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- Verified Buyer
I have to include a mea culpa here: in my original write-up I mentioned what I took to be an oversight in the ease-of-use of the latch securing the folding hinges. I discovered on an excursion today, to my very great chagrin, that the button latch is designed to be depressed by moving the quick-released bolt sideways in a slot provided for the purpose. In furtherance of my own embarrassment, the instructions specify doing this when setting up the scooter for the first time, part of the point being, I would guess, that then the assembler will also know how to reverse the process. I followed the instructions step-by-step, but apparently skimmed that part as unfolding the steering column is so easy and depressing the button latch so obvious, that it made no impression. My mistake. The scooter is quite easy to fold, although it is still a clumsy mass to wrestle with at the side of a car without the use of one leg. Nevertheless, this knee scooter, to my mind, exceeds the expectations one would have from its description. To be clear, I base my rating on actual functionality, how it compares to expectations based on equipment and intended purpose, and value proposition, or how functionality and expectations relate to the price.In terms of functionality, the 9-inch, treaded, pneumatic tires on the front provide stable, sure grip even on mild slopes with uneven surfaces. I wouldn't want to try them for long on river rock, say, but this model is not intended to compete with Knee Rover's "all terrain" versions. The tires are inflated through schrader valves, the same as you'll find on your car tires, and can take up to 35psi, which leaves them firm enough to roll with ease even on medium pile carpet, but resilient and shock-absorbing enough to roll over small outdoor obstacles, or indoor ones, like crayons. The smooth, high-durometer rear wheels follow the front tires without, so far in my case, getting hung up on crushed sandstone, garden hoses, or small debris. The single drum brake slows and locks the rear axle without requiring too much grip strength, although one should be aware of the limitations of such a system. On indoor surfaces it will work without fail, but loose material on a slope outdoors, or wet grass, for instance, would be another matter. This is not a flaw or detriment, the scooter is designed to transition well between outdoors and in-, and be light, maneuverable, and minimally inconvenient to use and move around. It succeeds to a remarkable degree.The slightly shorter than average wheelbase gives the Hybrid Go a tight enough turning radius to make it noticeably more convenient than other Knee Rover models. The Fusion's turning radius is smaller yet, but its greater length, weight, and price give all the advantage to the Hybrid Go. In fact, the Hybrid Go is very light in comparison to many other knee scooters, around twenty pounds, and therefore much easier to lift into a vehicle, or over a curb, step, or sill; and also to raise and turn in another direction as is inevitable with any scooter that isn't too heavy for the user to lift.That's part of the point of this model, to be taken places with ease. The Hybrid Go folds at hinges at two points, the steering column just above the top headset bearing assembly, and the middle of the tubular steel frame. For legitimate safety reasons, Knee Rover designed both hinges with a spring-loaded button latch backed up by a quick-release lever cam just like those on bicycle wheels. I don't bother with the frame hinge, too much fiddling with an ungainly mass of metal while maintaining a precarious equilibrium leaning against my car. As it is, the Hybrid Go is light and compact enough that I can fold down the steering column and shove it into the back of my Camry without ruining my day. It would be noticeably more difficult with the other scooters with which I'm familiar, so the Go keeps its traveler's credentials even if it isn't quite the perfect companion. That said, the Hybrid Go comes with a short length of bungee cord with a carabiner at each end and a welded eyelet at the back of the frame. The cord stows with a 'biner through the eyelet and one around the seatpost cotter pin. When the scooter is folded, the cord wraps around the frame and steering column to keep the whole folded mass together. There's more you can do to make it even more compact, but I'll leave that to the User's Manual. It's clever, and consistent with the intended use of the scooter. I will say that unfolding the scooter is less of a hassle as the latch button is even easier to use when closing the hinge, so if the scooter is already in its folded state when the user gets somewhere, it will be a matter of seconds to maybe a minute to ready-to-go status, depending on how many of the several steps available were taken to minimize the Hybrid Go's size. With practice, one could make the process of folding the Hybrid Go down much more familiar and less clumsy.I'm guessing Knee Rover would make a marketing point of it if the steel were even high-tensile, to say nothing of chromoly, so I suppose it's probably just mild steel tubing. The scooter is well built, well painted, well chromed, and though the welds are a little crude and messy, they're solid and properly done, as is every other aspect of its construction that I can tell. The kneepad (kneesaddle(?)) is Knee Rover's best, a 2-2 3/4 inch thick, longitudinally concave, medium-firm, oblong of foam covered in some textured synthetic like vinyl. It's not a split design, said to be more comfortable for those of us with boots, but my pneumatic boot comes to within a few inches of my knee and I have had no discomfort at all. The saddle (I'm a cyclist, so this makes the most sense to me) is very well designed for the purpose, and backed with steel rails that keep it from sagging or deforming under load. Handlebar grips are ergonomic and very comfortable, although not glued on, so they tend to rotate with use. Different users will likely prefer different positions, so this isn't a bad thing, necessarily, but a person who uses it a lot will, in what I hope I may be forgiven for referring to as an ironic twist, start wishing the grips would stay in place. A little shellac or mild, water resistant adhesive will solve the problem, but it is a maintenance issue that comes with the Hybrid Go. The brake lever is a standard mountain bike style, long-travel type with sufficient mechanical advantage that I would expect most users to be able to actuate the brake without having to struggle, although those with hand-strength issues might consult a bike shop to discuss alternatives. The lever has one modification you won't find on a mountain bike, a spring-loaded pin used to lock the brake in closed position, turning the scooter into a fixed platform, subject to the understanding that it depends for its fixity on the friction of the brake and that between the wheels and the surface they are on. It makes the scooter very convenient, rather than potentially dangerous, for activities like, say, doing the dishes.From a functionality standpoint, the Hybrid Go is downright pleasant to use, fun even, although Knee Rover cautions that it is not designed for recreational purposes. I hope that doesn't include walking for exercise, as this model invites use, and was such a relief to receive after a glum few days of near immobility, pain, and fear of sedentary disability that I've hardly been able to keep my hands off of it. It really does confer freedom of movement that would be otherwise difficult to duplicate, and its size, weight, and convenience of use all contribute to its capacities as a mobility solution. I think that answers the question of value, as well. The Hybrid Go is priced more than double the cheapest knee scooter one can get, and, in fact, more than double Knee Rover's own least expensive, but still astonishingly good base model, and I can't say what the actual relationship between manufacturing costs and the price is, but the design, quality of manufacture, and ease of use compared to other models seem to justify the higher price.What would I do to improve the Hybrid Go? High quality drawn or hydroformed aluminum alloy for the frame and steering assembly would shed a significant amount of weight and would obviate concerns about corrosion that will arise with a scooter designed to be used outdoors. The paint and chrome plating are well done, as I've mentioned, but long experience with bicycles has taught me how easily those can fail, particularly with tubes that already have holes in them, like the steering column and seatpost, and almost certainly don't have internal corrosion protection. I sometimes find myself wishing for a brake lever and drum brake on the left rear, although this would add a little weight and bulk, because sometimes it's more practical to hold on with the left when the right hand is occupied, Knee Rover's adjuration that one must keep both hands on the bars at all times notwithstanding. Last, I wish the front tires had some kind of puncture protection or rim support in case of deflation, like the foam cores used in tubeless mountain bike tires. I dread the possibility, or, rather, likelihood, of finding goatheads, the plant kingdom's revenge against human invention of the wheel, embedded in my tires. I know I'll find them in the rear wheels, too, but they can't deflate, just bump every time the embedded thorn rolls between the wheel and the ground. Foam filled tires have the advantage of being undeflatable, if heavier and harsher to ride, but a compromise like Schwalbe's thorn-resistant, foam-belted tires would eliminate a lot of opportunities for flats without much compromise. I just don't want to find myself a couple of miles from home with a flat front tire, even though I will carry a cyclist's tire repair kit and pump. All of these upgrades would likely add to the Hybrid Go's price, so I can understand why the manufacturer might have made the compromises it did. Nevertheless, these improvements would take an already great product and make it the one to beat, at least in terms of features.All in all, the Knee Rover Hybrid Go is a genuine freedom machine for the person who has lost the use of a lower leg, reasonable in price for the value obtained, and pleasant and easy to use.
