Micro Suspension Scooter review
It's expensive and relatively heavy, but the Micro Suspension Scooter is well built and provides a smooth ride
Micro is the biggest name in scooters, with armies of its scooters being used to get small kids to school every day. They’ve even created a fantastic commuter scooter or two. Despite the name and the average size of its core users, around 1m tall by our reckoning, the company has always made scooters for bigger ‘kids’ too. The latest being the Micro Suspension Scooter, which helps smooth out those bumps and lumps.
Scooter design has always been a tricky balancing act, unlike riding one which is child’s play. You have to keep the weight down, as scooters need to be carried at times but you also want a smooth and easy ride, for which larger wheels help and they weigh more. Suspension could be the answer then, helping smooth out the bumps and lumps without adding excessive weight.
Unsurprisingly the Micro Suspension Scooter does weigh 1.3kg more than the otherwise similar, but suspension-free Micro Black Scooter. While it’s a relatively unnoticeable 400g heavier than cheaper suspension scooter alternatives, such as the OXELO Town 7 XL. If you have to carry your scooter far, then this is a black mark, but it shouldn’t daunt anyone who simply lugs it on-and-off trains or in-and-out of the house.
Suspension here is provided by a front unit between the wheel and the upright steering column, and a horizontal unit beneath the deck attached to the pivoting rear wheel assembly. The two are well balanced, so that the deck sunk by about an inch when we stood upon it, while remaining completely level. The traditional wooden deck, which used to bend and help absorb shocks is gone. We can see that having both a bending board and suspension could have made for a very odd feeling ride.
As it happens the Suspension Scooter is a dream to ride, the front-and-back suspension makes for a far more comfortable ride, reducing both bumps and vibration. As anyone who’s ridden a mountain bike knows though, suspension can also absorb your own efforts of propulsion, and the suspension here is firm enough not you don’t feel like you’re losing any significant power when you push.
It’s worth noting that this scooter will not suddenly make rough ground easier to traverse, only more comfortable. The roughest and bumpiest roads and pavements near our offices were still a slog to scoot over, requiring near constant effort to keep the scooter flowing along.
The scooter uses the bigger, solid 200mm wheels to help cope with the rough stuff while maintaining good speed on the smooth; there’s the usual back break, a kickstand underneath and a front mudguard to help keep your trousers clean.
Coming back to that tricky balancing act, the Micro Suspension Scooter certainly deserves a spot in Micro’s line up, but it’s not the answer to all scooting ills. It does even out the bumps, but it’s not going to magically transform a poor surface into an easy-going one. If you have the leg muscles to handle the rough though, then the suspension will make it feel smoother.
It’s pretty expensive though, at a whopping £180. It’s worth it if you have a lengthy daily scoot as part of your commute and want a smoother ride, but it’s overkill for occasional use or simply keeping up with your child on the way to school, if they can cope without suspension so can you. That said if you have to be the parent with the latest kit, then this is a pretty good way to show off.
Would be show-offs should be careful though because early next year the company will be launching its first electric scooter. The E-Micro Scooter is so svelte it’s hard to believe it’s powered, but with speeds of up to 15MPH it’s pretty quick, though it may fall into a legal grey area when it comes to finding anywhere to ride it.
