Proper scooter maintenance is essential for keeping your ride running well. Naturally, stunt scooters will take some punishment at the skatepark and while Two Bare Feet Scooters are constructed to be incredibly durable, we recommend you do regular checks of all parts. This means you can perform any necessary repairs to prevent something like a wobbly set of handlebars causes a nasty bail.
First thing's first, it's essential to make sure your scooter is setup correctly and safely when you take it out of the box. These setup steps will also factor into your regular maintenance checks.
Stunt scooter setup
Your brand new Two Bare Feet stunt scooter will come almost complete but to keep our packaging compact, the handlebars will be separate from the deck and wheels. You’ll also receive a set of Allen keys which fit your headset adjustment, clamp bolts and wheels.
Setup is quite simple, but before placing the handlebars over the headset, we recommend you check the headset is adjusted correctly. You want this bolt to be tight, but not so tight that it restricts the forks from turning. Turn the forks with your hand to make sure it’s smooth and also wiggle the forks to make sure there’s no movement from side to side. If there is, you need to tighten the headset.
The next step is to place the handlebars over the headset and slide them all the way down. Line the back of the clamp up with the downtube and begin tightening the bolts in sequence. We recommend doing a quarter turn on each bolt from top to bottom until they are all tight.
Stand the scooter upright and with one foot on the deck, turn and wiggle the handlebars to make sure they turn smoothly and nothing is loose. One last thing to check is that the wheels are properly tightened which can be done using Allen keys. Now you are ready to ride!
Stunt scooter maintenance
When it comes to maintaining your scooter, we recommend doing regular safety checks before each ride. These steps are very similar to the original set up steps:
1. Grab your Allen keys and check the clamp bolts are all tight before moving onto your wheel bolts
2. Test the handle bars by turning and wobbling to make sure they are turning smoothly and not loose.
3. Check the wheels are spinning without any side to side movement and adjust the bolt if necessary.
If everything feels fine, enjoy another day of safe scooter riding!
How to tighten scooter handlebars
One problem you may encounter is your handlebars not lining up with your front wheel. This has likely happened over time as your scooter takes some hits on the ground from falling, or when you’ve bailed a trick and the clamp has loosened slightly. It’s nothing to worry about but it's certainly good to solve ahead of your next ride.
Loosen all of the clamp bolts in sequence before placing your feet either side of the wheel so it’s facing straight and turn the handlebars to line up with the wheel. Then, making sure the two components stay in line, grab your Allen key and tighten the bolts on the clamp by a quarter of a turn each until they are tight.
Stunt scooter handlebars and front wheel wobble
If you find during one of your routine checks that your handlebars and front wheel are wobbling together, this is most likely due to a loose headset. To solve this, you must release the clamp, remove the handlebars and adjust the bolt on the top of the headset.
To properly tighten your headset, we would recommend turning the Allen key until it becomes difficult to turn any further. Then, turn the forks to check they are spinning freely. If not, back the bolt off by a quarter of a turn and check again. Do this until the forks are turning freely but there is no wheel wobble.
Stunt scooter grinding noise - headset maintenance and cleaning
You may find after a lot of use, your stunt scooter creates a noise when turning the handlebars and they might feel like they are not turning smoothly. This is usually due to dirt interfering with the headset and its bearings, or the bearings not being properly lubricated. If so, it’s a good idea to take the headset apart and give it a good clean before applying lubrication to the bearings.
To take your headset apart, completely unscrew to the bolt on top and remove it along with the cap as in steps 1 and 2 in the diagram. Pull the metal sheath upwards (this may require you to twist as you pull to loosen it) and then begin to remove the three rings as shown in steps 4,5,6 to reveal the top bearing. Once the rings are clear you can simply pull the fork out of the headtube to reveal the underside bearing.
The bearings are held in place by the compression of the other components just removed so you can pull these out gently by hand—now you’ve completely disassembled your scooter headset. We then recommend giving every part a thorough but simple clean with a cloth or rag to remove any dirt. There’s no need to use soapy water as this will only remove the grease which is necessary to keep everything turning smoothly.
Once you’ve removed any dirt, it’s time to grease the bearings. You can use any specialist bearing grease or you can simply apply Vaseline around the whole bearing with your finger. Reassemble the headset referring to our diagram if needed and go through our setup checks to make sure everything is secure before riding.
Stunt scooter replacement wheels and bearings
Stunt scooter wheels are a part that will wear over time so it’s likely that you'll have to replace them at least once during the life of your scooter depending on how much you ride it. This is especially true for the back wheel, given the force applied by braking. With this in mind, our scooter parts range boasts a variety of scooter wheels which can be purchased either as singles or in pairs. Our wheels also all come fitted with ABEC9 bearings so your ride will be fully refreshed.
If you're wheels don’t need replacing, we still recommend removing them regularly to clean out any dirt from the axle and bearings. This can be done by placing both Allen keys on each side of the wheel, holding one tight and turning the other clockwise. Once unscrewed, pull the axle pin and bolt from each side and slide the wheel out. Clean everything up with a cloth and apply a specialist bearing oil or grease with Vaseline before reassembling.
If you’re looking to refresh or upgrade your ride we have many stunt scooter accessories available. If you have any further questions about setup or maintenance, feel free to email or give us a call and we’ll do our best to diagnose and help solve the issue.
