JD BUG Original Street Matt Black Foldable Scooter MS130B Review

Reviewed by Kelvin Tebbs

The glorious British summertime has finally arrived (let’s hope it lasts more than a couple of weeks!) and with the school holidays now upon us, it’s time to get outdoors and have some good old family ‘fun in the sun.’

Although I’ve always been a keen roller skater, and in fact, even had a skate board in my time (many moons ago!), one thing I’ve never owned, or even been on before, is a scooter.

As most of you will be aware, electric scooters are all the rage at the moment. They are currently the ‘must have’ fashion accessory. However, when it comes to a ‘family friendly’ activity, then I don’t deem these to be the most ideal or sensible of options! Electric scooters have already been proven to be dangerous with some serious accidents having occurred. I also read that personal ‘private scooters’ are actually still illegal to use on our streets and roads! These new modes of transport have the ability to reach extreme speeds (up to 50mph) and are mainly designed to fetch speeds of between 15-30mph. Not to mention the expense of purchasing such scooters (they cost hundreds of pounds). Although there are legal Government run scooter schemes in place, these electric scooters are meant to have a speed limit of 15.5mph, but you also require a driving licence to be able to use one of them. Again, this means that not all the family would be able to part-take should you wish to have a ride on one of these types of electric scooters.

A much more family oriented scooter that would suit most people’s needs, is the JD BUG Original Street Foldable Scooter. Although this may not be electric, and it will certainly require some leg work as you push yourself along, it’s a highly convenient and super fun way to get outside and explore, or merely just to get you from point A to B.

One of the great things about this scooter, is that is targeted for the age range of 6 – 16+ years (there’s really no upper age limit if you’re a big kid like me!) so it’s perfect for the majority of the family to enjoy!

The JD BUG scooter has had global success since the turn of the millennium, and the company reports that it is considered to be one of the most safe, lightweight and foldable scooters that can be found on the market.

For my very own first scooter experience, and for an activity that I would like my whole family to join in with, I deem this push, foldable scooter to be the perfect product! I would like us to turn off technology and instead, get outside, soak up some sun, have some healthy exercise and a good laugh as we scoot about together exploring the local area.

It’s certainly worth visiting the website; WWW.SKATES.CO.UK where you can see the awesome selection of colours that it is available to purchase in (purple, pink, red, blue, black, aluminium) and also where you can purchase some extra matching safety accessories like a helmet. You can never be too safety conscious when enjoying yourself whilst playing with toys like this, so in my opinion a helmet is a sensible option, and for younger children, then some knee and elbow pads might be a worthwhile investment too!

We were very excited when the courier delivered our JD BUG Original Street Foldable Scooter in matt black. This colour choice is unisex so all members of the family would be happy to jump on it and go for a ride. Should our little girl like to ‘jazz’ it up in the future and make it more of a ‘Princess’ scooter, then we could always tie some pretty ribbons to the handle bars! The scooter did come with some extra stickers which you could use to ‘customise’ it’s design but personally, I thought it was aesthetically pleasing just as it was.

I have to say, I was really impressed with how easy it was to assemble/disassemble and I’m pleased to say that there were no ‘brain scratching’ moments when reading the instructions with this one! Each handle bar simply slots into place, and when you want to fold it away, you simply press a ‘click-release’ button and the handle bars release and then tuck neatly away. The main steering column also literally folds down neatly with one swift movement of a tension sprung lever. This is so quick and very easy, perfect for when you want to store it out of the way, pop it in the car or carry it when you’re out and about. An allen key is supplied with the scooter whereby you can alter the ‘tension’ in the lever’s spring, meaning that there shouldn’t be any issues for a child using this mechanism if they try to do it on their own either.

The scooter feels very sturdy, robust and of high quality. This is a blessing when you are an adult jumping on board – the last thing you want is for a wheel to fall off mid-push. In fact, the scooter can take a maximum rider weight of 100kg (which is more than the average adult man’s weight) so feel rest assured, it’s suitable for almost all members of the family.

Another handy feature is the carry strap that attaches to the main steering column of the scooter. The strap is secured with clicks so it won’t get caught under any wheels causing potential accidents and it can always be attached to the scooter, so when you need to jump off and carry it, the strap won’t have been left behind, lost, or you don’t need to go rummaging through a bag trying to find where you put it, but instead you can conveniently just fold the scooter down and throw it over your shoulder as you go about your business! With this scooter only being 2.78kgs, it really is lightweight and portable. I think most women’s handbags weigh more than this little machine!! If the event that your child doesn’t want to carry their scooter, it’s light enough that you won’t be left with too much of a burden holding onto it.

If weight isn’t an issue, then you’ll also be pleased to note that the scooter has an adjustable handle height (using a tension spring lever again) so it should generally suit all ages and the majority of heights too. The height literally can be altered within seconds, which is great if the scooter is being shared between siblings or friends, or if I walk my child to school (whilst they scoot) and then I jump on it to ride back.

The foot plate is also a decent size to accommodate a range of different foot sizes. My daughter’s feet are obviously much smaller than my own and the grip tape that has been used, assists in keeping our feet in place. This is very helpful if using the scooter in wet weather, making the standing platform less slippery.

The handles are made of a soft foam so it is comfortable to grip and hold onto, and there was no evidence of any reissue/ foam rubbing off onto our hands when we used it.

Finally, on the note of having safe fun, even though you shouldn’t be able to achieve extreme speeds on this, for extra peace of mind, there is a spring loaded brake located over the back wheel which you just push your foot down on to activate.

Whether you enjoy playing on this scooter as a family or allowing your child to ride it to school, and then you get to enjoy a little ride back home (making it a great time saving device!) then this is a brilliant purchase.

This scooter would make an ideal present for Christmas or a child’s birthday, and due to the quality of this product, I’m sure a child could get a good few years worth of use out of it too! If an adult can ride it, then a ‘teen’ shouldn’t have any issues either!

Rating: I would rate this product 4.5/5

RRP: £54.95

You can purchase the JD BUG Original Street Foldable Scooter in matt black MS130B here.