Children’s scooters have two wheels and are manually powered by pushing with one foot while the other rests on a platform. They were popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s and were a precursor to the bicycle for rural children. They have evolved over time with the addition of training wheels, pneumatic tires, and handbrakes.
A children’s scooter is a ride-on device that generally consists of two wheels and is manually powered by pushing the scooter with one foot while the other foot is placed on a riding platform. The typical kids’ scooter design uses a low-slung frame that doubles as a riding/standing platform, and a raised steering mount extends from the front wheel to a pair of handlebars. Steering is controlled by turning the handlebars. A braking system, if present, consists of a steel bracket that is stepped on by the driver to cause the bracket to press against the rear tire. This effectively brings the children’s scooter to a controlled stop.
Made popular in the late 1930s and early 1940s in America, the children’s scooter was a precursor to the bicycle for many rural children, while remaining the leading toy for urban children. Much easier to operate on concrete or pavement than gravel, the children’s scooter is commonly used where roller skates are used. Some versions of the children’s scooter were available with training wheels to allow even the youngest and most unstable rider to enjoy a ride. The typical design included solid rubber tires mounted on a stamped steel wheel, however some of the more upscale models used wire wheels with pneumatic tires.
The softer and wider pneumatic tires made it possible to operate the kids scooter on uneven surfaces such as grassy lawns and even gravel paths. This scooter model also used a refined braking system instead of the steel-on-rubber type popular in earlier versions. Mild tire children’s scooters commonly used a braking system that consisted of a button near the rear of the scooter’s frame. The rider simply stepped on this button and a rubber pad was directed into the road, slowing and stopping the scooter. This braking system remained the preferred braking method for many scooter owners until the advent of handbrakes.
The parking brake first came to children’s scooter models in the late 1950s. Using two rubber pads that were pressed against each side of the rear wheel by squeezing a handlebar-mounted lever, the rider was able to stop the scooter without removing a foot from the stable platform of the footboard. This eliminated many accidents that were the result of unstable balance and imbalance caused by having to move one foot from the driving platform to the brake button.
Protect your devices with Threat Protection by NordVPN
