So, you have your stunt scooter and you want to start learning some tricks. Where do you begin?
Here are 5 tricks for absolute beginners. These tricks are easy to master and form the basis of many advanced tricks!
1: The Bunny Hop
The bunny hop is simply jumping with your scooter while in motion. It’s the first trick that most riders learn
There are two key components of the bunny hop- Jumping with your legs and pulling up your handlebars with your arms.
While in motion with both feet on your scooter, bend your knees and jump upwards. At the same time, use your arms to pull your scooter upwards, keeping your feet touching the deck. You should jump in the air with your scooter, and land back down.
2: The Tailwhip
So, you’ve mastered the bunny hop? Step it up a gear with the tail whip. This trick looks impressive, and it’s pretty easy to master if you can bunny hop well.
The tail whip is made up of 3 main components: The bunny hop, the hand movement and the foot movement.
First, you need to decide which way to spin the deck:
If you ride with your left foot in front, spin the deck clockwise. If your right foot is in the front, then you will have an easier time spinning the deck anticlockwise.
Now you can practice each component individually.
Hand movement: holding your handlebars, lift your bike off the floor and move your hands in a see-saw movement. This will cause the deck to spin. Practice this, holding the scooter as close to the body as you can without it hitting your legs.
Foot movement: Practice kicking the deck with one foot to get the movement down.
Putting them together: Start practising putting it together by jumping, spinning the deck, and landing with your feet on the floor. Eventually, you will be able to land on the deck.
3: The Bar Spin
Another trick that is an advancement from the bunny hop is the bar spin. This trick involves performing a bunny hop and spinning the handlebars when you are in the air, catching the handlebars again and landing the bunny hop.
First, practice spinning the handlebars. You can have the front wheel over a curb while you get used to the motion of spinning and catching the handlebars. Spin the handlebar with your dominant hand and catch with your non-dominant hand as the handlebar comes back around.
To combine with the bunny hop, you can begin by practising on a soft surface like grass, and just bunny hop without moving and spin the bar while you are in the air. Add movement in once you have mastered this, and in no time you will be able to impress all your friends with the bar pin.
4: Riding Backwards
Scooting backwards (sometimes called ‘fakie’) is a great trick to master as it can form the basis of many other cool tricks!
When riding backwards, you will be turning your handlebars the opposite way that you want to go!
Push backwards and put both feet on the deck. Adding in some small hops using the back wheel will help keep you moving backwards, and as you get better you can reduce the number of hops.
5: Manual
A manual is riding on only the back wheel of your scooter, like a wheelie.
Push forward and start moving. Then, as your riding, lift your front wheel off the ground while your feet are on the deck, balancing on the back wheel.
Adding Your Own Style
Mastering these basic tricks will give you a great foundation for more advanced tricks, but don’t be afraid to give even beginner tricks your own flair and style!
