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Tidbit Archive
| Suddenly scooters are everywhere. I had one when I was a kid.
It looked more or less like the one pictured on the left side above and
it probably cost my parents less than $10.00. My daughter just
got one similar to that in the picture on the right for her 10th birthday.
It bears about the same relation to the scooter I used to have as her Sony
Walkman has to the AM transistor radio I had when I was around her age.
It cost over $100.00.
The new scooters--JDRazors, Kicks, Xooters, Racers, K2 Kickboards, and others--have rigid braced steel or aluminum frames, wheels of various colors (the newest of which light up with LEDs when they turn) with bearings, adjustable stems, brakes, and wheelie bars. They fold up for easy carrying and some even have small electric motors. And it's not just 10 year olds who ride them. Teens, college students, even commuters in suits can been scooting around city and suburban streets in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and other countries. All of which is an effective demonstration of how technology and skillful marketing can update an old-fashioned product, enhance its functioning, and make it into the latest hip fashion accessory. |
Links:"Kicking Around: Scooter Boards Are the Latest Street Craze," a report from Trends in Japan, April 13, 2000 -- about the time the scooter fad began to take off in the United States.
"Wheelie Good Fun: Shiny, compact and cool, scooters have become Europe's ubiquitous accessory," Aisha Labi, Time Europe, June 26, 2000. The scooter craze hits Europe.
"The Problem With Investing in Fads -- Speed Bumps," Laura Vanderkamhe, Fortune Investor, July 24, 2000. You would think that something this hot ought to be a good investment opportunity. Here's why it's not.
"Professor Ulrich's Excellent Adventure," Paul C. Judge, Fast Company, August 2000. A profile of Karl Ulrich, professor at the Wharton School and founder of Nova Cruz Products, LLC, maker of the Xooter (for whom the scooter fad has been a very good investment opportunity).
"Razors fast, fun, very affordable: Japanese fad invades U.S.," Jeremiah Boydstun, Ka Leo (the student newspaper of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa), July 27, 2000.
"Better than a Go-Cart: Zipping Around Town on a Mini Scooter Blows Up," Nathan Hollis Brown, Fox News, June 6, 2000. Includes a video of scooting around New York on a motorized mini-scooter.
A comparative evaluation of various brands of kick (i.e., human powered) scooters from Zap Electric Bikes and Scooters in Milpitas, California.
Test of the Razor scooter on ign for men (June 20, 2000).
E-mail your tidbit suggestions to ateich@aaas.org.Search for more information on scooters on:
