Monday, Mar. 15, 2010 By Harriet Barovick
TIME magazine
It's hard to deny the rush of riding a tiny-wheeled push scooter — until you cruise downhill, hit a pebble along the way and end up nearly breaking your wrist. For a smoother, steadier yet no less exhilarating alternative, Europeans and an increasing number of Americans are hopping onto kickbikes. Invented in Finland in the 1990s, these hybrids combine a bicycle's body and handlebars with a pedal-free platform to stand on and pneumatic tires that dwarf the Rollerblade-size wheels on regular scooters.
Kickbikes, also known as footbikes or kick scooters, are being embraced as a fast, fun, furious way to cross-train, run errands, commute and even rehabilitate injuries. Stroke patients like them (they require the use of just one side of the body), as do dog lovers eager to keep up with their energetic pooches. Taking a cue from dogsledders, owners attach a harness and pull line from pup to bike and ride for miles, often in groups with fellow warm-weather mushers.The kickbike market is still small: Americans buy about 15,000 a year, vs. 15 million bicycles. But sales have grown steadily, even though in the U.S. they're sold almost exclusively online, with no advertising, by skeletally staffed e-tailers like Diggler and SidewalkerUSA. "I do need to push it more," says KickbikeAmerica's laid-back chief, David Nadolski, who recently quit his day job to focus on selling and promoting kickbikes. "Clients love them."
A key draw is their low-impact, calorie-burning workout. And there's the x factor: "They're a lot of fun to ride," says Bryan Dobes, 33, of River Vale, N.J. "It kind of makes you feel like a kid."