...Dirt Scooters?

Hello again friends; Greg here. So glad you've decided to join me here today, on the internet. Today we're going to talk about something fun: Dirt.
In the early days of scootering, even before Razor came around, there were a few companies who tried to make tubular steel scooters with small bike wheels, made for any terrain. companies like Mongoose, Yo Scoots, GT, Redline, even Go-Ped had a non-motorized version of their classic scooter, called The Know-Ped.

Redline team rider circa late 1980s.

These scooters died out as BMX became more of a staple in action sports, and were soon forgotten to time. Our neighbors to the North, RAD Scooters, played around with some ideas in the early 2000s, but their efforts soon fizzled out & their project never made it to a production model, I believe mainly due to the fact that no one made a strong enough spoked wheel in the size they were using - they all came from kids' bikes. In those days, you gravitated towards scootering from either skateboarding or from BMX, generally. Hence why so many tricks in our day-to-day repertoire are re-imagined versions of tricks from their respective counterparts.

Cory Mosbrucker of RAD, no foot can-can over their hometown trails.
Cary Mosbrucker of RAD, no footed can-can.
RAD's dirt scooter.
Tyler Bonner holding the RAD prototype dirt scooter.

John Radtke of Affinity Scooters and formerly of Razor USA, also played around with some steel tubular prototypes, that eventually became the Razor Phase 2 line of aluminum extruded dirt scooters. That line really re-sparked the idea that scooters were suitable for more than just smooth concrete. Companies like Crisp, Lucky, and others soon followed suite, producing aluminum extruded decks with larger dimensions to fit pneumatic tires. But what happened to the prospect of using steel tubing? where did that idea get discarded? No one can really say.
Our very own KC corning had a prototype of a tubular dirt scooter for almost 10 years, and it would just sort of hang around, begging to be expanded upon. We decided to finally listen, and started brainstorming again. with the wider availability of dirt scooters left unloved, we were able to source a few sets of wheels and forks to play with. we got to work, revised KC's design, and went to play in the dirt (as seen below).



We're still hard at work here in old Oregon, figuring out the best possible way to produce a strong, reliable dirt scooter. Wheels are still a bit of a mystery, in terms of sourcing the right tires & tubes, as well as hubs. We are very eager to bring back the love of dirt to our community, as it's something that has been absent for too long. There is a light at the end of this long, dark, dirty tunnel. We're getting closer day by day. We're hoping to reach that light soon, and bring you with us on a ride through the woods. But for now, it's back to the sidewalks and skateparks we go. Hang tight friends.