Should I buy stunt scooters or 3 wheel scooter?

This is a collaborative post

Should I buy stunt scooters or 3 wheel scooter?

If your child has put a scooter on their wishlist for Christmas, you may be wondering where to start. Knowing which scooter to choose for  your child can be a bit of a minefield – you may find yourself struggling to choose between stunt scooters or 3 wheel scooter. Add in features such as folding scooters and scooters with light up wheels and accessories makes narrowing down the shortlist feel like quite the challenge.

The good news that thanks to Micro Scooters, we’ve done the research so that you don’t have to. If you’re not sure whether your child would prefer stunt scooters or 3 wheel scooters, here’s what you need to know.

What is a 3 wheel scooter?

As the name suggests, three wheel scooters are somewhat different to the traditional 2 wheel scooters you may have grown up with as a child. Whilst you can get 3 wheel scooters for young children and toddlers, 3 wheel scooters are also suitable for older children aged 5-12 years with products such as the Maxi Micro, ideal for school runs and weekend adventures.

The 3 wheeled design of these scooters makes them easy to steer, offers additional stability and has fully adjustable handlebars that grow with your child, simply unclipping and raising or lowering until you reach the optimum height handlebar for your childs age or height. 

Unlike two wheeled scooters, 3 wheel scooters use tilt and lean steering, where children adjust their body alignment on the base to steer, simply leaning in the direction they want to turn rather than turning the handlebars. Two wheel scooters and stunt scooters have steering more like a bike, where the entire handlebar is moved to change direction.

In terms of use, 3 wheel scooters are ideal for school runs, trip to the park and outdoors adventures, and whilst they are generally very robust and hardwearing, they are not designs for performing stunts or tricks. If you are finding your child is starting to attempt bunny hops and jumps on your trips to the park, it may be time to upgrade to a stunt scooter. 

What is a stunt scooter?

If your child has already mastered the art of scooting to and from school or speed scooting simply for fun, they may start becoming interested in visiting a skate park to take their scooting to the next level. Unlike traditional three wheel or two wheel scooters, stunt scooters are designed to allow children to perform a variety of tricks and stunts. Your child can master new skills, jumping, spinning and flying throught the air. 

It’s worth noting that if they don’t already have some, you’re definitely going to need to secure some protective gear for this. Falls, trips and tumbles are pretty much guaranteed as they perfect and practice their new skills, so it’s important that your childs head, knees and elbows are protected from impact to avoid significant injury.

Unlike three wheel scooters, stunt scooters are reinforced for strength, made with fused stems that are extra robust and built to withstand knocks and absorb the impact likely to be experienced at a skate park.

Generally, stunt scooters have extra strong and widened kick plates, made from hiah quality aluminium to give control, strength and freedom for the rider.

Unlike three wheel scooters, stunt scooters don’t have adjustable or folding handlebars, with a fixed height to ensure stability, rigidity and strength when performing stunts and tricks. For this reason, you will need to ensure you know your child’s height to ensure you make the right choice. 

Finally, many stunt scooters have aluminium core wheels for speed and agility, allowing your children to propel themselves and gather up speed when racing across the skate park. 

What kind of stunts can your kids perform on a stunt scooter?

Depending on their surroundings, there are loads of stunts your child can perform on a stunt scooter.

Starting with the tail grab (grabbing the back as you jump), your child can practice and progress to tail spins (rotating the plate 360 degrees as they jump) to other tricks such as wheelies on ramps and the infamous ‘bunny hop’.

What should you look for in a stunt scooter? 

Microscooters have a wide range of stunt scooters to choose from, ranging from stunt scooters for beginners to stunt scooters more suitable for intermediate and experienced riders. Stunt scooters are not based on age but on height, so if your child is particularly tall for their age, they may be able to ride a stunt scooter sooner than their friends. Most stunt scooters are suitable for children from 140cm tall (roughly 8 years of age).

Each stunt scooter in the Microscooters range has a clearly marked rider level and stunt level. These labels showcase both the experience level and range of tricks that can be performed on each. 

Which one is right for my child?

When deciding whether to buy stunt scooters or a 3 wheel scooter – here are some things you may wish to consider:

• Child’s age – Whilst you can get stunt scooters for younger riders, stunt scooters tend to be more suited to older tweens or teens who are looking for a more extreme sport than daily commute to and from school. As a general rule, skate scooters are more likely to be suitable for children over the age of 8 due to the steering coordination and motor skills required.
• Child’s height – How tall is your child? If your child is particularly petite or small in height, they may find that they are too small for the non adjustable height of a stunt scooter. A three wheel scooter will offer more flexibility of heights and can be adjusted as your child grows. 
• When will they use their scooter? – What does your child want to use their scooter for? Are they looking to simply scoot around their local park with friends or avoid walking to school on foot? If so, the three wheel scooters may be perfectly suitable, offering a quick and easy way to get started with an easy to learn steering system. If they are definitely going to want to perform tricks; it’s probably worth going straight for a stunt scooter so they are build to withstand the pressure of tricks and high impact rides. 
• Do you have access to a skate park? – Do you live close to a skate park? To get the most out of a stunt scooter, it’s great if you have a skate park with ramps, slopes and rails to explore.  

So, stunt scooters or 3 wheel scooter? What do we have? 

So which did we pick – stunt scooters or three wheel scooter? 

My daughter is 9, and whilst I am sure she will soon be wanting to become a little more adventurous with her scooting, for now we have opted for a three wheeler scooter.

This particular design is the Micro Maxi Deluxe, a fully adjustable three wheel scooter with light up LED wheels that add a bit of something special as she rides. There are loads of Micro accessories available and we love these rainbow tassels which can easily be inserted to the soft handlebars to personalise the overall look of her scooter.

Key features of the Maxi Micro Scooter Deluxe include:

• An anodised stem protecting against the weather and everything little ones can throw at it!
• Unique silicone moulded footplate with superior grip points
• An intuitive learn to steer design which enables children to learn to navigate quickly and easily.
• Adjustable handlebars that grow with your child and that are super easy to adjust.

The Maxi Micro Scooter Deluxe is designed to grow and adapt with your child as they get bigger, whilst 3 wheels provide the ultimate durability and stability. When deciding between stunt scooters and 3 wheel scooters, we decided that based on her age, height and build and the fact that she is less concerned with tricks at this stage the 3 wheeler would be an easier place to start. The adjustable handlebar also means her younger sibling can use it too if needed, offering us more choice and flexibility as a family.

You can check out the full range of Micro three wheel and stunt scooters at Microscooters now.