TSI: Stronger than ever? and Interview with KC Corning

Three letters we are all familiar with now in the sport. TSI. They came onto the market with a scooter that made everyone take notice..fast, a one piece deck, with 3 different size deck plates, and a fender that they called the “Flex Fender”. It was released to the public at a whopping 160.00usd, but let’s be honest here…that deck at the time it was released could have cost 200 dollars, and people would have still bought it. Why? Because at the time we were all clinging to our old Pro Models, which still had a strip down the middle making it a little stronger, and if we couldn’t get our hands on those…we were stuck with the new Razor Pro Models…which sometimes bent within an hour after riding it. TSI was a huge step up from your standard Razor scooter. It was solid, no bolting of the headtube what so ever, and it was strong…..or was it? Well, time would disagree. The scooter started to show its weak point a few months after its release. The downtube on the scooter, proved to be the TSI’s weakness.

They started to snap, first one, then two, then three. Flex fenders also started to break off one by one. Needless to say, people were not happy. However, TSI was partly owned by long time rider KC Corning. So KC knew he was not just selling these to customers, but to his own fellow riders. So their reaction was a quick one, they would replace all broken TSI’s that were broken within a 90 day period, for free. However, the damage was done…people started to question TSI. Wondering about its strength, or about the new “reinforced” models they were being promised soon. Flex fender problems were solved, and the Deck problems were thought to be solved with a new welding method, however some decks did continue to break, which has led me to do this piece on TSI. I recently caught up with KC Corning of TSI, and was able to ask him some questions, and get a little background check on the company. Check it out.


Steven: Age and location

Kc: 22. Portland, Oregon.

Steven: Where did TSI start?

Kc: TSI started at Aloha Cycle Works in Aloha, Oregon. I met Matt Thom the owner of Aloha Cycle Works in March of 2009 and we started to think of starting a real scooter company. I had the plans and he had the tools and capability to make pretty much anything. So right then in April, 2009 we started TSI: Trick Scooters International, LLC. We started the company with a goal to one day make our own complete scooters. So we started where Mat thought first. The Deck. Which in Mat's mind from building bike frames he saw the deck as a frame. Rather, what we all were used to a disposable deck like a skateboard. Mat showed me his plan for a welded one-piece frame and deck plate concept. The week before cooter con 7 we made 4 Decks to test at the competition. And that's the where TSI Started.

Steven: Why was TSI started?

Kc: I've been looking for a partner to start a real company for a while now. When I met mat I knew he knew what he was doing and could do what I wanted to have done. Build an Awesome Scooter. So we decided to change Aloha Cycle Works to Trick Scooters International.

Steven: Whos idea was the deck design?

Kc: It was Mat's idea of a Welded frame with bolt on Deck plate. I came up with all the specs. Head tube angle, Deck width, Deck Length, Concave, Etc. But for the most part it was Mat's original idea. Not mine to come out with this style of deck.

Steven: What were first reactions when the deck started to falter for some people?

Kc: The reactions from most of our customers having their decks fail were pretty positive. We were fast-acting and had customer service that you would expect from any good rider based company, like Proto for example.

Steven: What were the first plans to reinforce them and how did you guys do it?

Kc: When we saw where these decks were failing it was clear that we needed more material around the down tube because of the amount of stress from hardcore riding. I thought of the doubler right away and we got right to it and started sending them out and have not seen one return of the reinforced decks since.

Steven: When those next models also started to have problems, what were the next plans to for reinforcing?

Kc: We've come up with a 'Lug' type of doubler reinforcement that we were shown by a local metal manufacture company. It is a process where one piece of aluminum is bent in different places to reinforce where the Head tube connects to the down tube and where the drop outs meet the down tube. It's really sweet but it is going to cost a lot. We are currently working on it.

Steven: How do you feel about the current model of the TSI, will it hold up better than the last ones?

Kc: Yes. Like I said before these decks have not been sent back yet and we hope that these decks will at least last the warranty of 90 days. We don't want to go any shorter on a warranty then 90 days.

Steven: Future plans for TSI?

Kc: We have plan on coming out with a complete scooter. It would be a first of its kind when it came to the amount of quality and practicality. We have code named the complete the "Flow Series One" Which would have ODI Long Neck's, FSA Pig THREADLESS Headset. MOB grip tape, skateboard grade bearings and Scooter Zone twizzler metal cores. We also have plan of coming out with a integrated and internal headtube versions of the TSI. As well as a "freestyler" super light and shorter version.



And that was the end of the interview. Seems TSI is stepping it up once again. Everything sounds promising indeed, but history has taught us all sometimes to bite our tongues..and let the products speak for themselves. Big thanks to KC Corning for taking the time to do this interview with Inside-Scooters.