Xootr
Encyclopedia
Kick scooter
A kick scooter or push scooter, originally scooter, is a human-powered vehicle with a handlebar, deck and wheels that is propelled by a rider pushing off the ground. The most common scooters today have two hard small wheels, are made primarily of aluminium and fold for convenience...
s and folding bicycle
Folding bicycle
A folding bicycle is a bicycle designed to fold into a compact form, facilitating transport and storage. When folded, the bikes can be more easily carried into buildings and workplaces or onto public transportation or more easily stored in compact living quarters or aboard a car, boat or plane...
s. Xootr scooters are characterized by 180 mm polyurethane
Polyurethane
A polyurethane is any polymer composed of a chain of organic units joined by carbamate links. Polyurethane polymers are formed through step-growth polymerization, by reacting a monomer with another monomer in the presence of a catalyst.Polyurethanes are...
wheels with aluminium
Aluminium
Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....
hubs, and a hand brake for the front wheel (for the rear on old models). Compared to the other folding scooters with smaller wheels, these larger wheels provide an easier ride, at the expense of a somewhat less easy portability. The hinge is distinguished from competitors in being locked by inserting a pin, rather than by a cam or other latch. The platform is large enough for adults, and available in plywood, magnesium, or aluminum at different prices.
Xootr scooters were originally introduced in 1999 by Nova Cruz Products. Since 2003, the Xootr scooter has been manufactured and sold by Xootr LLC.
The earlier Nova Cruz Xootr was made with a plastic Handlecap which is prone to breakage. This is part of the mechanism for clamping the T-Handle at the correct user height. A replacement metal component is available, with downloadable instructions. See the xootr website.
The Xootr Swift Folder
Swift Folder
The Swift Folder is a folding bicycle, designed by Peter Reich of Design Mobility Inc. of Brooklyn, New York, in collaboration with Jan VanderTuin of the Center for Appropriate Transport in Eugene, Oregon....
folds more quickly, though less compactly, than many other folding bicycles.
Manufacturer
The roots of Xootr go back to 1999, when Karl Ulrich, Nathan Ulrich, and Tom Miner (along with partners Lunar Design and Cheskin Research, and several other investors) founded Nova Cruz Products. Nova Cruz designed, manufactured and sold the Xootr kick scooter, the Xootr eX3 electric scooter, and the Voloci electric motorbike.The members of the Xootr LLC team have created products for many companies including Apple Computer
Apple Computer
Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation that designs and markets consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers. The company's best-known hardware products include the Macintosh line of computers, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad...
, Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
, and Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
. They now focus their energies on designing and manufacturing products they consider to be fun, socially, and environmentally friendly.
Kick Scooter Models
| Name | Deck | Max. Rider Load | Components | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ultra Cruz | 9-layers of birchwood laminated in polyurethane | 300 lbs. (136 kg) | N/A | align="center" Available |
| Mg | Solid magnesium cast. Available in Black, Red, and Blue | 250 lbs. (113 kg) | Single-component deck-rear wheel assembly. | align="center" Available |
| Roma | 6061-T6 aluminum | 300 lbs. (136 kg) | N/A | align="center" Available |
| Venus | 6061-T6 aluminum | 300 lbs. (136 kg) | N/A | align="center" Available |
| Street | 6061-T6 aluminum | 300 lbs. (136 kg) | N/A | align="center" Available |
| eX3 | Solid magnesium cast | 250 lbs. (113 kg) | Battery-powered electric motor. Single-component deck-rear wheel assembly. | align="center" Discontinued |
| Comp | Carbon fiber deck | 300 lbs. (136 kg) | N/A | align="center" Discontinued |
Bicycle Rack System
The Xootr CrossRack Bicycle Rack enables the mounting of a standard bicycle bag to almost any bicycle especially on bicycles with small wheels.Wheels
Xootr wheels were originally sold in two styles: standard (translucent yellow) and ultra (black), with the ultra wheels having 10% lower rolling resistance. The wheels were very high in quality for the price and were used as a stock wheel for a number of gravity racing competitions.Teams using Xootr wheels with a custom rubber formulation swept the top three places at the All-American Soap Box Derby
Soap Box Derby
The Soap Box Derby is a youth soapbox car racing program which has been run in the United States since 1934. World Championship finals are held each July at Derby Downs in Akron, Ohio...
Ultimate Speed championships in July 2008.http://www.xootr.com/gallery_xootr-kick-scooters.html?pictureId=91http://aasbd.net/webdev/aasbd71/index.shtml
In popular culture
The Xootr was featured in the film Little ManhattanLittle Manhattan
Little Manhattan is a 2005 romantic comedy film directed and written by husband and wife Mark Levin and Jennifer Flackett. Though Levin is credited as the director and Flackett as the writer, in the film's DVD commentary the two reveal that they collaborated on both tasks.Little Manhattan depicts...
, where a Xootr Street serves as the primary means of transportation for the main character, Gabe. In one scene, one of his friends has a Xootr Ultra Cruz while another friend makes do with a Razor
Razor (scooter)
The Razor scooter is a compact folding Kick scooter invented by Micro Mobility Systems and manufactured by JD Corporation. The Razor appeared in 1999 and became extremely popular around 2000. Today, The Razor Scooter is manufactured by Razor USA, based in Cerritos, California...
.