The Gen XY Lifestyle
Swifty One Mk3: A Kick Scooter Designed with Comfort in Mind
Is it really worth paying top dollar for a Swifty One Mk3? After all, a kick scooter is just a kick scooter, isn’t it?
Swifty Scooters originate from the UK and claims to make the ultimate foldable adult scooter. It’s not surprising why; the build is robust and easily accommodates my heavy frame with nary a creek of protest — it can support up to 150kg. It’s a feeling of assurance that you’re buying, I suppose.
The One isn’t a little scooter by any means. But it is impeccably balanced, and someone like myself who doesn’t quite have the best sense of balance found it very forgiving in that respect. With its 16-inch wheels, the scooter also feels very stable, and it feels very assuring when you’re travelling at higher speeds. The trade-off, of course, is in the form of weight: 8.3kg, which is light for its size, but might feel a little heavy (it’s not that bad, actually) if you are new to kick scooters and have to bring them around.
But that’s still OK; you may feel inclined to persevere given the stability the weight brings, plus it looks as though Swifty has designed it to be ferried around in cars. So you can park your car on the outskirts of town, pull out the One from the boot, and zip around to your destination in relative comfort without having the headache of hunting for a lot during peak hours.
While it doesn’t have a suspension, it can take its fair share of bumps without too much discomfort to yourself, so you can do a little off-road if you have to. The One has both a front V-brake and a rear pedal brake, giving you a little bit more control when you need to slow down quickly. Using the rear brake will take some getting used to, though, if you’re new to this.
Folding up the One reduces its footprint slightly, and makes it easy to place it in the boot of the car – but not every car though. When folded it just about edges over a meter length-wise, so smaller cars may struggle. Similarly, it may be a little cumbersome for public transport. Swifty says you can roll the One on its front wheels when folded, but it’s rather uncomfortable to do so for extended periods of time. If they can include a way for you to hold onto it comfortably, that would be great. But I guess that’s now how they intended it to be used. A kickstand would have been nice as well, but I found it was good enough to just to lean the edge of the handlebar against the wall.
In all, the Swifty One Mk3 is a quality-made kick scooter and the price is a reflection of that. It may not be the smallest kick scooter around, but it is one of the most comfortable ones you can ride.
The Swifty One Mk3 kick scooter is available at My Bike Shop for S$999.
