Portable Mobility Scooter
Hi,
I am looking around for a suitable mobility scooter for my 13 year old nephew. The ones I have been reviewing, although functional looking, don't appear particularly designed for the younger generation. Portability is a key factor which again seems to limit the field.
I was wondering whether anyone can give some advice on this, share their experiences good and bad and recommendations ?
Try as many as you can. Make a list of things you will need the scooter to be able to do, eg- fold easy to go in car boot,how much it will be used throughout the day, will it be used for just a run to the shops or over footfall fields, are the pavements near you scooter friendly. There are loads of things to consider, mind the guy in the shop has an interest to make as much as poss from you. Best to ask here if you have questions.
When you say portable, is that to fold up to fit in the boot, or drive up a ramp into an estate car? I have a Prorider road king, a class 3 8MPH scooter, but with the seat off and the tiller down It goes up the ramps into my estate car..........So it is portable.......But not everyones idea of portable.....The very small lightweight ones can be very expensive, useless on anything but very flat surfaces and a limited range....I wanted one that will do rough terrain, hence my choice.
I would suggest check out as many as you can at dealers, then look out for the one you /he like/s best in a private sale.
I have had 3 scooters, all bought on or through ebay/preloved or gumtree. All excellent and between £80 and £430....a lot less than a dealer would want.
I have a sterling pearl. It's not really a young person's scooter (if there is such a thing) but it is easy to load. Nice thing is, it comes apart easily to go in the car; bad thing is, the accelerator lever is pressed by your thumb and it's hard to keep it pressed. I got it second hand and was lucky the seller had just replaced the batteries. I think second hand is a good way to start figuring out what you want. I'm looking at powerchairs now because of the thumb problem, and I'm desperately telling my kind family not to go getting me a machine that doesn't match my pernickety requirements. But bless him, my brother has just got me one for £60 at a car boot sale. A non-runner, but he says he'll fix it...
Get a standard scooter and let your nephew personalise it with stickers.
Or like me, LED spotlights, phone holder, USB socket.... and whatever else I can think of.....
Thank you all so much for your replies. I am travelling at the moment hence the slow response. Portable from my perspective is the ability to fold, carry and stow on a plane and portable enough to wheel around by our family. Do manufacturers offer different colours and fabrics ? I am concious that teenagers want similar things whether with mobility issues or not, distinctive, modern and smart. If we asked the youngsters to design their own scooters I wonder what would be important to them ? I like the idea of usb sockets, mobile phone holder, led lights etc. Are these optional extras or would I have to build these features myself ?
I only know what is detailed below, but have a look at the post in Suppliers News: "Explore the new R92 Stingray". To my eyes, I doubt it's particularly stable and it won't be at all supportive. But if he has good balance, is reasonably agile but can't walk far, this might be worth a look. To me it looks way more cool than a standard scooter (I use a standard scooter everyone, don't be offended). It certainly looks very portable and would be great to take on a plane, etc. But it isn't designed for anyone with disabilities so you would need to have a careful look. Generally 3 wheeled scooters are less stable.
There is a mobility scooter that folds up into a suitcase type shape.
http://www.mobilityhire.com/freerider-luggie.html
The features you are speaking about would have to be built in by yourself.
There are plenty of suppliers out there specialising in childrens mobility equipment. As a teen, it would depend on his SIZE - height etc, more than anything.
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