Scooter season is just around the corner, and the Gyrocopters Glow Kids electric scooter is a fun option for your little ones that want to be mobile in summer and have some fun outdoors. The scooter is easy to put together, easy to charge, and with a little bit of practice, easy to ride! I had a helper with me on this review. My daughter will be riding and helping me review this scooter.
Gyrocopters Glow kids electric scooter specs
The product specs for this Gyrocopters scooter are as follows:
- The base is around 76cm from one end to the other while the handlebars can be adjusted to about 90cm.
- Max speed is approx. 8 km/h
- The battery takes about 2 hours to charge and lasts for a range of up to 7.5km, which should last a couple of hours of consecutive operation.
- The scooter weighs around 11lb
- Age Range is around 3-7 with a max weight threshold of 110lb
I think the coolest part of this scooter for kids is the “Glow” aspect of the scooter. Flashy LED lights adorn this entire scooter (even on the wheels!) and are always on during operation. They don’t tend to come through as much on the video, but they’re definitely vibrant as you can see above and below.
Putting together the Gyrocopters Glow Kids electric scooter
There isn’t much installation required for this scooter. The handlebars come put together and the base is all put together. All you need to do is connect the electronics for both pieces (which is done easily through wiring that clips together) and then slide on and tighten the handlebars to the base which is done with an allen key and 2 screws. Be sure to tighten it as much as possible. Since the pieces are basically connected together through that sliding piping, not tightening everything properly means the handlebars will eventually twist loose and won’t provide proper turning support.
There is one transportation disadvantage here, which is that the scooter doesn’t fold down at all. You can technically lower the space it takes a little bit by adjusting the handlebars, but it doesn’t really fold flat. It was likely a purposeful decision by Gyrocopters not to include any folding hinges because of the fragility of the wiring connection between the handlebars and base but I do have to admit it’s not super convenient if you’re driving this from one place to another.
Basic operation of the Gyrocopters Glow Kids electric scooter
There aren’t a lot of basic or moving pieces to this scooter and the operation is pretty similar to other kids’ electric scooters. However, if you’re used to the adult models and how they work, operating a kids model is completely different. There aren’t any switches or accelerators on the handlebars. The rear wheel motor starts based on the momentum of your child’s pedal accelerating and then maintains its speed while your child rides along as long as they keep their foot on the power button on the base. Your child will have to keep one foot on that power button during operation, but the button is big enough that it will be hard not to do this.
Gyrocopters also recommends that your child wears all possible safety gear. Unfortunately, we outgrew our knee pads and elbow pads last summer and I think we were a bit early in the season to buy replacements since nowhere we checked had anything in stock for kids in the 8-12 range. We’re only wearing a helmet in our review, but would recommend other safety gear if you have it.
To brake, your child just has to place a foot on the rear flip and press down. It’ll place force on the rear wheel and cause the scooter to stop. Just like pump brakes on a bicycle, the more force that’s put down on the flap, the faster it will stop. Truthfully, the motor itself is really quiet and it actually took a few tries back and forth before I could hear it moving.
My daughter just turned 8. However, she’s the height of a 9 year old, and while she was able to operate comfortably with some practice, I could see that she would have benefitted from a longer platform to stand on. If your child is tall for their age and in that 6-7 range, I suggest measuring whether they can comfortably stand on the platform (I’ve provided dimensions at the top of the review) to see if it might just be worth buying a size up. Your younger riders will be fine and can grow with the adjustable handlebars. Once they’re done playing, the scooter will automatically shut itself off after about 10 minutes of inactivity in order to save battery life.
Maintenance and care of the Gyrocopters Glow kids electric scooter
The product itself is easy to charge. At the front of the base, there’s a small rubber piece that hides where you plug the charger in. Charging takes a couple of hours from empty and I would recommend doing it when you take it out of the box for the first time. The manufacturer guarantees 500 charge cycles from the battery and the charger itself will indicate to you (through red and green lights) whether it is fully charged. On a full charge, your child should get a couple of hours of enjoyment. It’s also recommended that you charge the battery at least once a month when not in use.
Since the motor isn’t capable of cruising at the high speeds adult scooters are, it’s reasonable to expect that it will have some challenges with hills and uneven surfaces. The manufacturer themselves do state very clearly in the manual that motorized operation is not recommended on uneven surfaces or hills. In fact, it’s recommended that you operate the scooter like a normal kick scooter if you’re going up any hills. I can definitely vouch for the fact that it does struggle up hills. We tried it on a sidewalk with a cobblestone surface as well and that is about as uneven as I’d recommend for safe operation. Avoid those bumpy or cracked sidewalks for sure or at the very least, have your child slow down and walk past. We tested it on a light gravel path too (shown below) and found it wouldn’t carry any meaningful momentum, so it’s another surface to avoid.
It is not recommended to ride this scooter in the rain, snow or on wet surfaces. It is also not recommended to ride these on slippery surfaces. The wheels are pretty smooth and aren’t meant to grip slick terrain. The scooter is not waterproof or water resistant and while there is a rubberized coating over the charge plug, there isn’t anything that would keep water splashback out on the bottom like I have seen with some adult scooters. On that note, Gyrocopters even says in the manuals that it should not be ridden in the rain or over puddles and I definitely concur.
When it comes to cleaning, you’ll have to do it by hand. The connecting thread between the handle and the base is deep enough that it will be tough for water to get into those electronics (in case you were thinking about hosing it down,) but the product isn’t water resistant and water damage actually voids the warranty. We used some leftover baby wipes to clean off the dirt that accumulated on the base and near the wheel bases. One part you can probably pull away and do some better deep cleaning on are the rubber handlebar grips. An adult can easily pull those off and put them on again if, for example, the scooter is dropped on the grass, dirt or mud and needs to be cleaned off.
Should you need replacement parts (including wheels and a new battery,) I’d recommend finding first party replacement pieces. Many of these parts (like the wheels) seem pretty proprietary and not interchangeable with anything generic, but I’m sure that they’re easy enough to get replaced.
Learning curves with riding an electric scooter for the first time
Reviewing this scooter was really interesting. My daughter has had a Razor Scooter she’s played with on and off for the last couple summers, but it isn’t motorized and so we had a bit of learning curve with learning to balance.
I asked my daughter to include her tips for new kids learning how to ride scooters for the first time, which you’ll see in the video. As we were talking about it afterward though, she wanted to make sure all of her viewers (and blog readers) knew her personal safety tips:
- Always wear a helmet and the other right safety gear
- Start slowly and work your way up to bigger speeds. Don’t do more than 5 “pushes” to start moving.
- Don’t learn on bumpy roads or hills
- Always look where you’re trying to go, not at the ground
- Practice whether your left foot or right foot front is better to pedal start
- Practice getting used to how the brakes work
- Have fun!
One thing to keep in mind is that the scooter’s motor tops out at an 8 km/h cruising speed on flat surfaces, so it’s a relatively pedestrian speed where they shouldn’t get too hurt if they cruise off course. The entire scooter (wheels and all) is only around 80cm long, so the power button and brake aren’t too far apart. I’d recommend starting to learn using open spaces (like a parking lot or an empty driveway) before narrowing down to sidewalks just to give your child an opportunity to adjust their balance and get used to turning without the worry of veering away. It took us an hour of practice on the sidewalk behind our house before we got our balance down, but I think that would’ve been significantly cut down by traveling out to a wider open space instead.
Either way, I think we’ve got a winner for a future birthday or holiday gift, though we’ll definitely need a size up!
The Gyrocopters Glow Kids electric scooter is now available online at BestBuy.ca.
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