Contents
Welcome students, to THE stunt scooter class of the 21th century.
After this class, you can dismantle, rebuild, repair and tune a scooter in your sleep!
So, let’s start off with the basics of all basics, the parts.
Top
Grips
Scooter grips or handles are the exact same as the grips on a BMX. You could even fit some BMX grips on your stunt scooter. But while having a grip is mandatory grip on a BMX, you could actually do your thang without grips on your scooters.
TThere are some important differences in material. You can pick between soft or hard handles. The soft, mostly with grooves, are more comfortable, while the hard ones do not wear out so quickly. It’s just a matter of personal taste. There are even foam grip handles, but are now almost not used at all.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
When installing new grips on your scooter, spray the handlebar generously with hairspray. This will allow the handles to be easily pulled up and aligned. When the hairspray is dry, the handles will sit perfectly as if they were “glued” to the handlebar.
Barends
Barends are “security guards”. They help to protect the handlebar and the grips when your scooter makes friends with gravity and they also offer protection to your “I’m a hand model” hands. And on top of it all, grips with a hole in them? That just looks weird. Standard barends are provided with your grips but there is room to just mix and match to your own personal taste.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Most of the supplied barends are designed for steel handlebars. There is a danger that barends would be too large for an aluminum handlebar. If this is the case, do not panic. You can easily remove a bit of material from the barends with a knife or scissors to fit your slick barends into your aluminum handlebar.
Handlebars
The bars are the most important part of a stunt scooter. They influence your style, the difference in weight and handling of your scooter.
There are two different materials (metals) used for a bar, steel and aluminum. It figures that steel handlebars are significantly heavier than aluminum handlebars. Also, steel handlebars are more robust and resistant. Aluminum handlebars on the other hand, save you weight. So, the choice between those two lies completely in the hands of the rider. It is purely a personal matter.
Building your own bar is actually pretty simple. As you can see, it consists of a vertical and a horizontal tube (the Crosstube). At the lower end, most bars are slotted. This allows them to be pressed/clamped with a clamp on the fork. The shape and bracing can also provide reinforcement and stability. The optimal height of the handlebars, of course, depends on the size, preferences and influence of the rider.
The shape of a Crosstube can also increase the stablility, there are even handlebars whose Crosstube is slightly bent backwards (Backsceep), upwards (Upsweep) and downards (Downsweep).
Not only is there a difference in the shape but also the diameter for a handlebar can differ. 31.8mm and 34.9mm (based on the outer diameter) are the common sizes. The diameter you choose depends on the compression or fork you’ve picked because these two components (handlebar & compression or fork) must fit together at the end. For most bars there are versions of both sizes available.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
If you have no experience or no preference whatsoever for an optimal handlebar height, you can alwyas use the fist formula.
The what?
The fist formula is simple : When standing up on the deck of the scooter, the handlebars should be so high that you can grab it with your arms straight.
Clamp
The clamp is there to clamp the handlebar on the fork. Its only purpose is to fasten, because it is directly above the headset it has little to no effect on the balance of your scooter.
The size of the clamps depends on the size of your bar, mostly you can pick between clamps with a 31.8 mm inner diameter or oversized ones with a diameter of 34.9 mm. The oversized clamp is usually supplied with a “Shim”, a sleeve which is placed in the clamp to reduce the internal diameter, which in turn makes it easier to mount them on standard sized bars.
We have double, triple and quad clamps, which are all named to the number of bolts (screws) with which the clamp is screwed. Depending on the compression needed and the fact your handlebar is “only” held by the clamp, it may be convenient to grab a triple or quad clamp. In other systems where the handlebars are also screwed from below, a double clamp does the trick.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
A clamp, whether double, triple or quad, should always be screwed from bottom to top with just enough flexibility, but don’t overdo it. If you tighten them too much and in combination with an aluminum handlebar you could damage the clamp thread.
Headset
The headset is mainly built in two parts. An upper ball bearing (above the down tube) and a lower ball bearing (under the down tube). There are two main types of headsets, standard and integrated both with thread or without. Integrated headsets are the highest quality. They are also the most recent in headset development and are the simplest. Integrated headsets only fit on decks which have been made exclusively for integrated headsets.
Threaded headsets are used exclusively for entry-level scooters, the sole reason being that these headsets are the cheapest. Threaded headsets are screwed with the fork, so a threaded fork is necessary, and so attached to the downtube. Afterwards the headset is fixed with a locknut.
Threadless headsets work similarly but are not screwed to the downtube. A separate compression system is required, which allows more pressure (compression) to be applied to the bearings. This results in smoothness. The lower bearing is placed on a spacer which is placed on the fork. The upper bearing is mounted on the downtube and provided with a compression ring, so as to tighten the headset.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
A headset should be taken care of. With the right handle it can last a very long time. So, check your headset regularly that the compression is correct or pull it down, if necessary. Now and then we advise you to remove the headset and clean it since the bearings can get dirty. Don’t forget to grease it again before reassembling. If you don’t like cleaning the headset that much. There are sealed headsets, these have closed ball bearing in which no dirt can come.
Middle
Compression
In the previous section, we’ve already dropped the name compression. That’s because the task of a compression is to press the handlebars or the fork (depending on the compression system) to the headset caps, so that there is enough pressure on the ball bearings in the headset.
There are four different compression systems. The ICS system, the HIC system, the SCS system and the HIC modified iHC system. You have to pay close attention to which compression system you use or which fits the selected fork or headset.
The ICS system: with this system, the fork is screwed to the bar. An M6 screw is inserted through the fork and a strut is installed in the handlebar. It is screwed into the harness and thereby the two components are pulled together and press the headset together as desired. Depending on the fork, you’ll need different screw lengths.
With the HIC system only the fork is connected to the headset by the compression. A so-called shim is inserted over the fork, which is connected or screwed to the fork. This shim is pressed onto the headset cap. With this kind of compression, a HIC bar must be used. This is an oversized bar which has a larger inner diameter so it would fit over the shim.
The SCS system is probably the system that is most simple and offers the most combination possibilities. It is considered the “best” compression system. The SCS combines compression and the clamp. The SCS clamp has a larger inner diameter in the upper part, it can be plugged over the fork and then screwed to the appropriate fork (with internal thread) using a top cap and an M6 screw. As with the HIC system, the handlebar has no direct function for compression.
And finally, the iHC system. This is, you’ve guessed it right, a modified HIC system. It works like the HIC but the fork has a smaller outside diameter. As a result, a standard or oversized bar can be selected with the same type of compression.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
If you are using a compression system, it is normal that it’ll loosen up relatively quickly. You should follow up on your system until it has settled down and remains firm. With a screw protection lacquer you can create a little remedy in advance, because this will prevent the screws from loosening by the many vibrations of your stunt scooter while doing your mad tricks.
Deck
Decks differ in with, length. There are decks with and without buckle in the deck plate. The wider and longer a deck, the more weight it brings with it. A deck with thinner material can save you weight again but in turn will affect the stability.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Find out what kind of rider you are. Size and weight mean easier or heavier operation.
Brake
Brakes are there to control the speed. There are several variants of brakes. Brakes with a return spring are called flexbrakes, which is mostly installed on decks. Brakes can be made out of steel or aluminum. Steel brakes last longer but are heavier. Most brakes are made specifically for that deck, so they do not fit other decks.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Be careful not to overheat your brakes, you could damage your wheels by heavy braking.
Griptape
Griptape allows you to control your scooter without slipping off the deck. It’s actually the same as in skateboards.
There are griptapes in different colours and designs all to your own personal taste.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
To add a new griptape you have to clean the deck with alcohol. After that you can slowly glue the tape from back to front, make sure that is does not make bubbles.
Bottom
Axles
Axles are needed to screw your wheels to the fork or to the deck. Pegs are also fixed over the axle.
There are two different types of axles. Axles with external threads and with internal threads. Those with internal threads are slightly lighter but not quite as stable as those with external threads. Both versions are almost always made out of steel. To increase the stability, steel axles are often hardened. The only exception are black axles. Those axles are made out of titanium, this makes them very light but not as stable as the steel ones.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Axles must be long enough on both sides so that it connects to either side of the deck and fork
Fork
The second most important part of your scooter. Not only because it holds your front wheel but also because it is “responsible” for the support and compression of your scooter.
Depending on the compression system, it keeps your deck and headset together and/or even the handlebars. There are different types of forks and picking the right one is decisive for the compression system and the handlebars. There are threaded and threadless forks.
Threaded forks are for beginners because they are significantly cheaper. They are made of steel and therefore quite heavy.
Threadless forks are mostly made out of aluminum. These are very light and stable.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
The size of your wheels must always match the fork. Most forks have a mount that fits both 100 mm and 110 mm wheels. Beginner scooters have mostly 100 mm wheels, so you should check this before buying new wheels.
Pegs
Pegs are extensions on the axle which can be used to perform tricks like grinding.
Typically, pegs are available in aluminum, steel and plastic. The aluminum and plastic ones are very light, while steel pegs are significantly more stable and “grind” on almost every material.
When installing pegs, other axles are required.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Make sure you insert the axle into the peg and not the bolt or nut. If you are fitting front and rear pegs, chances are that you’ll have to buy a longer axle for the rear.
Wheels
Wheels influence the optics and the driving behavior (handling) of your scooter. Most wheels come in sizes 100 mm and 110 mm. Technically speaking, a 100 mm wheel is slightly slower than a 110 mm wheel, but a bit more agile and direct. Wheels can be made out of alu and plastic.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Check before you change your wheels, if your fork can handle them.
Ball-bearing
These are pressed into the rims of your wheels. These come in different standards. A stunt scooter usually uses ABEC 7 or ABEC 9 bearings. The 7’s are somewhat more robust due to their size and number of balls in their interior. The 9’s are slightly faster.
Your Urban Wheelz top tip
Occasional cleaning and subsequent greasing can improve the lifespan of your bearings