Kick scooter

A kick scooter, push scooter or scooter is a human-powered land vehicle with a handlebar, deck and wheels that is propelled by a rider pushing off the ground. The most common scooters today are made of aluminum, titanium and steel. Some kick scooters that are made for younger children have 3 or 4 wheels and are made of plastic or do not fold. High-performance racing scooters made for adults resemble the old "penny-farthing".

Kick scooters have been handmade in industrial urban areas in Europe and the U.S. for at least 100 years, often as play items made for children to roam the streets. One common homemade version is made by attaching roller skate wheel sets to a board with some kind of handle, usually an old box. One can lean to turn, or by a second board connected by a crude pivot. The construction was all wood, with 3–4 inch (75–100 mm) wheels with steel ball bearings. An additional advantage of this construction was loud noise, just like from a "real" vehicle. An alternative construction consists of one steel clamp–on roller skate divided into front and rear parts and attached to a wood beam.

In 1974 the Honda company made the Kick 'n Go. While it seemed to be as much effort to "kick" as a regular scooter, the novelty of it caught on and it became popular nevertheless.

Before bicycles became popular among children, steel scooters with two small bicycle wheels had been the most useful vehicles for them. Around 1987, many BMX manufacturers produced BMX-like scooters as Scoot. Those manufacturers discontinued their scooters, but some scooter manufacturers were established after years, and still develop similar scooters today; Some are used in dense urban areas for utility purposes, being faster than a folding scooter and more convenient than a utility bicycle. Some are made for off-road use and are described as Mountain Scooters. Besides commuting, sports competition and off-road use, large wheel scooters are a favorite for Dog scootering where single or team dogs such as huskies pull a scooter and rider in the same way that a sled is pulled across snow. Some Amish are not allowed to ride bicycles, so they ride scooters instead. Today variations on the kicksled with scooter design features are also available, such as the Kickspark.

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