I've been scooting for years on a Swifty One and a video like this would have shortened my learning curve. These are great tips, especially the points about keeping your hips level and your toes visible. With practice, it does become intuitive but the explanations are very welcome.
Thank you for the tips! I'm 67 and bought a scooter so that my 3 year old granddaughter and I can ride together in the park. I haven't been on a scooter since I was about 8! I wasn't sure if I should get one because of my aching hip but your tip of keeping the pelvis in one line is something that I'll keep reminding myself of! I hope I can find more great tips that are useful for older riders!
When I started riding my kickbike, I couldn't ride 500m at once because I had been sedentary all my life. After one year, I'm riding 5km a day, 5x /week. In the beginning, I didn't have enough strength in my legs, so I would kick with my tip toes which affected my Achilles. With patience, I adjusted my posture, and now I think I'm doing better 😊 Thank you for the tips!
I took scooting for granted watching my six year old do it. I just bought an adult scooter for the school run and oh my God what a workout. On my second day and just trying to build my confidence. Bit shaky on the turns and also want more speed whilst kicking less otherwise I might as well walk. But overall it's fun especially when going downhill.
Love these instructional types of videos, they make scooting much more enjoyable. Would be nice to see a video example (outside of your studio) of someone scooting with these proper techniques.
Always thought, the achilles problems resulted from the kicking action but instead it seems to come from a wrong standing. In fact I never even thought of this ... Thanks a lot for that hint on Strava, Jason!
Ďakujem za vynikajúce - perfektné vysvetlenie a popis ako sa "kolobežkovať" a správne jazdiť. Thank you for the excellent - perfect explanation and description of how to "scooter" and ride properly. roman from Slovakia
Nice one Jason - I purchased a Swifty Air MkII from the online store 3 x weeks ago and have never looked back, a superb piece of kit and tons of fun too - its certainly made this lockdown in the UK that bit more bearable! Cheers
Hi..I went a scooter ride yesterday after watching this vid..Helped me loads & i can now switch feet without stopping (which i couldnt do before)...Awesome advice 🛴
Jason, I’m not going to order a Swifty from overseas shipping, but I’m ready to buy one when you have a United States distributor. I ride large-wheel scooters like Razor frequently, and don’t want the 26” front wheel models commonly available. Looking forward to national US distribution of Swifites. I’m in Chicago, btw. Thanks Thanks
Sure no problem, it might be some time as finding a distro in the USA is difficult. What is your reservations about ordering from us in the UK? We ship to the USA every week and have many happy customers.
I live in the US (Maine) and I recently purchased a Swifty Zero from them. They shipped it from Manchester, England by DHL and, if you can believe this, it arrived on my front porch 3 days later!!!!! It takes longer than that for me to get my monthly bank statement and my bank's main office office is 30 miles away. The carton they shipped my scooter in didn't have a single nick or scratch and was so sturdy only gross negligence would have damaged it. Better yet as scooters are classified as "toys" by US Customs there was no import duty. Given the basic simplicity of Swifty scooters and the fact that most of the components are standard the lack of a local dealer should not prove troublesome.
Cool One Hi! Small world, I was born in South Weymouth and raised in Halifax, MA. I've lived in 6 states since but moved permanently to Maine 43 years ago. To answer your question RE shipping costs based on the exchange rate back when I purchased the Swifty Zero in January I paid $139 for the scooter to be shipped to me in Bar Harbor, Maine. Subtract the Maine sales tax I avoided and the shipping cost me around $100 which is dirt cheap! I'm a photographer and it cost me $27 4 years ago to ship a Nikon camera body to NYC for repair. My guess is Swifty is charging pretty near what it costs them. I'd be happy to share my take on this great scooter with you based upon my riding experiences thus far. Someone on RUclips compared riding a Swifty Zero with driving a Cadillac but I would describe it as much more like driving a Porsche! I raced high performance sports cars when I was younger and have been riding bicycles and recumbents for years so it takes a lot to impress me...and I am very impressed with the Swifty Zero! I hit 30 mph on a steep, curvy downhill in Acadia National Park 2 days ago (measured with a Garmin GPS) and the handling and braking were superb!!!!!
Noice been doing it right. Also discoveed a while back pumping. This is where you maintain speed on flat without using your feet to kick and instead move the scooter like a snake would and bend your knees at the apex of each curve (I think) similar to how pumping on a bmx pump track works. Its a fun way to ride a scooter without kicking and a lot of hard work on the arms.
we did these technics in the early 50th naturally without need about any special technical explenations. But nowadays it needs instructions and explanations everywhere.
Thank you so so much for this. I LOVE my Swifty AIR and have taken short rides around Boston, MA. But I haven't been willing to commute with it or take longer rides because I felt like I wasn't kicking efficiently. I will practice this technique now. Do you have advice about going up inclines?
Hello, great point yes we need to do a video on scooting up hills. The general tip is to take small baby steps going up hills, however, you need to increase the volume of kicking to maintain speed. This is an intensive movement so make sure you practice this before doing a long uphill scoot. However, you can always jump off and push up too if you need to take a break. We will do a video on this for sure. 😁
I've been only scooting with my non dominant leg for a while and I'm going to start switching once I'm a similar level of confidence to my dominant leg. I've noticed that generally my left leg is less strong, has worse balance and I'm just not as confident so I'm trying to fix that. I used to only scoot on one side as a child and I need to undo my bad habit.
Hi there I was trying to contact you guys by phone but for some reason I cant get through. I'm in NJ. I just purchased a Swifty One MK3. My main issue is using the back and easing the brake for the front. You see I'm use to using a smaller kick scooter and the back break is at the fenders or mud guards. I'm just trying to get adjusted to the braking. Do you ah e any tips?
How do you prevent / minimise the achilles strain in the kicking phase? Mine is aching a bit and I think it's because of that pressure in pushing away from the ground. Any warmups or tips appreciated! It's mostly in my dominant kicking leg so I may need to switch more, or maybe because I've gone from zero to scooting every day.
I would say the time exposure to the hyperextension on the kicking leg is way lower than the standing leg as your placing your toes first, i.e your ankle will flex. We have some warm-up and warm down videos here on RUclips so give them a go and let us know how you get along. Remember always listen to your body, if you need to rest then rest. If something is hurting then you need to check your form and or seek professional advice as it might be an underlying issue that is aggravated by scooting. Sensitive Achilles is a really common injury. Plenty of advice and help to fix out there. 😁
Yeah. Pull your toes up, flexing your shin muscles and land with ball of your foot. Also, dont kick your foot too far in front of the other. Your speed is developed by the downforce. You want yo contract the glute of your foot on the platform, then stomp your other foot down and contract the glute of that leg as you pull it behind you.
Swifty Scooter! Jason is demonstrating on a SwiftyAIR in this video but you can learn more about our full range of scooters here - swiftyscooters.com/collections/all-scooters (:
I could not disagree more with your comment. Proper technique in any sport makes the difference between injury free enjoyment and injury prone dissatisfaction. I've been seriously involved in more than half a dozen outdoor activities including sea kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, road biking, ice climbing, white water canoeing, sailing, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing and in every one of them understanding and perfecting proper technique has been vitally important. Having recently taken up scooting I am finding that "what comes naturally" simply does not allow me to maximize my enjoyment of this really fantastic sport. Watching Jason's videos and those of other experts has allowed me to progress from "wow this is really tiring" to climbing a steep 1.25 mile long hill yesterday and still having enough energy left to complete another 4 miles of fairly hilly countryside. Given that I'm 75 years old and have been fairly inactive for the past 5 years due to illness I can't help but believe that improving my technique played a role in that. Thanks Jason!
how to look really stupid? buys a scooter and drives it as if it would be a cool thing. scooter driving is for kids only. seeing adults on it... remember the time when micro scooter "reinvented" it and 16+ kids with a scooter got a look like "look a nerd on a loser scooter" is driving on that thing
Uuhhh soneone who has no idea of anything Wow These are adult scooters they are high Standard and its a sport What i think is the most clown thing ever as an adult is to buy a e-scooter anf just stand on it And you got healthy legs thats a crime
It's difficult for me I am 80 years old but i'II try. many thanks Jason.
Wow you are an inspiration!
Legend
Ur like me I'm 79
You got this!
Please take care, older people can't afford to fall, just facts.
I've been scooting for years on a Swifty One and a video like this would have shortened my learning curve. These are great tips, especially the points about keeping your hips level and your toes visible. With practice, it does become intuitive but the explanations are very welcome.
Thank you for the tips! I'm 67 and bought a scooter so that my 3 year old granddaughter and I can ride together in the park. I haven't been on a scooter since I was about 8! I wasn't sure if I should get one because of my aching hip but your tip of keeping the pelvis in one line is something that I'll keep reminding myself of! I hope I can find more great tips that are useful for older riders!
Have you tried putting powdered collagen in your morning tea or coffee? I've been using it and my hip is better.
When I started riding my kickbike, I couldn't ride 500m at once because I had been sedentary all my life. After one year, I'm riding 5km a day, 5x /week. In the beginning, I didn't have enough strength in my legs, so I would kick with my tip toes which affected my Achilles. With patience, I adjusted my posture, and now I think I'm doing better 😊
Thank you for the tips!
Im feeling my sedentary pain now while I take my dog out haha
I took scooting for granted watching my six year old do it. I just bought an adult scooter for the school run and oh my God what a workout. On my second day and just trying to build my confidence. Bit shaky on the turns and also want more speed whilst kicking less otherwise I might as well walk. But overall it's fun especially when going downhill.
Keep practicing! It does get easier the fitter and more confident you become!
Love these instructional types of videos, they make scooting much more enjoyable. Would be nice to see a video example (outside of your studio) of someone scooting with these proper techniques.
Ok we will see what we can do. Thanks for the feedback.
Always thought, the achilles problems resulted from the kicking action but instead it seems to come from a wrong standing. In fact I never even thought of this ... Thanks a lot for that hint on Strava, Jason!
Ďakujem za vynikajúce - perfektné vysvetlenie a popis ako sa "kolobežkovať" a správne jazdiť.
Thank you for the excellent - perfect explanation and description of how to "scooter" and ride properly.
roman from Slovakia
Nice one Jason - I purchased a Swifty Air MkII from the online store 3 x weeks ago and have never looked back, a superb piece of kit and tons of fun too - its certainly made this lockdown in the UK that bit more bearable! Cheers
Thats great to hear! Keep up the great work! Stay safe and strong! :)
Why dont you just make an 8" wide platform like on the Diggler scooter?
Very helpful video - I'm looking forward to practising my technique!
Great video & good info - Ive just bought a Kick Scooter & im slowly learning a better technique but this helped loads.Thanks for sharing 😀
Hi..I went a scooter ride yesterday after watching this vid..Helped me loads & i can now switch feet without stopping (which i couldnt do before)...Awesome advice 🛴
Thank you Jason....your video is great!! Excellent instructor you are!
Jason, I’m not going to order a Swifty from overseas shipping, but I’m ready to buy one when you have a United States distributor. I ride large-wheel scooters like Razor frequently, and don’t want the 26” front wheel models commonly available. Looking forward to national US distribution of Swifites. I’m in Chicago, btw. Thanks Thanks
Sure no problem, it might be some time as finding a distro in the USA is difficult. What is your reservations about ordering from us in the UK? We ship to the USA every week and have many happy customers.
I would also love a USA distributor, but ordering from the UK went very smoothly.
I live in the US (Maine) and I recently purchased a Swifty Zero from them. They shipped it from Manchester, England by DHL and, if you can believe this, it arrived on my front porch 3 days later!!!!! It takes longer than that for me to get my monthly bank statement and my bank's main office office is 30 miles away. The carton they shipped my scooter in didn't have a single nick or scratch and was so sturdy only gross negligence would have damaged it. Better yet as scooters are classified as "toys" by US Customs there was no import duty. Given the basic simplicity of Swifty scooters and the fact that most of the components are standard the lack of a local dealer should not prove troublesome.
@@boatman222345 Thanks, Boatman. I was born and raised in MA. (Go BoSox!). How much was your total shipping charge, please? Thanks.
Cool One Hi! Small world, I was born in South Weymouth and raised in Halifax, MA. I've lived in 6 states since but moved permanently to Maine 43 years ago. To answer your question RE shipping costs based on the exchange rate back when I purchased the Swifty Zero in January I paid $139 for the scooter to be shipped to me in Bar Harbor, Maine. Subtract the Maine sales tax I avoided and the shipping cost me around $100 which is dirt cheap! I'm a photographer and it cost me $27 4 years ago to ship a Nikon camera body to NYC for repair. My guess is Swifty is charging pretty near what it costs them. I'd be happy to share my take on this great scooter with you based upon my riding experiences thus far. Someone on RUclips compared riding a Swifty Zero with driving a Cadillac but I would describe it as much more like driving a Porsche! I raced high performance sports cars when I was younger and have been riding bicycles and recumbents for years so it takes a lot to impress me...and I am very impressed with the Swifty Zero! I hit 30 mph on a steep, curvy downhill in Acadia National Park 2 days ago (measured with a Garmin GPS) and the handling and braking were superb!!!!!
Noice been doing it right. Also discoveed a while back pumping. This is where you maintain speed on flat without using your feet to kick and instead move the scooter like a snake would and bend your knees at the apex of each curve (I think) similar to how pumping on a bmx pump track works. Its a fun way to ride a scooter without kicking and a lot of hard work on the arms.
Hello yes pumping is great, we need to do a video on this also, thanks for reminding us. Hope you're getting after it dude! Enjoy! 😉
Kudosbudo Thx for explaining that! Can't wait to experiment and/ or research this technique if I can't get it working on my own.
we did these technics in the early 50th naturally without need about any special technical explenations. But nowadays it needs instructions and explanations everywhere.
Here’s your cookie. What a smart little one you are. (Pat on the head)
Thank you so so much for this. I LOVE my Swifty AIR and have taken short rides around Boston, MA. But I haven't been willing to commute with it or take longer rides because I felt like I wasn't kicking efficiently. I will practice this technique now.
Do you have advice about going up inclines?
Hello, great point yes we need to do a video on scooting up hills. The general tip is to take small baby steps going up hills, however, you need to increase the volume of kicking to maintain speed. This is an intensive movement so make sure you practice this before doing a long uphill scoot. However, you can always jump off and push up too if you need to take a break. We will do a video on this for sure. 😁
Thank you!! Learned a lot! Still scared of switching but will practice!
I've been only scooting with my non dominant leg for a while and I'm going to start switching once I'm a similar level of confidence to my dominant leg. I've noticed that generally my left leg is less strong, has worse balance and I'm just not as confident so I'm trying to fix that. I used to only scoot on one side as a child and I need to undo my bad habit.
Hi there I was trying to contact you guys by phone but for some reason I cant get through. I'm in NJ. I just purchased a Swifty One MK3. My main issue is using the back and easing the brake for the front. You see I'm use to using a smaller kick scooter and the back break is at the fenders or mud guards. I'm just trying to get adjusted to the braking. Do you ah e any tips?
Thanks Jason,
That’s very helpful.
Good ,I've seen to many people just scoot with their preferred leg
I'm guilty of that and need to get better.
Yep give it a go
gotta get my left leg kicking.
too dominant on using my right leg.
Yep train them both!
How do you prevent / minimise the achilles strain in the kicking phase? Mine is aching a bit and I think it's because of that pressure in pushing away from the ground. Any warmups or tips appreciated! It's mostly in my dominant kicking leg so I may need to switch more, or maybe because I've gone from zero to scooting every day.
I would say the time exposure to the hyperextension on the kicking leg is way lower than the standing leg as your placing your toes first, i.e your ankle will flex. We have some warm-up and warm down videos here on RUclips so give them a go and let us know how you get along. Remember always listen to your body, if you need to rest then rest. If something is hurting then you need to check your form and or seek professional advice as it might be an underlying issue that is aggravated by scooting. Sensitive Achilles is a really common injury. Plenty of advice and help to fix out there. 😁
Yeah. Pull your toes up, flexing your shin muscles and land with ball of your foot. Also, dont kick your foot too far in front of the other. Your speed is developed by the downforce. You want yo contract the glute of your foot on the platform, then stomp your other foot down and contract the glute of that leg as you pull it behind you.
This is very good! I loved it!
I got a xootr but im to scard to stop using my kicking foot n putting it on scooter :(
Really good advice - thank you.
What's the wheel size you recommend? I got a option to buy 20-16 or 16-12.
There also some models with 26-20 but maybe they are to big?
On our site?
@@SwiftyScootersTV Was thinking about in general
@@Bulsebub All our wheels sizes are 16" which seem to work well for our mix of customers.
very useful info
What brand of scooter is in this video? And do you recommend it? Thanks 😊
Swifty Scooter! Jason is demonstrating on a SwiftyAIR in this video but you can learn more about our full range of scooters here - swiftyscooters.com/collections/all-scooters (:
Hello, not sure if it's been asked but what shoes are you using in this video? They look like they have a tonne of grip! Best wishes
Hi Robbie, they are trail running shoes from Inov-8, the grip is excellent!
@@SwiftyScootersTV Wicked, thanks!
Which model you're demonstrating on please?
We're using a SwiftyAIR in this video (:
@@SwiftyScootersTV Many thanks. I will get one of those then :) 💪🏼
I'm more worried about doing the first ever push and falling over the other side, let along "swtch kicking" and whatnot aha
Very good scooter for commuting.
Thanks!
Thank you Jason!..
No problem. 😁
I have big feet its hard to maneuver them lol. I just bought the amish scooter
What is this scooter?
In simpler terms, it's going from Regular to Goofy and back again, or Goofy to Regular
and back again.
Sorry to say this but there are several mistakes. Please review your advices.
I'm a mad lad and kick with one leg no issue
GRANDMASTER GANG WHERE YA AT??
Good Instruction, but the background noise (can't call it music) is horrible.
I ride scooter and bicycle wheels on a scooter is a very bad idea
Why
kneesovertoesguy Ben Patrick. Strengthen your Achilles instead of protecting it.
L VE form Japan
If you are watching this you are over thinking it . Just get on it and do what comes naturally this guy is insane
I could not disagree more with your comment. Proper technique in any sport makes the difference between injury free enjoyment and injury prone dissatisfaction. I've been seriously involved in more than half a dozen outdoor activities including sea kayaking, mountain biking, rock climbing, road biking, ice climbing, white water canoeing, sailing, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing and in every one of them understanding and perfecting proper technique has been vitally important. Having recently taken up scooting I am finding that "what comes naturally" simply does not allow me to maximize my enjoyment of this really fantastic sport. Watching Jason's videos and those of other experts has allowed me to progress from "wow this is really tiring" to climbing a steep 1.25 mile long hill yesterday and still having enough energy left to complete another 4 miles of fairly hilly countryside. Given that I'm 75 years old and have been fairly inactive for the past 5 years due to illness I can't help but believe that improving my technique played a role in that. Thanks Jason!
Decent
I'm presuming most people would wear a helmet with these?
Hi! Yes, we'd recommend wearing a helmet!
650 euros for a scoot ..nearing a motorcycle cost
歌唱
What a waste of time
Yes. Yes you are. 🙄🙄🙄
Get rid of the damn music.
how to look really stupid? buys a scooter and drives it as if it would be a cool thing. scooter driving is for kids only. seeing adults on it... remember the time when micro scooter "reinvented" it and 16+ kids with a scooter got a look like "look a nerd on a loser scooter" is driving on that thing
Uuhhh soneone who has no idea of anything
Wow
These are adult scooters they are high Standard and its a sport
What i think is the most clown thing ever as an adult is to buy a e-scooter anf just stand on it
And you got healthy legs thats a crime