Does your scooter sound like a rattlesnake? Are you shaken when you want to be stirred? The Urban Wheelz team takes a look at the common causes of rattling and its solutions.
I (Glenn) lost my heart to the stunt scooter sport. When I was a little boy and I laid my eyes on my very own scooter, I was instantly sold on the hobby. It was fun because it was outdoors and it was with friends. But there was one thing that really bugged us all the time: The rattling scooter. It can be compared to when you discover your car starts to make unfamiliar noises. Be it on the front or back wheels.
So why does my stunt scooter rattle?
Pegs
When my scooter started making these irritating rattling noises I was really worried. I could no longer enjoy my ride like I used to. I was in panic and avoided looking my friends in the eye, so ashamed was I of my cheapo scooter and its death-rattle noises.
Fortunately, my friends weren’t the sort to look down on less fortunate people, and instead of mocking me they pitched in to help find solutions.
One of the options we tried was to tighten the bolt on the back wheel and the brakes. This made the rattling stop for a short period of time, just creep back up. So we then asked our dads for some advice.
This was the time that my dad – a bike mechanic- told me that the most common cause for rattling in a stunt scooter is by not fitting the scooter with the necessary pegs, as was the case with ours in the story. The pegs offer us more strength on the wheels and thus enables the scooter to absorb the effects of all those crazy mad stunts we pull. Nowadays you have the luxury to look up the right fitting cool looking pegs online because those babies come in steel, aluminium, and even plastic. So many options to choose from.
Bearings
Another obvious cause my dad pointed out were worn-out bearings in the wheels. Or unfortunately sometimes lower quality bearings, as you can read in our reviews. As with the pegs today you can find replacement bearings pretty easily on the internet. You can even modify your scooter with different bearings from different brands.
Lubrication
Honestly, this is something a lot of people forget when buying their new scooter. A lack of lubrication is a major reason why your scooter makes those funny noises. So we advise that all movable parts of the scooter should be lubricated on purchase and afterwards on a regular basis. This lubrication will ensure that the scooter will move in an efficient way as it is supposed to do.
You
We can’t forget that it is your own responsibility to ensure that the stunt scooter doesn’t develop any mechanical problem that could result to it rattling. So treat your stunt scooter like a gift from heaven.
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