Fasen Scooter Parts Reviews | Skates.Co.UK

Above is the first review that Skates.Co.UK has for a Fasen part, starting with the deck.  Tom as well as the main man from Fasen/Blunt, Dinny, give a rundown of the deck, bars, wheels, clamp, and fork.  Fasen seems to be implementing a lot of new technologies/techniques with making scooter parts than most other companies- fluted parts, wedge clamp, etc.  Pretty interesting.  Click ahead to Youtube to check all of these and a ton more from the Skates channel.

Addict Scooter Overview

SkaterHQ apparently made this video, uploaded on some random youtube account, going over the new Addict parts.  The guys behind these parts are pretty ingenious.  The ballast thing looks pretty neat, its cool to have those kinds of options.  Apparently nobody told them that Inward already made the Dagger fork. 

Tilt SCS Review

Mike at shopECX explains the Tilt SCS, troubleshoots some common problems with SCS's, and goes through how to set one up.  Mike seems hyped on them, they're definitely an awesome part (and I'm not just saying that because I'm on the Tilt team). 

Blunt Complete Review + Win a Free Blunt Complete Contest!

Blunt Pro Scooters, known as Envy Pro Scooters in Australia is one company that is always trying to stay innovative with their designs and products. Blunt realized that one of the things that are hard to come by are reliable and affordable “Complete” scooters. So they started to produce the Blunt Completes. They come in quite a few different color combinations, and we recently got one to review here at Inside-Scooters. So let’s get into it.



We will go from the top to the bottom.

The grips that come with the Blunt Complete are the signature Blunt grips. I’m pretty picky when it comes to grips, but these felt pretty good. Not to hard and not to soft. I’m sure once you ride them for a while they will break in pretty good. I didn’t ride them for too long, so I don’t know if they wear quickly or not, I would hope they don’t.
The bars that come with the complete are 22 x 18 stripper bars. There’s not much to say about them that isn’t already known. They are really comfortable, really light, and come in the bmx style design, as opposed to the T bar style.
Going lower you got the Blunt 3 bolt clamp. Tightened it once, and never had to worry about it again. Really strong clamp from what I saw. Then you got the Blunt sealed headset, which spins like a dream. Didn’t have any problems with either of these.
Down to the fork, on the complete I received were the Blunt S.O.B. Forks, though I know some shops are selling them with the Blunt IHC Forks. They’re threadless, and really light.
The deck is the Blunt Envy Deck. It is nicely rounded on the sides and very fingerwhip friendly. It comes with the Blunt flex brake, which worked good, and kept the scooter sounding solid. The thing I noticed the most was how light the deck was. A heavy street rider might think twice about trying anything big. But if you are a little on the lighter side, you will get a lot of life out of this deck. You will also get signature Blunt griptape with the complete.
Finally down to the wheels. They were really fast. Blunt I tried to dehub them for a while, did some powerslides and some really hard sideways landings…but they held up just fine. Being a big wheel guy, I would say these were probably my favorite part on the Blunt complete.


Overall this is a great scooter for any rider. Whether you are just getting into the sport, or are simply looking for a really solid complete scooter. For the price you are getting a really good deal. As I mentioned above if you are a rider who isn’t too graceful with their landings, and rides a lot of big street. This might not be the deck for you. But if you are on the lighter side, and prefer to ride a lot of park, I don’t think you will have any problems this deck.




WIN A FREE BLUNT COMPLETE!! READ FOR DETAILS BELOW

Now for the Contest. This is for US RIDERS ONLY.


The contest is simple. You just gotta head over to the Blunt Pro Scooters Facebook Facebook and “Like” the page and comment “INSIDE” on the post. From there you are officially entered into the contest to win the scooter! More details will be found on the Blunt Facebook. We will also be posting updates on that contest on Inside-Scooters.

Ultra Pro Black Label Review

Recently the guys over at Razor USA sent me an Ultra Pro Black Label for review. This model came out sometime after the Christmas season and has actually done really well in sales. Obviously some new features include a black paint job along with a new grip tape design and clamp. This scooter also includes abec 7 bearings and anodized red metal cores! As the photo on the right shows, The Ultra Pro comes with 21hx14w bars, full deck grip tape, 6 bolt clamp, metal core wheels, high quality bearings, and a reinforced fork all in a "Core Matte Black Finish".

Now, in my opinion, this scooter is a great "out of the box" scooter for riders just entering the scene and feeling it out. It's a complete scooter with the works. It has all the essential parts, with with a standard pro model you'd have to go out and purchase bars, forks, wheels, and so on to have a decent dialed set up. This scooter has many positives but with everything, it has its negatives.

I'll start with the negatives. The one item to me that stand out the most would be that clamp! I know a lot of you are thinking the same when I say "Why?". The clamp the original Ultra Pro came stock with( simple 2 bolt collar clamp) worked great in my opinion. So... they changed it up, it really does have more clamping power but at the cost of cosmetics. Second on the list would be the grip tape, I like the design and am glad Razor is not just sticking the original RUP (Razor Ultra Pro) grip on there but Razor is notorious for running terrible "one time use only" grip. The handle grips on this thing are gnarly as well, super hard rubber with Razor logos on them. My suggestion is to run to you nearest Scooter Shop and get a new clamp, grips, and grip tape!

Now the positives. One thing the deck has going for it is that it's a One Piece deck and its not half bad. I personally love the feel of ultra pro decks, they're light, they have a great grinding base and once you get used to it its generally an awesome deck. The fork is made from steel and has a pretty thing threaded tube along with a caged ball threaded headset. Once you learn how to dial-in a threaded headset, it'll be your best friend. It may not be the smoothest but it'll spin like crazy! This scooter comes with a tag that says something along the lines of:

Be Advised, Razor scooters are not compatible with any other after market scooter parts. Razor scooters are designed to use only Razor products.

Now that is not an exact quote but it that's the general gist. I found this not to be true. Razor products are very compatible with other brands. As many of you know, you can change every single part out on that scooter.

Now I have ridden RUPs, I actually rode a RUP set up just before I joined the Phoenix Team, so going out and riding this scooter was like hanging out with an old friend again. I have no issues getting used to the headtube angle( 81.5 degrees ) and the scooter right out of the box was actually dialed. The headset was tuned just right so i put the bars on and went for a stroll.

I rode some flat and hit the park a bit, one thing I noticed right away was that the wheels and bearings really aren't bad. I was able to gain and maintain speed really well, that's one thing that stood out to me the most as Pro Model wheels are sluggish and these were the opposite. I usually ride 18" wide bars so getting used to the 14" wide was a struggle( if you intend to ride wider than 14" wide i suggest buying the Ultra Pro Black Label Hi version as these come with 18" wide bars but you'd have to cut the length portion down as they come in at about 24" high). All in all I would highly recommend this scooter to anyone just starting out It's a very dialed set up with low trouble. With a few minor tweaks you can't go wrong.

TSI Scepter Bars + Thom Cat Forks Review

I think everyone knows that TSI (Trick Scooters International) makes some of the best decks on the market. But it seems like time and time again TSI is overlooked for two other products they make. Their bars and forks.

To be more specific, The TSI Scepter Bars and the Thom Cat Forks. I was recently sent both to try out for myself…and I was as impressed with these, as I was when I was first sent a TSI to review for Inside-Scooters. So let’s get right into it.


TSI Scepter Bars

At first glance, these might seem like regular 3 Piece Bars. Well think again. The first thing you’ll notice about these bars when you get them…is the weight. These things are really light. The second thing you’ll notice is the cross bar. It’s not your standard 3 piece bars cross bar. It has 5 degrees of Backsweep. This perfect amount of backsweep made for one of the most comfortable bar set ups I’ve rode in a long time. Barspins felt amazingly balance and dialed with this crossbar.

The next thing that caught my attention was the Stem…In the past you might have seen riders wrapping up their Stems with a cloth or bandana, a lot of riders did this to follow other riders…but more than often it was because of sharp edges on other 3 Piece Bars Stem designs. Well you don’t need to worry about that with the TSI Scepter Stem…This thing is beautiful, smooth all around, and not too bulky. It has your standard 4 screws that attach the machined aluminum top cap. Simple and easy. Another thing separating TSI Scepters from the other 3 Piece bars on the market, is that their bottom half of the top cap is welded from the inside to the top of the bars. Not bolted on like other bars.

Another thing that sets these bars apart from other 3 Piece Bar designs? The Poles are designed for HIC. Yes, HIC (Hidden Internal Compression). TSI believes that HIC is and should become the new standard for compression in the sport of scootering. So when you purchase your TSI Scepters you will get the following stuff needed to start using HIC Compression.

Top cap
1 Star nut and Bolt
Aluminum HIC Shim

So with all of that stuff INCLUDED with your bars, I’d say it’s time to ditch the old ICS, and go with HIC.

Normally when you start riding 3 Piece Bars, you really feel the difference from T bars…but when I got my Scepters set up, it gave a whole new feel that I haven’t felt from T Bars, or other 3 Piece Bars. The backsweep might not be everyone’s favorite thing at first, but I think if you give it a chance and take the short amount of time it takes to adjust, you will start to like it. I took the bars to my local park, to flow around for a bit, and let some of the locals try them out…there were a couple bails, where the scooter went flying, and took a few slams on the crossbar, with no signs of bending at all. Which considering the light weight of the bars, shocked me. Everyone who rode them, was asking where to get them shortly after haha.

Overall, I love these bars. I have loved the concept of 3 Piece Bars ever since I saw them for the first time, and TSI only helped further my admiration for them. They’re strong, they’re light, and they’re designed for HIC…that’s a Win, Win, Win. Priced at 84.99usd these aren’t the cheapest bars out there, but for what you’re getting (all parts needed for HIC) you are getting a deal here. So with that being said, let’s take a final look at the Pro’s and Con’s of the TSI Scepter Bars.

PROS
Light
Strong
HIC Compatible (also fits SCS)
Great Stem design

CONS
Maybe too light for some riders
Backsweep Crossbar might not be everyones favorite

Thom Cat Forks

So without my knowledge, when I popped open my package from TSI, I was shocked to see a Thom Cat Fork in there staring up at me. Ever since I saw these forks a while ago, I thought they looked pretty awesome. So I was stoked at the chance to try some of them out. Here’s my thoughts on the Thom Cat Forks.

Visually, you won’t really find any other forks on the market that resemble these forks. It’s clear that when Matt of TSI designed these forks(who you can see to the left), he wasn’t looking to any previous forks for motivation…it came from his head…and considering TSI’s other products, I think it’s safe to say that’s a good place for ideas to come from. If you check the picture you will see what I mean. When I first got the fork, I took it down to my local bike shop where some friends work, and the owner of that shop happened to be in there, he was in complete amazement at the Thom Cat Forks. Taking them from me, and analyzing them for a good five minutes haha.

Onto performance and feel. These forks have 7.5mm offset, now for those used to stock forks and other aftermarket forks with offset, most of those are at 10mm offset. So it will have a bit of a different feel. I’ve rode everything from stock 10mm offset, to Zero offset, to now Thom Cat Forks, 7.5mm offset. I think it’s safe to say that unless you do a LOT of nosemanual tricks, it won’t take you too long to get used to the slight difference. Weight wise, they can be considered slightly heavy compared to what you’re riding now. But that slight weight gain on your scooter is for a good cause. That being the strength of these forks. To this day, there is no record of anyone bending a Thom Cat Fork. They really are THAT strong and that solid.

Another thing I wanted people to notice about the Thom Cat Fork that might be overlooked, but certainly shouldn’t be ignored. Is the Axel design. When you get your Thom Cat Fork it will come with the Fork, and a bolt axel. Although one of the smaller parts of the fork, it is one of my favorites. Basically on the bottom of your fork legs, where you put the axel through, one side will be threaded. All you do is get your wheel on, insert the axel, and simply tighten it right into the fork itself. It tightens up perfectly, not too tight and not too lose leaving your wheel to spin freely. Really smart idea if you ask me. At 80.00usd these are right around the range if not cheaper than some other forks on the market. So let’s break down the Pros and the Cons of the Thom Cat Fork.

PROS
Innovative Design
Extremely Durable and Strong
Great Axel Design
90 Day Bend/Break/Cracks Warranty

CONS
Only comes in Black
No option for threaded (Get with the times people, it’s time to try threadless!)


So that basically covers my reviews and in depth looks on the TSI Scepter Bars, and the Thom Cat Forks. TSI is not just about decks guys, I really think people gotta take notice to their other parts as well. They are not making the same old same old parts you see other companies putting out at a rapid rate. TSI is staying as innovative as possible with every new product they release, and that isn’t going to change anytime soon. I know that because the two people running TSI, Matt and KC are dedicated to this SPORT. Not to the money that goes into their pockets, but to the sport. So if you are interested in getting some of high quality parts for a good price then click the link below, and head over to TSI’s website. And for all your future news on TSI, and all updates and breaking news in the sport of scootering..Keep checking Inside-Scooters.

Check out some more pics from TSI, and of Matt aka Thom Cat shredding his TSI, Scepter Bars, and Thom Cat Fork!