Learn how to stop that rattling or buzzing sound!
Welcome to the SkateHut Help Zone - your online helper for all things skate and scoot related. If your scooter has been making strange sounds lately, rattling and buzzing as it hits the ground, it may need to be dialed. Following the steps below, you can learn how to tighten up your scooter from bars right down to wheels!
Most scooters are now used for tricks and are now deemed as extreme sports equipment. For this reason, it’s good to keep your scooter in good condition. A dialled scooter should have a nice muted, quiet boom as it hits the ground wheels first. A scooter that needs tightening will have more of a rattled sound as it hits the ground wheels first.
Benefits of having a dialled scooter:
- Your tricks will look cleaner
- Your scooter will feel better to ride
- Your scooter will sound better hitting the floor
- Your scooter will last longer!
If you’d rather leave it to the scooter technicians, there are plenty of skate shops that will perform this service for you – including your Local SkateHut shop . Here at SkateHut you can get your scooter adjusted for just £4.95. Bargain! If you’re the DIY type however, follow the steps below to dial your scooter yourself.
What you’ll need:
- 2x 5mm allen key
- 2x 6mm allen key (For high tensile axles, Blunt fasen scooters or Ethic scooters)
- 1x 13mm spanner or a skate T tool (Ethic scooters only)( scooters using high tensile bolt)
- 1x 25mm spanner (MGP scooters and scooters with threaded forks)
Dialing Your Scooter
1. THE BACK WHEEL
To tighten your back wheel, fit the allen key in the middle of the axle and tighten clockwise. Turn to the point that it eliminates any side to side rocking. If you have a wheel with 2 5mm bolts on each side you’ll need your 2 5mm allen keys to fit in each side and turn clockwise with one. Afterwards make sure that the wheel spins smoothly and freely.
If your wheels are still moving around when your try to moving it side to side and there’s a bit of a wobble, it may be that you need new bearings. Or the bolts may be stripped, in which case, you’ll need to get new bolts.
2. THE BREAK
The break may be super easy to secure and tighten depending on where it is. You will find the attachment on the top or the bottom of the deck, where the break is attached. Again use the allen key to tighten turning clockwise. Make sure it’s snug but don’t over tighten it. If you do you may be in danger of stripping your bolts. District Scooters decks and some others will require a wrench or needle nose pliers to complete this task.
3. CLAMPS
If your clamp needs tightening check that there is still a gap between the two sides. Again fit the allen key in and turn clockwise to tighten the clamp. If you notice that the clamp is all the way closed and there is no gaps where you can see your bolts, then your clamp is stretched out to the point that it is no longer working. In this case you would need a new clamp.
If your clamp has 3 or 4 bolts make sure you tighten each bolt evenly, this way the clamp will last longer.
4. COMPRESSION
IHC - with IHC compression you remove the Clamp and handle bars, once removed the compression bolt will be showing from the top of the forks, the best way to tighten this is first to loosen the bolt off and then tighten it back down tight, to check you have got it tight enough is to hold the front wheel and the rear of the deck and pull them towards you. If they move you need to tighten more if they do not move you can then put the handle bars and clamp back on.
SCS - With SCS you will need to undo the clamp and remove the handle bars. In the centre of the clamp will be an allen head bolt this is your compression bolt, again to tighten this you simply tighten the bolt down checking occasionally by grabbing the front wheel and rear of the deck and pulling them towards each other when there is no movement this is dialed and you can then assemble the handle bars and tighten the clamp.
HIC - This compression is tightened the same as IHC you need to remove the clamp and handle bars, on top of the forks will be an allen head bolt the best way to tighten this is first to loosen the bolt off and then tighten it back down tight, to check you have got it tight enough is to hold the front wheel and the rear of the deck and pull them towards you, if they move you need to tighten more if they do not move you can then put the handle bars and clamp back on.
5. FRONT WHEEL
Same as with the back wheel, tighten your back wheel by fitting the allen key in the middle of the axle. Turn clockwise to tighten. Turn to the point that it eliminates any side to side rocking on the wheel. Afterwards make sure that the wheel spins smoothly and freely.
Finally, perform the drop test on your scooter. Hold the scooter upright by the handles, lift 2-3 inches off the floor and drop so that the wheels hit the floor. After following the steps above, you should hear the healthy muted boom of a dialled scooter. If there is still some persistent rattling, take your scooter to your local skate shop for further inspection.
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