
> splashed on the pavement like a watermelon. (So far I've managed to leap
> off in time.)
>
> Every time I ride it now it's with intense fear and concentration,
> scanning the road surface with life-and-death intensity, ready to leap
> aside and tumble should I hit a bump."
>
> I am a mature baby boomer, and all I wanted to do was take out a scooter
> during lunch break, leisurely and safely scoot in front of and around
> the White House and down the Washington DC Mall area while dressed in my
> federal worker attire (dress shoes, long-sleeve shirt and tie, leaving
> the suit in the office). My sense of fashion says that the Xootr would
> be a more elegant solution because I could slip it into its bag and
> sneak out of the office without attracting attention, then unfold the
> scooter incognito once I'm out there, then sneaking back into the
> office. I've never seen a kick scooter in downtown DC, though there are
> lots of rental bikes and Segways. I guess there's a guy in the Veterans
> Admin agency who has one but I haven't seen him ride it.
>
> Given my probably irrational fear (as in "Help! I'm falling, I can't get
> up!" ) of  falling, the pendulum is swinging again from the elegance of
> the Xootr design to the safety of the Goped which your post helped
> solidify in my mind. As to portability, I plan to take the scooter about
> once a week from home to the office and back, so as long as it fits in
> the commuter bus on my lap or between my legs, the Goped might fit the
> bill.
>
> Finally, I am such a slow and bad rider that I once took the Virginia
> Motorcycle Safety course and I flunked because I could not negotiate a
> curve at high speed without slowing down. So I guess a slow, lumbering
> Goped would not be so bad after all.
>
> Thanks again, and I guess I'll wait till this pm in case others want to
> weigh in on this issue - what will it be: the elegance and portability
> of the Xootr or the comfort and safety of the Goped? Decisions,
> decisions, decisions ...tsk, tsk, tsk.
>
> --- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, Valerie Yaros <vyaros@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Hello Fernando -- and everyone -- this is the first time I have
> replied to a
> > post for the group, although I have been reading them for many months.
> I
> > bought my Know-Ped in August 2009 (without being able to test it out,
> as no
> > one carried them) and use it constantly -- although I had never been
> on a
> > scooter in my life before.
>

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "L" <lho@...> wrote:
> Razor A5 - I have used this on business trips, but I do not have a carrying
strap for this.
>

A Xootr strap fits the A5 just fine, if you ever care to switch one from one of
your Xootrs.

> Goped Sport/Knowped - This is somewhat heavier - I believe the Xootr MG is
9.9lbs (my Street is 10.9lbs), the A5 is 13 lbs, the Knowped is 13lbs, which
would make it a bit harder to get around on public transport/travels.  The Xootr
and A5 handle bars also retract, cutting about 3 inches off the overall length
when folded.

The weight of the A5 is 8 lb, not 13.  This has been verified by Dorlene, me,
and I think a few others in this group.  The published specifications for the A5
are incorrect.

Well, I finally "bit the bullet" and ordered a Razor A5 Lux yesterday from
Amazon, instead of buying a KickPed from NYCeWheels.  It cost about $75, and
since I chose the free shipping, it should arrive sometime next week.  I decided
that since I couldn't test drive either scooter, I'd just go by the wheel size,
weight, and Dorlene's recommendation.

Now I just need to buy some non-Birkenstock shoes, and maybe wicking socks, for
my always-too-hot feet (my under-used athletic shoes are about 20 years old!)
and figure out which backpack will hold the purse and tote bag I normally carry,
and I'll be set!

I'll be happy to restart my human-powered commute to work after a 3-month hiatus
due to moving further away and losing my 1.5 mile / 30-minute walk (one way). 
My new route should be close to 3.5 miles, with about 75-85% of that on
relatively flat sidewalks and bike/walking paths here in hilly Seattle.  I'm
hoping that it'll take close to 30-45 minutes one way.  I've walked it a few
times, and it was something like 90 minutes -- way too long to do every day.

I'll let y'all know how it goes.

-laurie

Thanks, I have considered using the Xootr strap on the A5 - will try it out.

I did think that the A5 weight posted on the Razor site seemed off.

The shedding of a few pounds on these scooters does make a difference....I was
carry about 15 additional pounds (in my bag) on our lakefront trip....

Laurie - You will enjoy the A5, I strongly recommend closed-toed shoes for
scooting!

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "roybassist" <roybassist@...> wrote:
>
> --- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "L" <lho@> wrote:
> > Razor A5 - I have used this on business trips, but I do not have a carrying
strap for this.
> >
>
> A Xootr strap fits the A5 just fine, if you ever care to switch one from one
of your Xootrs.
>
> > Goped Sport/Knowped - This is somewhat heavier - I believe the Xootr MG is
9.9lbs (my Street is 10.9lbs), the A5 is 13 lbs, the Knowped is 13lbs, which
would make it a bit harder to get around on public transport/travels.  The Xootr
and A5 handle bars also retract, cutting about 3 inches off the overall length
when folded.
>
> The weight of the A5 is 8 lb, not 13.  This has been verified by Dorlene, me,
and I think a few others in this group.  The published specifications for the A5
are incorrect.
>

Thank you for posting this amazon.com review, Fernando. In Message
#1355, which I posted on 11/15/10, I said: "After several years of
riding Xootrs and frequent falls: wheel stopped dead when caught in a
sidewalk groove, hit a pebble or rut in the road, etc.; three times the
pin came apart and the Xootr collapsed; several times the handlebar fell
down because the bolt holding it loosened and I lost my balance." I
switched to the Razor A5 2 years ago and haven't had a mishap since.

I don't know what makes the A5's tires safer: the shape? the wider
width? the softness? a combination of all three?

The Xootr may be a more elegantly designed vehicle but in my experience
it's not as safe as the A5.

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "Filibogado"
<fernando.tonolete@...> wrote:
>
>
> Hi Valerie:
>
> Thanks for such a helpful post. It came just in the nick of time, as I
> already had the Xootr MG in my shopping cart, but kept hesitating
> because of one troubling review in Amazon, a portion of which I quote
> below:
>
> "Unfortunately, (the Xooter)  keeps trying to kill me.
>
> Every time I hit a discontinuity on the road surface of more than a
> half-inch (a crack in the pavement, the edge of a metal plate placed
on
> the street for repairs) the Xootr tries to take me on a 360 degree
> head-over-heels ride with the final destination, no doubt, being my
head
> splashed on the pavement like a watermelon. (So far I've managed to
leap
> off in time.)
>
> Every time I ride it now it's with intense fear and concentration,
> scanning the road surface with life-and-death intensity, ready to leap
> aside and tumble should I hit a bump."
>
> I am a mature baby boomer, and all I wanted to do was take out a
scooter
> during lunch break, leisurely and safely scoot in front of and around
> the White House and down the Washington DC Mall area while dressed in
my
> federal worker attire (dress shoes, long-sleeve shirt and tie, leaving
> the suit in the office). My sense of fashion says that the Xootr would
> be a more elegant solution because I could slip it into its bag and
> sneak out of the office without attracting attention, then unfold the
> scooter incognito once I'm out there, then sneaking back into the
> office. I've never seen a kick scooter in downtown DC, though there
are
> lots of rental bikes and Segways. I guess there's a guy in the
Veterans
> Admin agency who has one but I haven't seen him ride it.
>
> Given my probably irrational fear (as in "Help! I'm falling, I can't
get
> up!" ) of  falling, the pendulum is swinging again from the elegance
of
> the Xootr design to the safety of the Goped which your post helped
> solidify in my mind. As to portability, I plan to take the scooter
about
> once a week from home to the office and back, so as long as it fits in
> the commuter bus on my lap or between my legs, the Goped might fit the
> bill.
>
> Finally, I am such a slow and bad rider that I once took the Virginia
> Motorcycle Safety course and I flunked because I could not negotiate a
> curve at high speed without slowing down. So I guess a slow, lumbering
> Goped would not be so bad after all.
>
> Thanks again, and I guess I'll wait till this pm in case others want
to
> weigh in on this issue - what will it be: the elegance and portability
> of the Xootr or the comfort and safety of the Goped? Decisions,
> decisions, decisions ...tsk, tsk, tsk.
>
> --- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, Valerie Yaros vyaros@
> wrote:
> >
> > Hello Fernando -- and everyone -- this is the first time I have
> replied to a
> > post for the group, although I have been reading them for many
months.
> I
> > bought my Know-Ped in August 2009 (without being able to test it
out,
> as no
> > one carried them) and use it constantly -- although I had never been
> on a
> > scooter in my life before.
>

Most of my shoes are actually "open-heeled" (i.e., slip-ons), but I do realize
that I need both my toes AND heels secured safely inside any scooter shoes!

Yesterday, I got the idea of looking at those shoes that are a cross between
sneakers and river rafting shoes -- they kind of look like the skeleton of a
sneaker.  They should keep my hot feet cool plus be fairly "grippy" for those
slippery river rocks.  (Makes me miss whitewater rivers and my old days of
rafting and kayaking...)

-laurie

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "L" <lho@...> wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
> Laurie - You will enjoy the A5, I strongly recommend closed-toed shoes for
scooting!
>

Today's news: my scooter has shipped.  (Gotta love the irony, though -- I live
in Seattle, and Amazon shipped my scooter from PA!)  It's scheduled to arrive on
Tuesday.

-laurie

Well, I ended up buying a Razor A5 Lux, with the rationale that this is
just a training wheel, and as soon as I get comfortable, I would
immediately upgrade to a Know-ped or equivalent, and hand over the A5 to
my wife. Not having been on a kick scooter before, the first 5 minutes
on the A5 were sheer terror. I was shaking so badly that the scooter was
bucking like a wild bronco, trying to move forward, while my hands were
hanging on to dear life to the short handlebars.  This is not the A5's
fault, because I have the same shaking experience when I try to climb a
ladder and the ladder vibrates at a high frequency because of my nervous
energy.

After a few minutes, I told myself to relax and the scooter calmed down
too and glided smoothly from thereon. I did the same routine in the
afternoon and the nerves came back. I guess I'll have to do this every
day until the fear of falling goes away completely.

Some issues:

1. I really think I need a wider platform that I can plant both feet on
at the same time. I am left-handed and I am most comfortable kicking
with my left foot and standing on my right foot. I tried switching feet
in motion and I just can't do it efficiently. Thus, I need the extra
width to give my standing foot a rest.

2. I really need the front brake. While I can brake well with my left
foot, I cannot do so with my right foot. It is just so terrifying
hurtling down the  incline and lacking the confidence to apply the rear
brake with the right foot.  My left leg is just so dominant this way.

3. I tend to unconsciously keep pulling up the handlebars and I can feel
the front wheel levitate when it is not my intention to do so - I wonder
if its because my weight is so far back on the platform or its just that
I am holding on to the handlebars too tightly. I am 5' 10" and the
handlebar is level with my belly button. I wounder if I should bring it
down lower.

Conclusion: the Razoe A5 is great and the big wheels really give me a
big boost in confidence. So, unless Xootr upgrades their product line to
have a 8" wheel option, I guess my next purchase will have to be either
a Know-ped or that other model with the pneumatic tires that was being
touted for snow scooting. I will keep the A5 for airline travel purposes
to exotic destinations.

Otherwise, the Razor A5 delivers a silky smooth ride relatively
speaking, and I highly recommend it.

Fil

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

2011-05-31 22:25-0400 roybassist <roybassist@...> wrote:
>It may not be as comprehensive or as rigorous as you might like, but
>John (aka maskedmarvelswat) owns an instrument for measuring hardness,
>called a durometer, and he has used it to measure the hardness of the
>wheels of a number of different scooters.  Below are some of what I
>consider to be his most important findings.  This is excerpted from
>Message #1038 on the group web site: [...]

Very interesting. There is lots of science at work in scooters!

The full message has some other interesting comparisons:

http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/NYCKickScooters/message/1038

Liam

- --
Liam Morland <Liam@...>        Canadian Scout Camps Directory
http://Liam.Morland.ca/                 http://ScoutDocs.ca/Camps/

PGP Public Key: http://liam.morland.ca/pgp-public-key.asc

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PART 1 -- My first commute

Well, first of all, my Razor A5 Lux was supposed to be delivered today (not
Tuesday), and it came around 2pm.  The day was a beautiful and warm for Seattle,
so I was exited to try it out right away, especially after a couple of days of
rain!  I threw on some clothes, my old sneakers, my sun hat, and a backpack, and
lit out for work.

After walking it down a number of flights of stairs (both inside my apartment
building and outside, down some of the steep hills in Seattle), I had reached
the first 1/2 mile of my commute -- a section of road (7 lanes across!) where I
got to start off with sidewalks fairly free of pedestrians.  I went carefully,
and all was OK.  It turns out that this section has a very, very slight downhill
slope, so I got a gentle ride to practice braking and avoidance maneuvers.

After that, it was up and over railroad tracks on a structure built with
bicyclists in mind, so no steps!  I mostly walked my scooter up and back down. 
Next was the start of some connected bike/pedestrian/scooter(!) paths -- maybe
1.5  or 2 miles all together -- along the shoreline, so not many large changes
of elevation.  The path diverges in a few places -- bikes on one side, walkers
in the other.  I ended up taking the bike side, figuring that I wouldn't run
anybody over and the faster bicyclists could easily steer around me.  After
that, another .25 miles of very level sidewalks, and then into an outdoor,
public elevator to start to get up the (large) hill from the downtown
waterfront.  After that, another three or four blocks of walking my scooter on
the sidewalks up fairly steep hills.  Definitely the worst part of the trip!

Then it was about six blocks slightly downhill on sidewalks to my office,
dodging lots of pedestrians.  Not too bad.

I checked my watch when I walked out my apartment door, and again when I walked
into my office, and it ended up being 50 minutes.  My walking commute (before I
moved) was about 30 or 35, so this was almost double, but it was my very first
time, so maybe it'll get shorter as I figure some things out.

PART 1 -- About the Scooter and the Scooting

So, the instructions that came with the scooter, did suggest some adjustments
with an Allen wrench -- which didn't come with the scooter, and which I don't
happen to own.  Luckily, mine didn't seem to need any adjustments.  It was
simple to set it up for riding.

I started off scooting back and forth a few times in my carpeted living/dining
room.  Fun!

I didn't take it anywhere to practice, I just went ahead and went on my first
commute (see Part 1).  I mostly kept my eyes glued to the path in front of me,
wary of any large cracks, holes, rocks, sticks, or anything else that might make
me crash.  I got to personally experience the tired riding leg -- even after
hearing about it, it was a surprise.  I tried once to switch from one foot to
the other while moving, using the heel-toe-slide-over method (or whatever it's
called).  That will take some practice.  I ended up usually just waiting until I
either stopped or slowed way down, and either did a slow walking swap or a
stopped swap.

By the time I had been riding for about 30 minutes, I noticed that my hands were
tingling from the vibrations.  Somewhere in my stuff, I have some old bike
gloves that have a decent amount of padding, which I'll look for tonight.

Before my first ride, I had decided that I didn't need a helmet since I'd
probably be going about as fast as a person sprinting (they don't wear helmets),
but my speed seemed significant enough that it might be a good idea.  ***How
many of you wear helmets?***  I'd love to know what my speed actually is...

Without really thinking about it, I set the handlebars all the way up.  (My
height is 5'10".)  It seemed comfortable, so I'll probably leave it there.

I did notice (as did another recent newbie) that I pulled the front wheel off
the ground a number of times by pulling too hard on the handlebars, and I'm
wondering where my feet feel most comfortable -- closer to the front or back. 
I'm sure I'll get that all figured out eventually.

Breaking was a little bit scary at first, but I got more and more comfortable
with the rear stomp break as I rode.

Handling it while not riding is a little bit of a challenge.  Without my weight
on it, it sure seems to rattle and vibrate a lot on some surfaces -- to the
point that I ended up just picking the whole thing up sometimes, rather than
hear and feel the vibrations.  Carrying it (unfolded) might just be easiest
turning it upside down and putting the front part of the footboard over my
shoulder, holding the handlebars in front of me at waist-level.

All in all, pretty much what I expected.  The scooter seems well made, and it is
easy to fold and unfold (although it's a little awkward to deal with in its
folded state).  I have pretty good balance, so it was easy to learn to ride --
and maybe I got too comfortable too fast (see Part 3).  :-)

Oops... That was part 2!

Part 3 -- The Fall

Yep.  On my way home from work today, I had my first crash!

I was having a good day.  My virgin flight... I mean my first commute TO work
(see Part 1), went without any mishaps.  I spent a tiny bit of time in my office
(on my "day off"), and then started homeward.  I needed food, so I stopped to
get a bagel (which wasn't nearly
as good as the bagels my sister's girlfriend brings from NYC when they come to
visit me in Seattle), and then considered taking a different route home.  But I
mostly went back the same way I came.

About half-way along the bike/ped path, a little old lady (late 70s?) was the
first stranger to stop me and ask about my scooter.
She wanted to try it, but since she had slip-on shoes, I discouraged her.  (She
was OK about it.  She said her son had recently
told her, "Don't get hurt!"  In regards to what, I have no idea.)  The weather
had cooled down a little, and rain-threatening clouds
had appeared in the sky, but this is Seattle.  It was still a good day.

I also met a man on a bike, and we ended up talking for a few minutes,
discussing the pros and cons of various routes.  I had been
some places he hadn't and vice-versa.  I was telling him about my new commute on
my brand new scooter.  (They're rare in Seattle, so I'm
thinking I'll become a trend-setter.)  What a nice day.

When I was about 1/4-mile from home, on the sidewalk of that 7-lane road (see
Part 1), I came upon a couple of cars waiting to leave
a gas station.  I decided that I would go around them (towards the gas pumps)
intead of in front of them (on the sidewalk), so that
they could go when there was a break in the rush-hour traffic and not have to
wait for me (see Murphy's Law).  As I was heading around them, I noticed that
there were only two ways to get back to the sidewalk.  One way was directed
towards the side street with the help of a tall curb.  The other was across a
planting strip.  It was a small strip, only about two feet wide.  I didn't think
I was going too fast to stop.  I don't really remember what happened.

I DO remember that as I was heading for the horrible pine bark (or whatever it's
called) in the planting strip with my face, that it might be a good idea to have
that helmet (see Part 1) at that particular time.  The next thing I remember was
being on the ground, wondering why none of the hoardes of people around me
(granted, they were mostly in cars) came running to ask me if I were OK.  I am a
47-year-old woman.  (A few minutes later, the gas station attendant did.)  Then
I realized that I had probably skinned both my knees, but otherwise seemed OK. 
I pulled up my pant legs -- my left knee looked fine, the right one was
bleeding.  I had pine bark all over my pants and shirt, and on my left hand
(apparently I threw it out to break my fall) and under my watch band, but it
didn't seem hurt at all.  Oh, yeah -- the Razor was fine.

Well, it's now been almost 3 hours since the crash, and I do still think I'm OK.
I have a gauze pad on my right knee held in place with an Ace(TM) bandage, but
it doesn't hurt as much as it did a couple hours ago, and I think it's going to
be fine with three large Bandaids(TM).  My left knee doesn't even remember that
anything scary happened today.

I do think I'll take an Epsom salt (TM) bath tonight...

...and ride my scooter to work tomorrow.  :-)

-laurie

Lisa,

Luckily, my route is mostly fairly flat -- with some sections that are so steep
that there's NO WAY I'm scooting up or down.  I'll see in the morning how sore
my muscles are from my first day commuting to/from work.

(If you didn't read my earlier post...)  I did notice some of those very slight
inclines/declines.  It turns out the my first 1/2 mile of my commute to work
(well, after getting down LOTS of stairs) is a very slight decline -- so I get
to just coast for a while.

-laurie

Laurie,

Glad you're enjoying your new scooter, to anwer your question, personally I
don't wear a helmet to ride a scooter, I do however wear bike gloves and have a
small cell phone bag attached to the handlebars for either the cell phone or my
keys (if I happen to have no pockets). 

To address the wheel coming up off the pavement, I think it's because you said
your handlebars are set high.  The higher they are, the more you'll pull on them
when leaning back on the brake. I like mine low (at hip level) because it's more
stable, but that's a personal preference.  
I switch feet differently but that's because I got comfortable on the scooter
and am not afraid of falling, just take your time and you'll be doing it like a
pro in no time :)

When braking down hills bend your knees and lean back, it provides stability and
allows you to put more pressure on the back wheel while decreasing the
likelihood of going forward over the handle bars. 

As far as the noisiness goes, mine made some noise when the folding mechanism
pin vibrated when off the scooter. I took a thick pen (the type with a soft
rubbery cushion on it) removed the said cushion and pulled it over the folding
lever.  It doesn't eliminate all sound but it did dampen the rattling some and
makes it easier on my finger when I have to fold it. 

Good luck & Happy scooting

Sakkhara 

Fil,

Have you continued to ride your scooter?  Is it getting better?

When I finally got mine today, and rode to/from work, I (too) had the same
problem you did with pulling the front wheel off the ground by
(unconsciously/unintentionally) pulling up on the handlebars.  I immediately
remembered your post.  I was surprised that it kept happening, and tried to
figure out what I'm doing and how to stop doing it!  I figure it'll just
eventually decrease in frequency as I become a better, natural scooter rider,
but let me know if you have any tips!

-laurie

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

2011-06-09 22:02-0400 Laurie <ell_ell_tee@...> wrote: [...]
>Before my first ride, I had decided that I didn't need a helmet since
>I'd probably be going about as fast as a person sprinting (they don't
>wear helmets), but my speed seemed significant enough that it might be
>a good idea.

Olympic sprinters travel much faster than most people bike.

>***How many of you wear helmets?***

I usually wear a helmet. The only time I don't is if I am travelling
leisurely, going to a theatre or something like that.

I usually wear bike gloves too.

>I'd love to know what my speed actually is... [...]

I've measured myself with a GPS going as fast as 20 km/h, but it's hard
to go that fast and hold the GPS at the same time. I figure I normally
travel more like 15 km/h when I am going hard on my Xootr.

Liam

- --
Liam Morland <Liam@...>        Canadian Scout Camps Directory
http://Liam.Morland.ca/                 http://ScoutDocs.ca/Camps/

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>
> Before my first ride, I had decided that I didn't need a helmet since I'd
probably be going about as fast as a person sprinting (they don't wear helmets),
but my speed seemed significant enough that it might be a good idea.  ***How
many of you wear helmets?***  I'd love to know what my speed actually is...

As Liam says, track sprinters go way faster than most people cycle.
They however don't have cars, pedestrians, other cyclists, dogs and
other fun things trying to get in their way.
Conversely, falling off a bike at any sort of speed almost guarantees
going face-first into the ground.
Coming off a scooter you're somewhat less likely to faceplant, much
more likely to scrape hands and knees.

I'd consider cycling gloves more useful safety equipment than a helmet
(also betadine, alcohol wipes and band-aids!)

Daniel

Sakkhara,

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "sf.falcon" <sf.falcon@...> wrote:
>
> Laurie,
>
> Glad you're enjoying your new scooter, to anwer your question, personally I
don't wear a helmet to ride a scooter, I do however wear bike gloves and have a
small cell phone bag attached to the handlebars for either the cell phone or my
keys (if I happen to have no pockets). 

Thanks for the reminder about bike gloves.  I just got mine out of my bag of
hand-percussion instruments.  (I'm not really sure how they ever got IN that
bag!)

> To address the wheel coming up off the pavement, I think it's because you said
your handlebars are set high.  The higher they are, the more you'll pull on them
when leaning back on the brake. I like mine low (at hip level) because it's more
stable, but that's a personal preference.

Hmmm...  I'll try a lower level next time and see how it feels.

> As far as the noisiness goes, mine made some noise when the folding mechanism
pin vibrated when off the scooter. I took a thick pen (the type with a soft
rubbery cushion on it) removed the said cushion and pulled it over the folding
lever.  It doesn't eliminate all sound but it did dampen the rattling some and
makes it easier on my finger when I have to fold it. 

That's a good idea!  I'll have to keep my eyes open for one of those.

> Good luck & Happy scooting

Thanks!

> Sakkhara 

-laurie

Liam,

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, Liam Morland <Liam@...> wrote:
>
> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
> Hash: SHA1
>
> 2011-06-09 22:02-0400 Laurie <ell_ell_tee@...> wrote: [...]
> >Before my first ride, I had decided that I didn't need a helmet since
> >I'd probably be going about as fast as a person sprinting (they don't
> >wear helmets), but my speed seemed significant enough that it might be
> >a good idea.
>
> Olympic sprinters travel much faster than most people bike.

Wow!  I'll have to look up the data on that.  At my jam tonight, we were
discussing how fast I might have been going, and someone in the group said that
her son-in-law ran a 26-mile marathon in about 2.5 hours, which means over 10
miles an hour.  I couldn't really believe it!  I got to ride on Segways twice,
and the second time they gave me the 10-mph key (they have coded governors).  It
seemed pretty fast to me -- much faster than someone could run.  I guess my
perception was off.

> >***How many of you wear helmets?***
>
> I usually wear a helmet. The only time I don't is if I am travelling
> leisurely, going to a theatre or something like that.
>
> I usually wear bike gloves too.

I just found my old ones!

> >I'd love to know what my speed actually is... [...]
>
> I've measured myself with a GPS going as fast as 20 km/h, but it's hard
> to go that fast and hold the GPS at the same time. I figure I normally
> travel more like 15 km/h when I am going hard on my Xootr.

Now I have to convert km to mi?!#$%#$@!@#  (I guess that's why we have Google!) 
Apparently 15kph is almost 10mph.  Faster than I expected, but apparently humans
walk faster than I expected, too!  :-)

> Liam

Thanks, Liam!

-laurie

Daniel,

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, Daniel Smith <nekonoir@...> wrote:
>
> > Before my first ride, I had decided that I didn't need a helmet since I'd
probably be going about as fast as a person sprinting (they don't wear helmets),
but my speed seemed significant enough that it might be a good idea.  ***How
many of you wear helmets?***  I'd love to know what my speed actually is...
>
> As Liam says, track sprinters go way faster than most people cycle.
> They however don't have cars, pedestrians, other cyclists, dogs and
> other fun things trying to get in their way.

Yeah -- a person who was walking just in front of my as I approached, suddenly
turned 90 degrees, straight into my path!  Luckily, I was watching him and he
immediately saw me, and we avoided a collision.  I will try to stick to the bike
paths -- they can easily steer around me, and probably won't make sudden
90-degree turns!  :-)

> Conversely, falling off a bike at any sort of speed almost guarantees
> going face-first into the ground.
> Coming off a scooter you're somewhat less likely to faceplant, much
> more likely to scrape hands and knees.

After my crash yesterday, I have to agree.  As I was going down, and everything
went into S U P E R  S L O W - M O, I really thought that I might hit my head,
but apparently the first things to hit the ground (based on scratches and
bruises) were my left hand and both knees!

> I'd consider cycling gloves more useful safety equipment than a helmet
> (also betadine, alcohol wipes and band-aids!)

Well, last night, I got a supply of the largest regular-sized band-aids
available (they're something like 4"x2.5" and some anti-bacterial cream) so I
could sleep with my right knee pretty scratched up.  I found my bike gloves a
few minutes ago.  Tomorrow, I plan on going shopping for some elbow and knee
pads and maybe look at (I don't know what they're called...) "wrist protectors"?
Oh, yeah, maybe a helmet, too -- I'm really not decided yet.  (I might end up
spending more money on all that stuff that the scooter itself!)

> Daniel

Thanks, Daniel!

-laurie

Part 3 -- The Fall (more thoughts)

As I was telling the story this evening to friends at my Friday night jam
session, I realized that maybe the reason I crashed is because either there may
have been something slippery on the pavement at the gas station or the cement
there was extra smooth.  Right before I lost control, I remember judging that I
had plenty of time to stop -- and the next thing I knew, I was in the air.

It reminds me of some other surfaces that tend to be extremely slick when wet,
and having to carefully walk on them with my weight over my feet at all times,
or be extra, extra careful when on crutches.  I had become so confident
yesterday with my scooter on bike trails and sidewalks that I didn't consider
that this surface might have been different.

Also, for those who are keeping up, I ended up NOT taking my scooter to work
today, or riding on it at all.  There was a significant threat of rain all day
(although I never ended up seeing any), and I had too much to do.  There is a
threat of rain again tomorrow, but I may go out if it's dry, and just stay close
to home, so I can walk back if the wet stuff does hit the ground.

The forecast from Sunday on into next week looks nice and sunny, although we can
never believe the predictions here in Seattle.  (I spent the first 29.8 years of
my life in Georgia, where we just inherited the weather that was crossing the
country -- I had no idea that forecasting in Seattle was such a crapshoot.)

Happy scooting, everybody!

-laurie

Lisa,

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, Lisa Stein <steinphoto@...> wrote:
>
> Laurie,
>
> Good luck on your riding! Nice to hear about your first ride. Be
> careful for changing surfaces of course!

I think that's what caused my crash!  (See my other message from earlier
tonight.)

> I wear a helmet some of the time. I'm always afraid I'm going to fall,
> tho I haven't, knock on wood!!!!

A *bunch* of my friends warned me before I got the scooter to be careful because
I might crash.  After they heard about it today, they were all saying,
"See?!..."  I'm glad I made them feel right about their predictions!  :-)  :-) 
:-)  (Is there a sarcastic smiley?)

Well, I'm glad you haven't had a crash yet, and I'm knocking on my wood-laminate
desk for you as I type...

> Lisa

-laurie

Hi Laurie:

Much better, as in night and day! My most helpful tip came from a member who
advised me to buy a "wobble board" to improve my balance. I bought a Reebok
Balance Board from Amazon and it was the best 17 bucks I've ever spent. You
stand on one foot on the round board, then you mimic the kicking motion of a
scooter with the other foot, all this while kicking to the beat of Jennifer
Lopez gyrating on the large flat panel TV screen. The beauty of this balancing
exercise is that all the visceral motor skills you learn transfer directly to
the scooter deck, and you learn to be ambidextrous and kick and brake with
either foot with equal aplomb, even if I am a southpaw by nature.

The other writer is right about lowering the handlebar to offset the pulling up
motion. I lowered my handlebar from belly button to hip level, with my arms
almost in a fully extended position,  and the pulling motion went away, plus I
can now lean forward while gathering speed, much like a speed skater like Ono
does when accelerating.

  Now if I can only change the cheesy red color of the wheels to a more subdued
black, that would really make my day. What kind of spray paint would adhere to
the plastic surface? Any suggestions?

Fil

--- In NYCKickScooters@yahoogroups.com, "Laurie" <ell_ell_tee@...> wrote:
>
> Fil,
>
> Have you continued to ride your scooter?  Is it getting better?
>
> When I finally got mine today, and rode to/from work, I (too) had the same
problem you did with pulling the front wheel off the ground by
(unconsciously/unintentionally) pulling up on the handlebars.  I immediately
remembered your post.  I was surprised that it kept happening, and tried to
figure out what I'm doing and how to stop doing it!  I figure it'll just
eventually decrease in frequency as I become a better, natural scooter rider,
but let me know if you have any tips!
>
> -laurie
>