Mini Pro Scooters - What's the story?
Have you heard your kid talk about mini pro scooters? Like they're some sort of mystical unicorn version of the popular pro scooter.
Well, let's set the record straight on what mini scooters are, and are not.
A quick background on the term 'pro scooters' and what this means. Here's how we define a pro scooter:
Material
Most are made out of a combination of chromolly and high grade aircraft aluminum. Check out this great wikipedia about chromolly. Too technospeak for your? Think of pro scooters as being made out of the same material as BMX bikes.
Headset bearings
Again, thinking about BMX bikes. pro scooters have the same headset bearings. Most of them nowadays are sealed, meaning you don't have to do any maintenance on them. Also, most headsets these days are integrated, intended for scooter decks that have integrated headtubes.
Wheels
A true pro scooter, including mini pro scooters, have metal core wheels instead of plastic. Metal core gives you a better, smoother ride and much more durability.
Pro scooter wheels also have high grade/high quality bearings. Some bearings have ABEC ratings, but don't get too caught up in that. Many high quality bearings don't have ABEC ratings.
Adjust-ability
The final characteristic of a pro scooter is their adjust-ability. Or to be super clear, the lack of adjust-ability. Pro scooters do not fold up, the handle bars do not adjust up or down. This is by design. To be more durable and handle the tricks kids are doing or want to learn, pro scooters are solid-state.
OK, so that gives you the key points to a pro scooter. Got it?
Now what does that mean for a mini pro scooter? Simple, minis have all the characteristics noted above, but on a scaled-down model. For example...
Deck size
A typical pro scooter deck is 19.5 to 23 inches long. A mini scooter has a deck from 16 to 17.5 inches long. Also, typical deck is 4.5 to 5.5 inches wide, the mini can be 4 to 4.5 wide.
Handle bars
Same concept here, mini scooter bars are smaller; not as tall and not as wide. A mini scooter's bars are about 17 inches tall by 17 inches wide. Larger pro scooters range from from 20 inches tall to 20 inches wide, and much bigger.
Wheels
Minis usually have 100mm wheels, where as the bigger brother's are 110mm or 120mm.
Weight
No surprise here, but if you have less material then you have a lighter scooter. Mini scooters are about 5.5lbs, give or take an ounce.
Riders
Who rides these magical things?! Well, from a size perspective they are intended for the younger/small scooter rider. In our shop, ages range from 3 (yep, 3 years old) to 6, both boys and girls. But no surprise, 'older' riders like to bomb around on these, too. But mostly the younger scooter crowd.
So there you have. But let's be clear, don't be thrown by the term 'mini' scooter. These are still absolutely considered pro scooters because they meet all the factors noted above.
Hope this helps demystify the mini pro scooter discussion. Call if you still have questions.
Here are two examples of real-life mini pro scooters; the Havoc Mini and the Lucky Recruit. Both are considered mini because of the deck size and the overall size (height and width) of the bars.
As of Nov 2019, the most popular mini pro scooter is made by Havoc, and is called the Havoc mini pro scooter. Duh. Check it out!
While other brands, like Crisp, Grit and MGP, have come out with their own mini scooters, the first real competitor to the Havoc Mini is the Lucky Recruit, pictured here:
I think Lucky's mini scooter will be very popular very quickly. Here's why:
Deck size: less wide for smaller feet and less weight
Wheel quality: Lucky slapped on some hella nice hollow core 110mm wheels. Unheard of!
Bars: While a few inches taller, these are aluminum, so again, lighter. And bar can easily be cut to size.