Kick scooters are clearly very popular and super-fun to ride. Finding a top quality kids kick scooter is relatively easy thanks to review sites like this, but once you have the scooter - what next?
For many kids the real fun in riding kick scooters is in pulling lots of tricks and fancy maneuvers. There are many kick scooter tricks that can be accomplished by beginners, so don't worry that you can't start right now, you can!
Leave the harder tricks, like the freestyle scooter tricks that the pro's do until after you have accomplished these ones and you will have a solid foundation for the pro tricks. To encourage you, remember that even the most experienced kick scooter rider started from a point of not knowing anything at all!
Here are our top five kick scooter tricks for beginners to try out and practice. They are simple and don't need to much effort to get right but perfect them will require frequent and regular practice.
1. Bunny-hop/Ollie/Jay-hop
This is the simplest and most basic trick that beginners can achieve with minimal practice. It is also known to be the gateway to many of the other tricks, so it's worth getting it right. Almost every kick scooter trick begins with an Ollie which is the first trick you should try out and get familiar with.
To achieve a Bunny-hop trick, simply pull on the handlebars and also do this with your feet at the same time. This will result in the wheels leaving the ground while you are on top of the scooter. In simple terms, just jump up together with your scooter and you will have done a Jay-hop! The Ollie is generally the easiest trick to accomplish and can be rated 1/5 in terms of difficulty.
2. Manual and nose manual
Also known as wheelie, the manual is yet another easy to achieve kick scooter trick for beginners. Unlike most tricks, a wheelie does not require you to begin with an Ollie. Instead, all you need to do is lean back and balance on the back wheel while lifting the front handles to get the front wheels off the ground.
The Nose manual (or Endo) is equally easy to do and the only difference is that you will be balancing on the front wheel and lifting the back wheel. Both the Wheelie and Endo are simple tricks that can be rated 2/5 on the difficulty scale.
3. Kick-out or TailWhip
This is where the kick scooter tricks start to get real tricky. Nonetheless, accomplishing a kick-out or tailwhip should not take much practice and will soon be something you can combine with many other tricks. It simply involves pulling off an Ollie and then kicking out the deck to one side at 45 degrees (with both feet).
Never forget to straighten the deck back just before landing. This will prevent an awkward landings that may either cause accidents or damage to your scooter. A kick-out maneuver is relatively easy to accomplish and we rate it a 2/5 in the difficulty scale although total beginners may need to practice this one a bit more before they are comfortable with it.
4. Grind
The Grind is one of the most popular kick scooter tricks for beginners particularly because it is very easy to do. However, grinds are also the easiest to screw up and can result in bad landings and semi-serious accidents. the Grind involves an Ollie followed by kicking the deck 90 degrees before landing on a rail and sliding along the rail (grinding).
You can then grind as long as you want on the rail before taking an Ollie off the rail and landing back on the ground. Grinds require some confidence and balance which is why many beginners who can do them will feel a little superior and skillful than those who cannot grind. We rate the Grind a 2.5/5 on the difficulty scale.
5. Bar-spin and tail-whip
As the name suggest, the Bar-spin is all about spinning the handlebars 180 or 360 degrees. The Tail-whip involves spinning the deck in similar manner while in mid- air. Both the Bar-spin and tail-whip can be difficult to learn let alone accomplish well if you are an absolute novice, so don't worry if you need a lot of practice to get this one right. However, this trick is one of the intermediate stunts which will become the gateway trick to having some real fun pulling advanced moves with your scooter.
The Bar-spin or Tail-whip can be combined with various other tricks to achieve real unique maneuvers, that only you can do. This way you can build up your own repertoire of tricks that others have never even seen before!
Both these tricks are around a 3.5/5 on the difficulty scale and require a fair bit of practice to get comfortable with where you can pull them on-demand.
Having Fun With Kick Scooter Tricks
Kick scooters tricks are fun and what every kid wants to ride a scooter for. For kids, a scooter is perfect because it's convenient to carry and can boost confidence, balance and social skills. Pulling various tricks will really make a kid rise up the ranks in their social circles! The top 5 beginners tricks we list here not only serve as great exercise but also increase concentration levels and ultimately (for the kid) increase street-credibility at the scooter park.
There are many more advanced and complex tricks but most of them are a combination of above moves and this top 5 list is the foundation for the pro-tricks. Get these one right and you will be on your way to kick scooter trickery stardom!
It is important to take real care when starting out with kick scooters tricks as they can cause devastating falls and accidents. Stunts like the grind should be done on safe rails in a skate park unless you are really experienced. Nonetheless, all of these tricks are easy to achieve and practicing them regularly will quickly lead to a pro status. Enjoy!
Thank you so much for reading our top 5 list of the best kick scooter tricks for beginners. Pleas go ahead and leave a comment about your experiences below.