Folded and Locked - a Major Upgrade


One of the things I really like about my "smaller", polyurethane wheeled scooters is how they fold up allowing you to easily carry them. With a quick press of a button or lever, the scooter collapses down to a nice package that is easily carried with one hand, kinda like a suitcase. Stepping into a convenience or grocery store is a quick and nimble experience. 


One annoying disadvantage of the Boardy scooter is the inability to fold up and be carried this way. The handlebar does fold down, but it doesn't lock in place. See the image above. This makes carrying it into a store less than ideal. The handlebar unit flops all around, the front wheel pivots at will, making for a comical but frustrating experience. Although you can roll it on its back wheel in this configuration, it's still cumbersome and awkward.

An elegant solution came to me from a guy named Ken in Wales (Kudos!), via a scooter group on social media (yes, there are such things). He came up with an ingeniously clever and simple way to solve this problem: A strap around the rear wheel and handlebar. See it in action below. 




Any strap, that will fit, will do. I just happened to find this convenient velcro adorned strap somewhere in the clutter of my garage. (Who knows what other useful things I might find in there?) The installation should be obvious and simple. Run the strap through the rear wheel and handlebar, cinch it down and you're good to go packing!


Here's an example of the Boardy being carried, one handed like a suitcase. This may seem like an inconsequential and trivial thing, it's not. The moment I was able to carry it with one hand felt like a major upgrade to an already fantastic scooter.

I hereby dub this the Ken-Strap and think that everyone who has a Boardy and engages in this carry strategy should call it that. Tell a friend.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How to Scooter Using BOTH Feet

Image
This essential "trick" will allow you to go further and faster on any scooter. You NEED to push with both  feet (not at the same time though ... heh heh). Here's why: When you only push with one foot (i.e. push with your left, while your right is planted on the deck), your planted thigh muscles will quickly tire. Your pushing leg will also get tired, but it's using different muscles. If you can alternate your pushing and plant legs every few strokes, you can give both of your legs a " rest " when you change the muscles being used.  Here's how it's done (see the video at the bottom) Push with your left foot while your right is planted. Push about 5 - 10 strokes. Pivot on your right heel and at the same time plant, and put weight on the deck with the toe area of your left foot. Pivot your left foot, on your toes, to straighten it and at the same time take your right foot off. Push 5 - 10 strokes. Now, left heel pivot, right toe plant Right toe pivot,...
Read more

Review - Scooters I Own

Image
Summary review of scooters I own: Pros and Cons I love scootering and own several kick, push, manual (not electric) scooters. They’re nimble, excellent for low impact exercise and are a great way to get around to find Geocaches. As I've mentioned in a previous article , I think scooters are a great solution to quickly get around (a location you might otherwise walk). They're almost as fast as bikes, but don't require a cumbersome bike rack to transport them. You can fold and fit several in your trunk. Get to your destination, unfold them and you're off! Skateboards are just as nimble but require a bit more training. Because of the brakes and added stability that handlebars offer, most people have the confidence to give scooters a go and quickly learn how to scoot.  I am, by no means, an expert regarding kick-scooters, but I have spent a lot of time riding scooters and have logged many miles doing so . Over time, I've come to own a handful of scooters. Each one was ...
Read more

My Boardy Scooter

Image
My impression and review of my Boardy scooter. I also own a Razor A5 Lux and Xootr Mg. I enjoy long distance "exploring" over varied terrain. In one day, I have scootered over 30 miles on my Xootr and on another day over 32 miles on my Boardy . I also enjoy scooting for fitness, pushing the scooter at sustained speeds.  I don’t want to use a bike rack on my car to carry it to my scooting locations. My scooters  must  fit in the trunk of my small car (Mazda Miata). Pros: It's smooth over rough pavement, dirt roads. One of the reasons: it uses 12” high pressure, pneumatic tires. I keep the air pressure high to make the tires as firm as possible. It offers less rolling resistance, but still absorbs shock. Another reason it rides smooth is that it has a "flexy" wooden / fiberglass deck. Absorbs even more shock. Feels kinda like a skateboard. It can get a bit bouncy, but I think it's groovy. The deck is made of layers of wood and fiberglass. It's seems flexi...
Read more

Scooting over 30 miles around San Diego Bay

Image
click on the image for a larger view of the map March 13, 2021, I scootered over 30 miles around San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is 12 miles long and 1 to 3 miles wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's 840 miles of coastline. The highly urbanized land adjacent to the bay includes the city of San Diego (eighth-largest in the United States) and four other cities: National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and Coronado. San Diego Bay is one of my favorite places to hang out. As you might expect for a large bay connected to a large metropolitan city, a major portion is a "working seaport", replete with cargo ships, air craft carriers and various warships. Still there are large parts of it that are well designed for recreation. Here's a link for more info on recreation at San Diego Bay Growing up in San Diego,...
Read more

Why do I ride a scooter?

Image
  I've posted about my scooter rides. I got my Xootr kick-scooter for Christmas and have been riding it as often as I can. It provides a legit workout and gives me a chance to experience the joy of outdoor motion and exploration that I so often crave. I wanted something that I could put in the trunk of my Miata, drive places and go! Generally, there are 4 choices of common “locomotion” that I could transport via my car: bikes, skates, skateboards and scooters. These allow you to cover the “last mile”. Drive your car to a location, park, explore an area, get back to where you parked. I’ll go over what I think the benefits and drawbacks are of each of these alternatives. Bikes : Although I LOVE riding bikes, a bike takes too much time to load and prep and I can’t carry one on my Miata. On our other car, I’d need to install a bike rack each time. Tires can go flat. Brakes and gear shifters need maintenance, lots of moving parts. I love to ride bikes and they certainly deserve consider...
Read more