KickPed vs. Xootr: Customer Service review

Fig. 1. Drawing: Silberwolf; Wikimedia Commons CC

The wall seal on my KickPed’s rear wheel roller bearing broke last week. In fig.1 you see an example bearing with wall intact, in my pic below the interior is exposed—not an ideal condition for something packed with greased bearings a couple inches above churning road grit. I’d remove the wheel for a full view of the bearing but as you will see below, I don’t want to provide a pretext to void my warranty.  In my earlier review I noted that the rear wheel bearings began to whine 4 months after purchase whenever I rode through the rain, so they were not watertight from early on. The bearing filled with grit and degraded quickly after the wall broke; a couple of days after the breach the collar holding the bearings skipped off and the whole wheel slid on its axle up against the frame, so that the friction made it almost too hot to touch after a fast 3 minute ride.

There should be a blue plastic wall fused between the collar and outer edge of the roller bearing.

Yesterday I called the NYCeWheels store, which sold it to me just over a year ago when it hit the market. I told the guy on the phone that I’d need to bring in a KickPed for warranty service, and when I bought it. I explained the failure, and he supposed that the bearing had been defective when it left the factory, or the installer had hammered it onto the tire too hard, weakening the wall seal. “Thousands of scooters have been out there with no problem,” he added, and said they could replace the bearing in an hour. I could drop it off and pick it up the next day if I didn’t have an hour to wait, and that they’d loan me a scooter to get back to the train (a 10-minute walk from the store). I had thought I’d have to lug the KickPed while riding my troubled Xootr just to save on 50 minutes (total) of walking.

MAINTENANCE FREE, LIFETIME WARRANTY

At the store, 2 guys were at the desk. One was blond, one brown haired, neither was who I had spoken to. Both looked at the damage. “Blond” said maybe I said on phone that I wanted warranty service to a Xootr, which I hadn’t, and which wouldn’t have made sense anyway since the KickPed is NYCeWheels’ product (with GoPed). In fact the website encourages users to bring it in for free biannual safety checks as part of “free lifetime service.” They call the KickPed  “100% bullet-proof,” “indestructible,” and go so far as to say: “This is a kick scooter that you buy once and never have to worry about breaking or needing repairs.” Yet Blond added they might not have the wheels in stock, which I thought odd because it’s their product. Maybe they don’t carry them because the KickPed is “maintenance free.” Blond left the shop to ask someone if there were wheels in inventory. He returned and said they didn’t have the wheels there.

“Brown” told me I could get wheels online and they were “only about $55.” But, he added, if I had the shop install them, with labor I was “already halfway to the cost of a new scooter, so I might as well buy a new scooter.” At my incredulity, Brown told me that the warranty only covered the frame, and gestured at the KickPed on the counter to encompass the handlebar/stem assembly, deck, and chassis. Blond added cheekily that I “should have read the fine print.” When I complained, Blond had the balls to quip, “Maybe it’s time for a bike!”

I had to get to work and clearly the situation was deteriorating fast. I asked if I could just replace the bearings, and Blond said sure, I could get them at any skate shop. I picked up the KickPed and left, planning to check NYCeWheels’ website when I arrived at the office.

Of course I had read correctly a year ago. As an editor, it’s impossible that I hadn’t “read the fine print” when spending $250 of my hard-earned—editors are often as poor as they are punctilious. I called back and spoke to Alex, who was probably “Brown” because he was sitting at the counter nearest the computer and phone 45 minutes ago. I asked him to send me a link to the language stating that the lifetime warranty only covered the frame, and there was a 30-second pause during which I heard several mouse clicks. Finally he said dully, “We’ll honor the bearing repair for you.”

“You can’t send the language because it’s not there!” I said, “Then I’ll bring it by.” I’ll post whatever comes of that, if they don’t rig the KickPed to spill me in traffic.

And here: the thrilling conclusion to this weeklong saga traversing 2 counties and 3 trains.

By contrast, Xootr customer service has always been exemplary, even across great distances. For example, The ex3 was their short-lived nickel metal-hydride battery scooter with electronics from Nova Cruz. At $900 it was like buying a used car you could fold up. It went 17 mph for up to 2 hours and had an innovative regenerative brake, which converted braking power into energy fed back into the battery/ies. It was hella fun but developed battery problems, and Xootr always honored a 3-month battery warranty via an independent repair guy in Queens. He was himself an enthusiastic F-scooter rider. I took the ex3 there 40 minutes on the train, 3-4 times to have the $200 battery replaced, and each time he’d swap it out only for it to fail within the 3 month warranty. I gave up after a while, and because I moved and didn’t have to ride 4 miles to the train on something smaller than a bike, I never got it fixed. A couple of years ago I eBayed the ex3 to an electrical engineer specializing in batteries. FWIW, Nova Cruz LLC ultimately went bankrupt.

When I got a Xootr MG in 2007, it eventually exhibited some mystifying problems that persist today. The specifics are beyond this post, but my first service was 3 years after I bought it, and warrantied because they decided it was defective. A year later I had to send it to Pennsylvania again  (at $25 each time), but bought the KickPed to cover me.  They sorted what appears to be a defect promptly and sent it back—3 years after purchase, despite a 1-year stated warranty. The decision is at their Xootr’s discretion, but compare their engineers’ discretion to the cavalier fuckery of NYCeWheels, and caveat emptor.

Xootr vs. KickPed: Folding Scooter Throwdown

The boys waiting to go out. Xootr’s mudguard brake is custom.

(August 2012 UPDATE: A comparison of the companies’ customer service. Unlike the scooters, it’s a clear call.  Click here.)

Those who snoot at folding scooters should recall that not long ago, riding bikes was hardly a serious transportation option in the USA. People rode them for health or fun, but rarely while trying to get anywhere. Today, the huge market for fancy helmets and bikes trumpets their mainstream acceptance.

Folding scooters have yet to get there. In 2000 it was all you could do to avoid being hit by, or running over, children on Razors, and since then the market has changed—struggling to shake off the stigma of irritating flimsy toy rides.

Xootr has done much to mature the image. Its award-winning scooter design is magnificent and a pleasure to ride, fleet and strong. Its machined sexiness is the choice of celebrities (e.g. Leguizamo, Thurman, Jackman). I’ve loved my MG for several years, and appreciate Xootr’s great service.

But when I sent it to Pennsylvania for repairs, my eye wandered to other f-scooters. Because without it, I can’t run errands in New York City when I go in for work; in fact my life is structured around its portable  efficiency. I visited the fine folks of NYCEWheels to test-drive different f-scooters and after a lot of reading, riding and talking, bought a KickPed. I can’t say I like the name. It’s practical, affordable transportation that’s sturdy but prosaic…they should rename it the Proller.

It’s been a couple months of daily riding now, and I’ve decided it’s exactly on par with the Xootr MG. Here’s why.

The KickPed is well designed, but with less regard for style than the Xootr MG. It’s more functional, but its planning was guided by NYCEWheels in collaboration with Patmont Motor Werks (of Goped fame)—so it replies to criticisms of the Xootr as well as other makes the ‘Wheels team has sold and serviced.

The Xootr’s biggest flaw is its atrocious shock absorption. Its  hard polyurethane wheels cut friction, but transmit so much impact you could read braille by driving over it. Consequently it goes very fast (2-3 mph faster than the KickPed) but with no mean discomfort on rough roads. With roads going unrepaired in the U.S. and colder winters from climate change busting up New York’s roads for the foreseeable, I’ve come to prefer comfort.

Taking the KickPed and Xootr past “YOUR SPEED IS…” traffic scanners, I get 14-15 mph on the Xootr and 12-13 on the KickPed riding full tilt. But the KickPed can hit anything and lose little speed.

The Xootr’s linchpin is prone to encrustation and jamming; with time, opening or closing requires tugging or hammering . It’s taken me up to 30 seconds to free it. Conversely, the KickPed’s spring-loaded axle shaft locks it open once it’s at a 90° angle, in less than a second. It makes a hollow “TOCK” sound somewhat like a shell being chambered. But the only thing holding the KickPed closed is a nylon strap, and a few times it’s come loose to drop the deck like an axe, sometimes near people. On impact, it would probably cause more alarm than harm.

Carrying the Xootr requires a strap, but the KickPed is designed with a big gap between board and axle to rest on even the bulkiest shoulder. This gap also makes it impossible to neatly stow under a subway bench; I have to prop it between my legs where everyone can stare at the prosaic deck hardware. With some practice you can balance a book off it and have a place to hang your helmet.

With fewer moving parts and a simpler design, it’s easy to see why the KickPed has a lifetime warranty. But Xootr has always replaced everything except worn-out brake pads without charge. Even with their benighted eX3 electric scooter of the early ’00s (run by Nova Cruz’s faulty elecs), they’ve always been honorable.

The KickPed’s traction is superior, with its fat (slow) rubber tires, particularly in rain. Xootr expressly tells you not to ride the MG in rain, because the brakes don’t work and if you lean while turning on slick roads, it will skip out from under you. Neither brakes particularly well in rain, however, so the utmost caution must be used in traffic. It probably takes twenty feet to stop from full speed, and more if the oil from the asphalt has surfaced and sheens your works.

UPDATE: It’s been four months, and I am still very pleased despite a new complaint about the KickPed. The bearings in the Xootr’s wheels have been through all kinds of weather in all seasons, and have remained slick and silent. The ones in the KickPed have more friction and are poorly sealed, so every time I ride it through the rain it squeaks for a day or two. That’s a shame because it’s velvet ninja silent otherwise, unlike the Xootr which clatters with its hard tires and jarring frame.

On balance, they are both extraordinary vehicles, worth the money considering I save 20 minutes on my commute with an f-scooter each day (it saves you 66% of your walking time). Laugh all you want, walkers. You’ve time to during your quaint post-primate ambulations.