Product Development

Trampoline scooters have always been a big part of my progression as a scooter rider, helping me pick up the techniques for difficult tricks before taking them to the skate park. I first started building trampoline scooters in 2010 and found that I was able to learn tricks much faster using this method. Originally my home made ‘tramp scoots’ were made from nothing other than an old scooter, some tape and some socks, the tape and socks being wrapped around certain parts of the scooter in an attempt to stop the sharp edges on the scooter tearing the trampoline mat and netting. This technique did me well for a while, but the flaws in the design started to show. The tape and socks would rip at awkward times, giving no protection at all to the trampoline, or me! Eventually my luck ran out and the trampoline mat tore mid-session and put an end to my trampoline scooter sessions.

It was several years later that I had an idea, why not develop a trampoline scooter specifically for building muscle memory on tricks that has been created to avoid all of the pitfalls found when making a home-made version…

That’s when the idea clicked, and I came up with the first basis for my trampoline scooter. Unfortunately, at the time I was in no position to make this dream a reality, so the original idea sat on the bench.

A few years later I started coaching at Rush Skate Park, which was, and continues to be a brilliant and rewarding experience. During a few of my lessons, some kids asked my whether or not I had ever used a trampoline scooter, to which I replied “Yes”, and talked a little bit about the idea that I had had years earlier. They seemed pretty hyped on the concept and so I decided to approach the head honcho of Rush, Jerry, to see if he would be interested in working on the project with me. Having talked it over, Jerry agreed, and project Stegga had begun!

Between us, we took my original design back to the drawing board and made some improvements. These included the removal of the fork and extension of the deck at the front as well as the full curvature of the sides of the deck. We wanted to create a trampoline scooter that felt like a complete stunt scooter, with weight in all the right places. Having it too light would stop the effects of muscle memory from properly taking hold, while a model too heavy would make tricks to difficult to learn. We worked on several different builds and mocked up designs using different materials until we found the correct mix. Eventually our prototype Stegga complete weighed in 3.3kgs (7.27lbs), roughly the weight of a standard complete stunt scooter. This weight was an ideal middle ground that would give riders the opportunity to actually learn real tricks on their trampolines that could be translated with ease to the skate park!

Going hand in hand with the accurate weight was the forward extension of the deck. We did this to add weight into the front of the scooter, to make up for the removal of the fork and front wheel, while it also provided a simple solution to add a much wider point of contact than would be achieved using a traditional fork which was a common cause of trampoline mat tearing.

Another important step for us in our pursuit for an accurate training experience was the ability for a rider to make use of their own bars. When it comes to a stunt scooter, there are several key features that make the scooter feel ‘right’ in the hands of its user: Deck size, bar size and overall weight. While we could take an educated guess at the size of deck the end user would want, bar height and width varies massively depending on the rider. We developed the Stegga to feature an IHC compression as standard with the option to adapt this to HIC if required, giving the riders the choice to use standard or oversized bars on the Stegga. Having the ability to use their own bars hugely upped the customisation of the Stegga while also increasing the individual ‘feel’ provided.

Our next feature was to build the fully rounded convex deck. We did this to keep as much of the surface area of Stegga smooth, eliminating the pesky sharp elements that could potentially cause hard to the trampoline mat. This feature doubled up to make the edges ‘finger whip friendly’, adding yet another feature to our design.

Off the back of this went ahead and used modified surf tape in place of grip tape, further proofing the deck against injury when practising grab and hand-based techniques.

All throughout this design process we tested multiple prototypes with the help of several different, active scooter riders ranging in skill from beginner up to PRO level. Using their feedback we ironed out any issues they had and adapted the product to suit a variety of requirements.

At the end of the process the first model of the Stegga complete was, well, complete!

As of now we are producing Stegga and selling around the world, which is pretty awesome. It’s great to see riders practising their skills and improving their riding ability with the help of Stegga.

Our journey however, is far from over and we are constantly working toward new and improved features that will allow riders to perform and push themselves to even greater heights!

Stegga will continue to innovate and push trampoline scooters as the training aids they ought to be, this is only beginning and we hope you will join us for the ride.

 Ben Wilkinson, Stegga Founder

 

Ps. Make sure to check out our blog page for further updates and developments on upcoming Stegga products, or better yet, sign up to our mailing list where we can keep you directly informed and up to date!