Things I wish I had known about kickscooters

Remember Razor scooters? I have been having an absolute blast riding an old-fashioned, un-motorized adult-size Razor.

For me, I largely use it for trips under 1-2 miles, where walking was too slow or cargo was too heavy to carry, or paired with a bus or train.

What I would not have known until I picked one up:

• Utility: faster than walking (5-7 mph vs. ~3), slower than biking (8-12 mph), and it converts into a 2-wheeled shopping cart with a bag hanging from its handlebars.
• Foldability: most models can fold, and be combined with a bus, a train, or the trunk of a taxi/rideshare, which is crazy useful. Folding does not harm the structural integrity of the scooter so I’d prefer one that does fold over one that does not.
• Safety: California bans e-scooters from sidewalks (CVC 21235) but leaves bikes and kickscooters on sidewalks up to cities (most don’t care), and helmets are only required under 18 (CVC 21212). I still prefer road-riding because it’s often smoother than sidewalks. Switching between scooting and walking is easier than mounting/dismounting a bicycle. The dangers are real but avoidable: going down steep hills without enough stopping power, rough surfaces, and wet conditions.
• Weight matters more than I expected. I chose the cheaper Razor A5 Lux over every Xootr model because it’s significantly lighter. That matters every time I lift it up a curb, a flight of stairs or carry it through a store where rolling it would be socially unacceptable. The tradeoff: Xootrs have a hand brake, the Razor only has a rear foot brake. This can be mediated by simply riding slower.

• Carrying capacity: Yes, your scooter can carry that. Hang shopping bags from the handlebars.

• Wet weather: they become mostly useless as they are too dangerous to ride over wet surfaces.
• Cost: ~$40 used (~$89 new).
• Maintenance: basically free. It takes a lot of miles before the wheels or bearings need replacing, and unlike a bicycle you will never have to inflate a tire or fix a flat. That being said, I strongly prefer solid tires over inflatable ones, as they introduce maintenance headache and more rolling friction means more fatiguing.
• Fashion: in my opinion they look very cool, however I am also a middle-aged father who is happily partnered.
• Accessories: a bike light (although I prefer a rechargeable headlamp); maybe an ultralight lock like an OttoLock or ABUS Combiflex; 1 or 2 self-folding fabric shopping bags that fit in a jeans pocket or purse or hang from the handlebars; a stem feedbag for wallet, keys, and phone.

Some observations on motorized vs. un-motorized (e-)scooters:

• E-scooters are massively more popular than the un-motorized version: 58 million shared e-scooter trips in NACTO member cities in 2025, and I know of no shared kickscooter renting businesses.
• My e-scooter weighed 23lbs, felt dangerous at speed (helmet required!), and replaced trips that used to be my day-to-day exercise. The kickscooter weighs under 9lbs, needs no charging, and still gets me exercise.
• E-scooters naturally anger many sidewalk and road users due to their tremendous speed, unpredictability and silence. In contrast, I’ve found dismounting when passing by someone on the sidewalk (or entering the roadway), riding slowly (creating the perception of predictability), and the rattling noise of the humble kickscooter alleviates these objections.

They are so cheap, you need the fresh air, so why not give them a try?!

Previously:

• The Scooter and the Bike
• E-Scooters: First Thoughts
• A scooter is cheating, a cargo bike is rude, the car is fine

Your author, with a kickscooter he later sold to a 12 year old (he now rides a solid-tire Razor A5 Lux model):

The charts are generated by this code, which lists every input and its source.