As you can see from the picture, Pierre was very proud when we received a big box through the post containing a Mini Micro Scooter for him to review. Our garage is already full of scooters, most of which we've reviewed already - the Vtriker Elite 3-wheel scooter, the Hannah Montana folding scooter, the Ozbozz My First Scooter - but 3-year-old Pierre can never manage to get on with any of them because they're just too big, heavy and awkward for him to handle. He does try but he always falls off or rides straight into a tree so I have to stop him, or tell one of the girls to wheel him around the car park on it with him hanging on for dear life !
I did tell Pierre that although it was for him, he might not be able to play with it until he was a bit bigger as we pulled it out of the box and slotted it together. The first thing that we noticed was
that it was absolutely the perfect size for him. The box warns that
the maximum weight that it will withstand is 20kg so it really is
only designed for small children, aged approximately 3-5. This made
Pierre very happy because I told the girls that they were not to use
it, it was exclusively for Pierre !
The next thing that we noticed was how light it is. It only weighs one and a half kilos so Pierre could not only push it along with no difficulty, he could also lift it up and carry it to wherever he wanted to be. Without any coaching from me whatsoever, Pierre instantly starting riding around the car park, with one foot on the scooter and one foot on the floor pushing himself along. I left him (under the girls' supervision, I hasten to add !) for all of 2 minutes while I dashed back across the road to the garage to get the camera and was absolutely stunned to see that by the time I got back, he was whizzing around with one foot in the air, with perfect balance and coordination ! I'm not exaggerating – he literally went from a few unsuccessful attempts to ride his sisters' much too big and heavy scooters to looking like he'd been doing it for years in the space of a couple of minutes.
More to the point, he was having a fabulous time, giggling his head off and visibly growing in confidence the more he scooted around. Well, they say pride comes before a fall and he did fall off a couple of times – each time he fell over backwards and the scooter carried on a few feet in front of him, rather than falling on top of him, as usually happens with the bigger scooters. I'm not sure if that was pure luck or part of the design though ! The wheels give it great stability though because they are slightly angled – they looked wonky/broken when I first looked at them but Sophie informed me that they were like the wheels on Olympic bikes (?!).
The only slight drawbacks are that it is quite difficult to steer and that it is so easy to ride, Pierre gets over-confident, rides too fast then can't manage to stop when one of his sisters or their friends ride in front of him on their bikes ! They've been warned to give him some space while he finds his feet ! There is a brake at the back but Pierre hasn't worked out how to use it yet. They're tiny niggles though - Pierre absolutely loves it and has asked to go out and ride his scooter every single day after school, whereas usually he's tired out and just wants to snuggle up on the settee in front of a cartoon while the girls do their homework.
In this Great British year, the scooters are available in a limited edition design (in red, white or blue, obviously) with a free Union Jack bag that attaches to the front of the scooter and can also be used as a rucksack. I've had a look at the Micro Scooters website and am really impressed with the range of scooters and also the accessories that you can buy. As well as the bag, you can buy bottle holders (very useful because all that riding around is thirsty work), bells, wheel whizzers and they even have a scooter with a seat for small riders - I've never seen those anywhere else. Ooh I've just seen that they also have Hobby Headz and Zooters that you can use to customise your scooter and turn it into a fabulous animal - brilliant !
I was expecting to receive just another scooter to review with nothing much extra or different to offer. I have to admit, I've been totally blown away by how perfectly they are adapted to very young riders. That said, don't assume they only make scooters for toddlers - they have a whole range of scooters suitable for all ages, right up to adults.
star rating : 5/5
RRP : £59.95
for more information : http://www.micro-scooters.co.uk/product/mini-micro-blue-scooter-limited-edition/
Disclosure : We received a Mini Micro Scooter in order to write an honest review.
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love the design, we got one of these some time ago my daughter took a while to get used to steering it but is now super fast, she finds it easier to control than many others
ReplyDeleteI've seen that Micro are selling the Union Jack ribbons on offer at the moment too http://www.micro-scooters.co.uk/accessories-type-personalisation/ribbon-set-union-jack-1.html
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