Today there are quite a large number of factory-made electric scooters on the market and you can choose one to suit every taste and budget.

But any product, as you know, is designed for the average buyer.

One is foldable and lightweight, but it travels slowly and does not start from a standstill.

The second one starts and accelerates perfectly, but is too heavy.

What to do if you want a scooter specifically tailored to your needs?

There are two options - either take the factory one and modify it, or assemble the device yourself from scratch.

Both options have the right to life and which way to go is everyone’s personal choice.

I will try to outline how a set of elements for self-assembly is completed.

The main element of the assembled scooter is the “base”.

Scooter databases are conventionally divided into subtypes:

Micro - with wheels up to 8 inches,

Mini wheels 8-10 inches,

Midi - 12-16 inches,

Maxi - from 20 inches and more.

Scooters with wide, non-bicycle tires stand a little apart. Rhino, Evo, Scruiser and their clones are also considered scooters, although in terms of engine power and appearance they are clearly closer to motor scooters and scooters.

So the base is where you should start dancing.

The final driving performance of the electric scooter depends on the choice of base.

What should you pay attention to first?

The size of the wheels, cast or inflatable, the presence of suspension, a place for a convenient location of the battery and the width of the dropouts for installing the motor-wheel.

If your city has mirror asphalt that is washed with shampoo every evening, then 5.5 inches is quite suitable for you.

If there are tiles and cracks in the asphalt - 8 inches is the minimum and pneumatics are very desirable.

If your asphalt has not been repaired for the last 10 years, don’t even look below 12 inches.

Do you want to drive at a speed of 40-plus and not be afraid to fly head over heels on an unexpected hole? From 16 inches and above.

The suspension partially reduces impacts from bumps on small wheels, but the rule “a wheel can move over an obstacle no more than half its diameter” will not go away.

Battery location Options - in the deck, in the steering column, on the steering wheel in a bag or case, on the trunk, in a backpack.

Some scooters have a cavity in the deck that allows it to be used for packing battery assemblies.

Pros: low center of gravity, appearance. Disadvantages – additional protection of the battery from impacts on road surface protrusions may be necessary.

You can place a battery in the steering column if it consists of several pipes and there is free space between them. Pros - the battery does not significantly affect the weight distribution of the scooter; when making the facing, the scooter is not afraid of falls. Disadvantages: labor-intensive work.

Also, some scooters have mounts for a bottle on the steering column, where you can screw a case or battery in a “bottle”. Pros: ease of installation, ease of removal. Disadvantages – it interferes with driving; if you fall, the fasteners can break off.

You can place the battery on the steering wheel in the case. Pros: ease of installation, ease of removal. Cons: worse weight distribution, more noticeable impacts on the front wheel. If you fall, there is a chance that the case will break.

The batteries for small and folding scooters are usually located on the handlebars in the bag. The bag for photographic equipment is sufficient for a small battery and does not attract attention. Pros - ease of installation, Cons - risk of damage to the battery if dropped.

The battery on the rear rack was a popular solution for early electric bicycles. It is of little relevance for scooters, due to the lack of a trunk on most of them. Pros: ease of installation, ease of removal. Cons: change in weight distribution, noticeable impacts on the rear wheel.

It is also possible to ride with a battery in a backpack and a cable with a connector to the scooter itself. Pros: the ability to insulate the battery for use in winter. Lightening the scooter, which significantly increases maneuverability and the ability to actively ride with jumps. Disadvantages – diseases of the spine from constant load (depending on the weight of the battery), change in weight distribution to the motor-wheel side.

Dropout width.

This is the distance between the seats in the front or rear fork of the scooter.

For micro and mini models, the standard motor wheels are 45 or 65 mm. For anything larger - 100 mm.

Bicycle MKs for the front wheel also have a standard of 100mm.

There are Mk 110, with a brake disc, but less often.

135mm is already the bicycle size of the rear wheel, for gears on one side.

The electrical part of the electric scooter is quite simple, 4 points - battery, controller, motor and controls.

Previously, batteries were heavy lead, with a low resource of 300-400 cycles and low charge-discharge currents.

Modern electric scooters run on different types of lithium batteries – lithium-ion, lithium-polymer, lithium-iron phosphate.

Let's look at the difference between them.

Lithium polymer (LiPo) batteries have a favorable cost, high charge and discharge currents, and a service life of 500-800 cycles.

Lithium ion (LiIon) – 500-1000 cycles, light weight, temperature dependent.

In general, there are three subtypes of ions, depending on the type of chemistry. Some have higher capacity, but higher internal resistance, others have high current, but do not shine with capacity.

They require protection from mechanical damage when used on scooters. There have been cases of ions catching fire from impacts when dropped.

Lithium iron phosphate (LiFePo4) – About twice as heavy as ions, more expensive. They give out and receive high currents, the service life is 2000 cycles.

Not fire hazardous, quite resistant to mechanical deformation. Can be discharged at sub-zero temperatures.

Drive of a scooter wheel from an external motor by a belt or chain is still common, but it is clearly losing ground to motor wheels.

A wheel motor is the best choice of motor for a self-assembled electric scooter.

They come in two types - geared and direct drive. Let's look at the differences, pros and cons of each type.

Gear micros.

Lighter than direct drive MK of the same power, better efficiency at low speeds. Excellent roll-up due to the presence of a freewheel, which is very useful when using a foot-powered scooter. There are wear parts - gears, someday they will require replacement. Noise - the gearbox howls during operation. Impossibility of regenerative braking. Slightly better boost potential due to higher rotation speeds.

Direct drive (DD).

Heavier than gearboxes, rolling is worse due to the cog effect. There are no wearing parts other than bearings in such MKs. Low noise, and when using a sinusoidal controller they can be completely silent. They have the ability to use recuperation braking. They justify themselves when using a scooter in areas with large differences in elevation and as a means of saving brake pads. When installing MK on mini and micro scooters, it happens that recuperation is the only adequate brake on board.

Controller.

The controller is the brains of our scooter; the traction uphill, the start method and the dynamics of acceleration will depend on its choice. The choice of controller must be made according to the motor parameters. For example, a wheel motor has the following parameters: 48V 350W, what does this mean?

The rated voltage of the wheel motor is 48 volts. Nobody forbids feeding it less, but at the same time its power will be lower. No one forbids supplying more to it, but it is important not to overheat the microscope with the pumped power.

This is the rated power of this mk. As practice shows, the rated power can be increased by 1.5-2 times for DD and 2-2.5 times for gearboxes. To select a controller, let's convert watts to amperes - 350/48 = 7.3 amperes. Of course, it will run at 7.3 amps, but it’s pretty sad, so we boost it to 12-15 amps for direct drive and 15-18 for gearboxes. For these currents we will need to look for a controller for such a microcontroller.

Controls.

1 – power switch.

The power supply is usually connected directly to the controller and is not interrupted when idle. The power switch turns off the low-current part of the controller that supplies voltage to the control circuit. Since the currents there are small, you can use almost any suitable latching button.

2 - Gazulka.

It is a motorcycle-type throttle grip, or a half throttle or throttle trigger. I strongly recommend choosing the trigger, since it is easy to release in an emergency, and a person instinctively grasps the handle more tightly to hold on. Has at least three wires - plus 5 volts, ground and output signal.

3 – Brake levers.

Electric scooters are equipped with brake handles with built-in limit switches to turn off the motor when the brake is pressed. If the controller has an activated regeneration braking mode, it will also turn on when any brake lever is pressed. They come with built-in buttons, with reed switches and with hall sensors. Connection - ground, output signal. For hall sensors, + 5 volts are additionally connected. Sometimes, in order not to change the standard handles, separate modules with reed switches or hall sensors are installed. They are attached to a cable or to the body of the handles.

So we figured out the general electrical structure.

Let's look at assembly examples.

This project uses the Yedoo Ox base,

battery cells lithium iron phosphate

and micro direct drive, 12 inches in diameter.

The battery is divided into two packs and placed in the deck and steering column.

The controller is mounted under the steering column, where it does not interfere and is always blown by the air flow.

The drive is rear-wheel drive, which is a convenient solution for climbing hills. The battery is protected from below by a 4mm alucobond plate.

Final characteristics of the scooter:

Weight 18.5 kg.

Battery 16S3P, 52 volts 9 ampere-hour.

“In fact, life is simple, but we persistently complicate it.”
(Confucius)

Many people probably still remember how in the 70s our fathers made us scooters with wheels made of ball bearings. How this thundering miracle aroused extraordinary pride in us, and white envy among the neighboring boys. But time passes, everything changes... The fashion for scooters has returned again, only our children are already riding them. And about four years ago, having assessed my capabilities, I decided to make a scooter from a children’s bicycle that had become small.

I’ll warn you right away that you will need here: a welding inverter with electrodes (preferably 2), an angle grinder and a meter of profiled rectangular pipe. And since the scooter has been made for a long time, I will only explain some of the nuances.

I got it like this:

Quite responsive for acceleration and quite fast. And now, in order. First, we saw off the back and front parts of the bike. And in front we saw off the frame tube parallel to the steering tube.

We measure the profiled pipe and make V-shaped cuts with a grinder at the bends. Bend and cook. We also thoroughly weld the attachment points to the rear and front units. We extend the steering column with an additional pipe, which we also weld to the original bicycle one.

A bolt with a wedge assembly passes inside this pipe. Naturally, the original bolt turned out to be short and I had to cut it in half and weld a piece of wire (6mm) into the middle. Cooked it in a vice to get it smooth. Pay special attention to the distance from the site to the ground surface. It should be minimal, taking into account the unevenness of the road. I had to redo it; I raised the platform too high.

The board is screwed on top and the scooter is generally ready. The only thing missing is the brakes. They can be used from an old bicycle (regular rims). In general, you can leave the pedals, and lengthen the seat tube and you will get a hybrid, a kind of bicycle scooter.

If desired, you can install an electric motor with a gearbox on the site, and a battery on the trunk. But that's a completely different story.

Homemade scooter on skis

I probably won’t discover America by saying that children know how to baffle their parents... My daughter has a scooter with small wheels, which she no longer likes because of the same small wheels, photo from the Internet.

And a small bicycle, again with small wheels, which is not satisfactory for the reason that my knees touch the handlebars, photo of a real bicycle.

So, the task was set to make a scooter out of a bicycle with large wheels. Having scratched the top of my head, I went to the garage... More on that later... Since a scooter with small wheels is no longer available, and at the “technical advice” my daughter and I decided to make a scooter on skis. What you need: free time (there’s plenty of it during the holidays!), scooter, pieces sheet metal and mini skis.

We disassemble the skis and drill through holes with a diameter of 4 mm.

Then we select the required sheet metal, 2mm thick, and mark it.

Before welding the cut parts, I decided to do this.

Trying it on for skis...Normal!

This is the main mechanic and initiator of all this disgrace.

We paint, dry, and put this “sandwich” together

It took two evenings, 3 hours each, to build this scooter—with an assistant. And in one I think faster. There are not many photos without a description (as I said above, more on this later) of our parallel project “Scooter on Big Wheels” with my daughter. The construction of the scooter occurs from the rear.

Post by user MishGun086 from the DIY community on DRIVE2

Make your own scooter from scratch

I go to a pretty fun engineering college (Harvey Mudd) where most people use some form of wheeled transportation, from longboards and unicycles to scooters and free lines.

Step 1: Design

Before I do any actual modeling, I sketch first for most of my projects, including this one. I use them to figure out the basic sizes I need. Once I had an idea of ​​what I was going to do, I went around my campus with my laptop and tape measure and took pictures of all the styles of scooters that I liked. I ended up choosing the Razor A5-Lux for my scooter. I also decided early on that I wanted to make it out of aluminum, with a laser cut acrylic deck and maybe some LEDs for night cruising.
After 20 minutes of taking measurements on someone's A5-Lux, I had all the measurements I needed for the next round of sketches. I then went to Google SketchUp and made a full 3D model. Even though the design details with small parts were not 100% accurate in the SketchUp model, I used the model to figure out what other aluminum stock I needed and the specific cutting length for some parts.

Later in the build (about 5 months later) I learned SolidWorks in an engineering class. By this time I had most of the parts done in the build, so making an accurate model was much easier this time. I used this model to figure out the exact length and location of the "folding bar support" but I'll get into that later.
I used mostly 8-32 cap screws and 8-32 button caps, with a few 5-40 cap screws for the little things.
After much online research, I discovered that large wheelchair casters are cheap, durable, and fairly affordable.
I initially decided that I wanted the deck to be coated with clear acrylic paint, so I also ordered a piece of 1/4 clear green from E-Street Plastics. I use a laser cutter to cut the deck.

Step 2: Deck Support

I started with supporting the deck and worked through it with subsequent pieces. The deck stand is the part that supports the base of the scooter.
I used two lengths of 1" x 1/2" x 20 5/8" 6061 aluminum as "rails" and joined them with two 2" pieces of the same material to create a support for the deck. I used a bandsaw to cut them roughly to length and then cut the ends to length on a router bit with a ~1" end mill (I did this for both the guide and connecting sections). Each connection has two black oxide 1” 8-32 socket head cap screws, with a counter hole to keep the heads flush.
For now I just drilled one 17/64" hole (just over 1/4") in the front of the rails to attach the steering column posts. I'll deal with the rear wheel mount later.

Step 3: Strut and Steering Column Sleeves

I then made the uprights, parts of which extend from the deck support axis to the steering column. I made this piece from a slightly different stock, I used 1 1/4" x 1/2" instead of 1".
Anyway, I cut the two pieces to about 16 inches and faced one side of each. The other side had to be routed at an odd angle, so I left one side rough for now.
I also cut two 1" sections of the connector and looked at both sides for length.
Now comes the tricky part: processing this strange angle. This would have been easy if the shop manager had allowed me to swap out the mill vise for a turntable, but he didn't, so I had to get creative. I ended up using regular T-slot fasteners to attach the parts to the mill bed and then put together a very sketchy system to make sure the parts were aligned at 32.3 degrees to the z-axis of the mill. I had an angle gauge, but due to some physical limitations I had to use it in tandem with two squares to make sure everything lined up. And I had to do it twice, once for each piece.
Luckily both parts came out well!
I then attached the two pieces along with the connector pieces. For these connections I used 1" stainless 8-32 button head screws and drilled the heads using a .33" end mill. To finish the piece, I drilled a matching 17/64" hole at the end to connect it to the deck support.
The next part was even more difficult. I had to mill matching 1/8″ deep cutouts into the steering column bushing (the thing that the steering column rotates through). Again, I had to press the piece directly onto the mill frame, which was heavier than before because it was a pipe. It also made it difficult to line up the corner correctly because I didn't have a clear edge to look down on since it was rounded. After much thought, I made the cuts and the joint turned out to be normal. You can see how the pieces fit together in the pictures above.

Step 4: Steering Column

This was definitely the coolest part of the scooter. The steering column needs to turn smoothly even under high pressure, and aluminum-on-aluminum friction isn't good, so I had to figure out how to isolate all the aluminum in the rotating joint.
I used lubricated brass bearings that sit around the steering column and slide inside the steering column bushing to keep the column separated from the bushing, and a brass washer between the top of the bushing and the shaft bushing ensures that the top of the joint is insulated. The bottom joint needs to support a lot of weight, so I splurged and bought a support bearing to lubricate the steering gear.
I made the steering column itself from two telescopic tubes. The lower, larger diameter is about 1 1/4" outside diameter, and the inside diameter is 1". I installed a threaded plate on the inside of the inner pipe and drilled a matching hole in the outer pipe. These holes are positioned at the correct height and a threaded handle holds them together. In the future I may mill a slot into the outer tube so you can easily adjust the height, but for now I'm leaving it at the set height.
I used a 1" end mill to make a rounded cut in the top of the inner tube so another 1" tube could fit through the top to make the handle bars. I made a plug from 3/4" solid rod and inserted it into the top of the inner tube so that the handlebar would cut into the plug.

Step 5: Front Wheel Bracket

I made the front wheel bracket from 2" x 1/4" aluminum, with two connecting pieces from 2" x 1/2". I spaced the connectors 1" apart and connected them to the sides with the same 8-32 screws. After I drilled and tapped all the holes, I used a CNC router to cut a 1.25" hole in the top of the connector and a 1.25" recess in the bottom. This way the steering column can slide through the top and recess into the bottom. This allows for easy weld alignment and provides additional rigidity. Unfortunately my college doesn't have good welding facilities and we can't weld aluminum at all. So, I had to take some pieces home over spring break so I could boil them. I'll talk more about welding in step 9.
I drilled a .316 hole to fit the 5/16" axle and then I recessed the axle to fit the snap rings that hold the axle in place.

Step 6: Rear Wheel Bracket

This could be the simplest piece of work. I used a 1/4" x 1 1/4" rod connected by a small piece of 1/2" x 1 1/4" and attached them with four 8-32 pan head screws. I left the other ends uneven because I wasn't sure where exactly to install the bracket at this stage of the build.

Step 7: Folding Mechanism

Step 8: Welding

When designing, I tried to limit welding as much as possible, but there were still a few connections that simply couldn't be made with screws. This is the connection between the steering struts and bushing, the steering column and front wheel bracket, and the ends on the drop bar.
I also don't have a TIG welder at home, but I read online that you can actually weld aluminum with a MIG setup if you use special aluminum filler wire instead of regular steel reinforcement and use 100% argon as the shielding gas. We also had to replace the sleeve, gun and tip because I guess you can't use any parts that touched the steel welding wire. Something happens on a chemical level that ruins your aluminum weld if your material or filler wire is contaminated with the steel. Because of this, you should also brush the material with a ton of stainless steel brush to clean it before welding (stainless steel is fine for some reason).
Most of the joints I needed to weld were pretty thick so I didn't have to worry about burning through or making anything bad (I actually had to add heat with a butane torch just to get it hot enough to welding) but the steering column tube is very thin and I needed to weld it to the 1/2" plate, so I decided to just use a set screw instead of welding. If this connection doesn't work out later, I'll go through the welding problem.

Step 9: Progress Photos

Here are just some photos of the progress.

Step 10: Acrylic Deck

I made the deck out of 1/4" clear green acrylic.
I used the Solid Works model to set up the dimensions of the deck, and I ended up exporting the model to a .dxf file so I could cut it directly with a laser cutter.
The not the most fun part of this was drilling and tapping 20 holes for all 8-32 pan head screws that hold the deck to the rails.
I usually use a tap in the router chuck and tap each hole immediately after drilling it so that the mill zeros right above the hole. This provides the best tap possible, but it takes forever because you have to take the drill chuck out and change collets and everything, and then change the Z axis height, which is very tedious if you have to do it 20 times in quick succession, so, in this case, I decided against it and just tapped by hand. My wrist was very sore after the last tap, although I'm glad I only used 8-32 screws instead of something larger, otherwise my hand might have fallen off.
I cleaned out all the coolant and reattached the deck! This looks amazing!

Step 11: Finishing Touches and Future Plans

Surface Finish:
I used 240 and 320 grit sandpaper on the aluminum in some areas where the scratches were noticeable. I then used Scotch-Bright overlay and finished the rest of the aluminum with this, providing a nice smooth matte finish.
Final assembly:
I went around each connection and cleaned any remaining cutting fluid from the screw threads and tapped holes. I then put Thread Lock on all the screws before reassembling.

Results.
As always, there is some work to be done, although I am very happy with the current state of the scooter. Here are some things I'd like to work on so far, and I'll add updates as I complete these parts.
Add a battery pack and super-bright white LEDs under the acrylic deck.
Implement a rear PIN-lock mechanism so that I can lock the scooter in the folded position.
Make some kind of braking mechanism.
Make a slot connecting the two holes on the outer steering column so that the handles can be adjusted.
Buy the best wheel bearings to make your ride easier.
Remove more material from the inside of the steering column bushing to reduce steering friction.

A powerful battery... And an impressive price. Yes, there are economical options, but is it possible to spend even less? And if so, how to make an electric scooter with your own hands?

Where to begin?

Decide on what you will base your iron horse on. There are three good, repeatedly tested options:

• From a screwdriver. Drills and screwdrivers are convenient because the battery can be easily removed from them for recharging. In addition, most models have several speeds, which is also a lot;
• From a hoverboard. Very good in terms of battery connection and control, but quite expensive;
• From the radiator cooling engine. Perhaps the most difficult option from the point of view of implementation, but the motor is quite powerful and almost free (you can find a suitable motor at any auto repair shop).

If you do not have much experience with such tasks, we recommend making an electric scooter with your own hands using a screwdriver.

Broadcast

Have you chosen an engine? Now it is important to decide how you will transfer torque from it to the wheels. The following transfer options are available:

• Chain;
• Friction nozzle;
• Two gears;
• Hard transmission.

Again: if you don’t have much experience, use a chain. The option is controversial, because the chain can fly off, but this will be the easiest to implement.

Wheels

Which wheel will be the drive: rear or front? If you choose the rear one, it will be easier to install; if you choose the front one, the scooter will be better controlled. We advise you to still bother with connecting the front wheel, it’s worth it. The wheels themselves can be taken as ordinary ones, with plastic discs. Wheels from garden carts work well.

Frame

The frame is made from ordinary steel pipes. Profiled steel 2.5 millimeters thick will be enough for a self-made electric scooter to withstand a load of up to 100 kilograms.

IMPORTANT: If you are making an electric scooter not entirely from scratch, but on the basis of a regular - non-motorized - scooter, you will not have any issues with the frame and wheels. Just choose from durable and stable models: very elegant ones may not be ready for serious loads.

Battery

Do not use heavy lead batteries! You will most likely not be able to carefully remove them under the deck, and the battery will simply break the entire balance of your scooter. If you are doing it on the basis of a screwdriver, there are no questions - use the original battery - if not, look at those for electric helicopters, the same drills and similar equipment.

You will also need

• Wires;
• Power button or toggle switch;
• Plastic box for battery;
• Fasteners (usually bolts and nuts).

It is not necessary to use welding or similar technically complex fastening methods.

How to make an electric scooter with your own hands?

The best choice would be to watch a video on YouTube before starting work. Look specifically for a scooter assembly based on the engine you choose and with the gear you choose - there are videos for almost all existing options.

And, in any case, you will need some experience working with your hands. Ideal if you have already worked with electrical and metal. If you don’t have any experience, we strongly recommend finding an assembly partner or at least a consultant - a person who can look at your idea and project and give their comments on it.

If you do everything carefully, a DIY electric scooter will cost only 5-7 thousand rubles, which means you can save a lot. Good luck with the build!

Appearing in the 20s. last century, scooters became not just favorite children's toys, but also a common form of transport. Today you can make a scooter with your own hands.

General diagram of a homemade scooter

A homemade scooter is easy to make, and its cost is minimal.

All scooters have 2 main parts - a footrest and a steering column. Manufacturing begins with the footrest. Cut a piece of board 80-90 cm long. A groove for the rear wheel is cut out in the back. The depth of the cut should be 2 cm greater than the sum of the wheel radius and the thickness of the axle. If ball bearings are used, then the axis for them is a wooden rod.

The axis, which should be on the plane of the board facing the ground, is attached with screws. The wheel from a children's bicycle is attached to a wooden boss using nuts. The boss is attached with screws from below to the footrest. The corners on the front of the footrest are cut at 45°. A block is attached to the top, the width of which is equal to the width of the footrest. The front corners of the bar are also cut at 45°.

Now, to get a wooden scooter, remove the iron wire from the window latch and bend the bracket in the shape of the letter P. It should rotate freely in the latch. Cut threads for nuts at the ends of the bracket, insert it into the recess of the latch and secure it vertically to a wooden block of the footrest with screws.

The steering column is made in the same way. The difference is that at the end opposite the wheel, a transverse wooden strip is nailed, which serves as a steering wheel.

In the board of the steering column, at the junction with the footrest, 2 holes are drilled for attaching the steering bracket. Screw a nut onto the ends and insert washers. The rods are inserted into the holes of the steering column. The structure is secured using nuts and locknuts.

Drawings made in advance will make manufacturing easier.

Required tools and drawings

To make a wooden scooter, you will need the following tools:

• workbench or saw sawhorse;
• fixed square for carpentry work;
• electric drill;
• 2 adjustable wrenches;
• tape measure;
• crosshead screwdriver;
• pencil;
• sharp saw;
• hammer.

To make a vehicle out of wood, you will need:

• treated pine wood for longitudinal beams;
• pens;
• handle stands;
• connecting neck;
• plywood for the deck-footboard;
• bolts.

First of all, you should make a drawing. Pieces of wood are sawn off according to size and the centers of the holes being drilled are carefully marked, which should be of 2 different diameters:

• for axial bolts and those to which the longitudinal bars are attached to the connecting neck - 1.3 cm;
• all others - 0.6 cm.

Now you should lay out the parts according to the drawing on the floor. To assemble the scooter handle, you need to attach 2 corner brackets with bolts to the top of the handlebar post. Then the handle is bolted into place.

The front wheels are assembled using a 1.3 cm thick bolt as an axle. A washer is placed on each side of the wheels. Now you need to check whether the assembled axle is overtightened. After this, tighten the 2 nuts opposite each other, which will ensure that there is no vibration during constant movement. 2 bolts with rings are placed in the corresponding holes in the steering column.

The platform frames attach 2 longitudinal bars to the connecting neck. The remaining 2 bolts with rings are placed in the corresponding holes in the connecting neck. The deck is attached to 2 longitudinal beams with carriage bolts.

The next step is to attach the steering and install the connecting neck, to which the corner bracket is attached with screws to strengthen the structure.

The rear wheels are assembled in the same way as the front ones.

All that remains is to attach the brake, and the homemade vehicle is ready. By slightly improving the design, you can get a folding scooter.

How to make a scooter from plywood?

You can make a scooter out of plywood. For this you will need the following materials:

• plywood 10 mm thick;
• furniture board 28 mm thick;
• front fork from a bicycle (20-inch wheel);
• rear wheel (12 inches).

Self-tapping screws and furniture corners can be used as fasteners. In addition, all parts should be glued with PVA glue. More ground clearance needs to be designed. At the end, the product must be varnished, then the wooden scooter will last a long time.

Instructions on how to make a scooter from a children's bicycle

Making a scooter from a children's bicycle is quick and easy. To do this you will need the following materials:

• 2 forks from a children's bicycle;
• 2 wheels;
• water pipe 1.5 m long, wall thickness - 2.5 mm, diameter - 35 mm;
• pipe 1.5 m long, 2.5 mm thick, 20 mm in diameter;
• a piece of plywood;
• spanners;
• screws;
• welding machine;
• drill;
• Bulgarian;
• dye.

In order to assemble a children's scooter, you will need basic skills in working with the tool.

Step-by-step instruction:

1. Let's disassemble the bike. Using a grinder, we cut off the frame from the front fork. You will also have to work with a grinder on the rear fork.
2. Fabrication of the frame and welding of the structure. To create a frame, take a pipe and bend it. One end of the pipe is welded to the front fork, and a metal plate is welded to the other. Now the rear fork is welded to the plate, which makes the structure more reliable. A bicycle brake is attached to the handlebars.
3. Attach a board or plywood. To make it comfortable to stand while riding a scooter, a board should be screwed to its frame. To do this, first weld 2 plates and drill holes in them. The board is attached using screws with nuts or self-tapping screws; a cut is made in it so that the frame fits into it.
4. Painting. You can use spray paint. For example, paint the front wheel with matte black, and the back wheel and the board with pink fluorescent paint if the vehicle is intended for a girl.

A wooden scooter or a scooter made from bicycles, made by yourself, will be inexpensive and will serve for a long time.

Instead of a preface

Folding mini-scooters rolled into our lives like lightning. Outwardly, they are not much different from each other. The main difference is in the names. For example, the foreigner “Scooter”, the Russian “Zzhik” and “Moonshine” and so on.

The modern scooter is a product of interspecific hybridization of the classic running machine by K. F. Drez - a scooter (the design diagram is taken from it), a skateboard (support platform) and roller skates (polyurethane rollers).

The development of the scooter continues, so it is quite possible that completely unusual examples will appear. Moreover, when riding a scooter, when pushing, muscular energy is realized most effectively; more muscles are used than when riding a bicycle.

If a folding mini-scooter is a thing for sports and entertainment purposes, then the “Dachnik” scooter, which I want to talk about here, is a thing for household purposes.

Development of the idea

Pushing with my hands a handcart on wheels - the main means of small-scale transport mechanization of the era of transition from developed socialism to a market economy, I once realized that there was clearly a lack of a support platform with a wheel. After all, by placing one foot on such a platform and pushing off the road with the other, you could ride on a cart, like on a scooter.

However, an attempt to adapt a platform with rollers from a skateboard to a cargo trolley was not entirely successful due to the poor quality of the sliding bearings of the wheels of the cargo trolley, and besides, the maneuverability of the crew left much to be desired. But my family didn’t allow me to completely ruin my son’s skateboard.

In this regard, it was necessary to develop a cargo-passenger scooter. I don't pretend to be a new idea. At one time, engineer S.S. Lundovsky built a cargo-passenger scooter, but in his design the luggage rack platform, taken from a road bicycle, was raised too high, and the structure itself, assembled on the basis of a children's bicycle, did not have sufficient strength.

The main material for the manufacture of the proposed below homemade scooter(Fig. 1) a used car rack made of steel tubes and inflatable wheels from a children's bicycle measuring 12.5"x2.25" (205x56 mm) were used.

The main elements of a homemade scooter

Front fork

For the front fork - steering column, I selected steel pipes with a diameter of 20 mm, although pipes with a diameter of 22 mm would have been better suited. At the ends of the flattened fork pipes, slots are made for installing and securing the front wheel axle (Fig. 2).

The part (bridge) that combines the feathers into the fork is made of a channel with a flange width of 75 mm and a length of 120 mm, bent from a steel sheet 3 mm thick. Two holes with a diameter of 20 mm are drilled in the channel at a distance of 90 mm from each other to install fork-column pipes in them (Fig. 3). These pipes are welded to the bridge using circumferential seams. Between the holes for the column fork pipes in the bridge flanges, a hole with a diameter of 22 mm is drilled for the rotary axis - a piece of pipe 1/2". To increase the “torsional rigidity” of the front fork, a jumper and a ring with a diameter of 300 mm are welded to the steering pipes, which is bent from steel thin-walled pipe with a diameter of 10 mm.

The bearing assembly of the steering column is made of a plumbing tee with 3/4" threads (see Fig. 3). As already mentioned, the rotary axis is a piece of 1/2" pipe with threads at the ends. Axial clearances in the bearing assembly are eliminated using brass washers, which, by the way, reduce friction in the hinge.

The scooter frame consists of three parts (Fig. 4). Before assembling it, it is advisable to draw a general view of the scooter in full size on a sheet of plywood. If you make a scooter for yourself, then its dimensions are naturally adjusted to fit your own dimensions. The experience of S.S. Lundovsky shows that a ground clearance of 30 mm is quite sufficient for a scooter.

The S-shaped part of the frame is bent from a 3/4" pipe using a pipe bender, which is always available in the workshop at the housing office. At one end of the pipe a 3/4" thread is cut to connect to the tee. To prevent self-unscrewing, the threaded connection of the tee with the frame pipe is secured by installing a cotter pin into the hole drilled in it (the connection) (see Fig. 3).

The rear of the frame is a front fork from a road bike. The fork is inserted into the pipe of the front S-shaped part, and the joint is welded using a circular seam. A 15x15 mm corner bridge welded between the stays strengthens the fork. Subsequently, a support platform (step) and a rear mudguard are attached to it.

The footrest is cut out of plywood 10...12 mm thick and secured with two M6 screws (with a conical head) to the jumper and one screw in the fork (see Fig. 1). Corrugated rubber, for example, from an old rug, is glued or nailed to the footboard with small nails.

When transporting the scooter on public transport, the steering column axle is removed and the frame is disconnected from the front fork. I note that the front fork with a wheel can be used autonomously, like a regular unicycle cargo cart.

Additional scooter equipment

For better stability of the scooter, its trunk should ensure a low center of gravity of the load. The heaviest parts of the cargo are placed on the sides of the trunk “saddle-style.”

The scooter's equipment must include good splash guards and reflective reflectors. The front is white, the sides (on the wheels) are yellow, and the back is red. The more reflectors installed, the better. Plastic handles from ski poles or bicycle handlebars are placed on the ends of the steering tubes. It is useful to equip the scooter with a “Matchish” type sound signal and a brake with a drive on the rear wheel.

By providing the possibility of installing a seat on the trunk for a small passenger, for example, from a stroller, where the seat is equipped with footrests, we turn the scooter into a self-rickshaw. If the seat does not have side rails in the front part, it is necessary, like on a motorcycle, to install a ring or handle, which the passenger will hold with his hands while driving. The basis of the backrest for the passenger will be a ring welded to the steering wheel pipes.

An easily removable fairing-awning made of transparent film or Bologna fabric with a transparent window, mounted on a flexible frame made of thin-walled pipes, will protect the passenger from the effects of adverse climatic factors, providing the traveler with more comfortable conditions. When driving with a passenger, the load is placed behind the steering tubes, lashed to the ring, like a pack (Fig. 5).

Taming of the Shrew

Learning to ride a scooter begins on a flat asphalt area. The main attention is paid to practicing a long and strong, but not sharp kick with the foot, and they also try to master the movement of coasting, by inertia. Please note that the steering wheel must remain completely motionless when coasting, as otherwise the resistance to movement increases and the speed of the scooter decreases.

Past and thoughts

The design of a homemade scooter presented here is more of a working prototype, the shortcomings of which are obvious. First of all, the diameter of the rear wheel is excessively large, which increases the dimensions of the roller skate. Excessive cross-country ability, generally speaking, is useless, since on difficult sections of the road it is better to dismount and overcome them, rolling the carriage with luggage by hand.

Perhaps the best option would be to install a rear wheel with a reduced diameter, for example, from a Sibiryak roller ski. As a front wheel, it is probably advisable to use a wheel with a tubeless tire from the Druzhok bicycle, as it is not afraid of punctures.

It should be noted that in the West, scooters with an internal combustion engine with a displacement of 28 “cubes” are now extremely popular. If you are lucky enough to acquire a small-sized motor from a Mac Cullog chainsaw, then you can easily make a similar projectile by equipping the roller with a motor.