KneeRoverGO Hybrid - Most Compact All Terrain Knee Scooter for Adults for Foot Surgery Heavy Duty Knee Walker for Broken Ankle Foot Injuries Recovery Leg Scooter Best Knee Crutch Alternative (Green)

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.

This scooter is perfect! I was hesitant to spend the money when I already had a cheaper knee scooter purchased from Walmart that was doing well enough. Decided to get this for easier travel outdoors/along sidewalks and oh my goodness I didn’t realize what I was missing. Better adjustment capability, comfier knee pad that doesn’t create as many hot spots with my boot, easier turning, and a WAY smoother ride. So pleased with this purchase and would definitely recommend! Only suggestion is to make sure you buy a portable pump for the tires. Mine didn’t come fully inflated so I couldn’t use it until the next day when I was able to get a pump (got a $20 travel air compressor that did the trick)

I put this thing through its paces and it worked perfectly. I broke my fibula a few weeks before a trip to the EU. Unfortunately for me my destinations were all hills and cobblestones. Beautiful, but tough to navigate on a scooter. The big, air-filled front tires were critical. The padding in the knee-seat was always comfortable despite the rough terrain. The brake was critical and performed admirably under heavy use. I mountain bike and was comfortable pushing this scooter a bit on long downhills in these hilly towns. The brake held up. The folding frame helped get it into the smaller European cars. I had trouble getting it as small as I thought it should when folding, but it did good enough. I really abused this thing and it took all I could give it.

TLDR: This scooter is fantastic for extended indoor and paved outdoor surface use-cases. It is easy to use, can fold up to be extremely compact, is very stable, and has been a faithful and reliable companion over the past few months of post surgery recovery. It is not perfect, but was far better then I expected especially considering my tall/large size.As a primer I am a very large man at 6"4/250lb and purchased this Knee Scooter for use for a series of two planned ankle fusion surgeries. This scooter has been used inside 90% of the time with only relatively short trips outside on generally well paved and smooth surfaces. I purchased this particular model because I wanted something with air filled front tires to absorb the impact of going over the hardwood to carpet transition molding in my home, while also folding up extremely compact to be able to fit into almost any car.Clearly this is a positive overall review so lets start with the very few negatives/trade offs I have observed after using this knee scooter for the past 2 months following my first surgery.Negatives:-Only one of the tires was extremely low on air out of the box. Not entirely a negative as I know changing ambient air pressures during shipping can effect this, just be aware that you may need to have a bike pump handy before you can safely use this. Make sure to check this when unboxing.-The brake cable barrel adjuster had a small sharp metal burr on it that I cut myself on while unboxing. Easily fixed with a Dremel or a metal file. The rest of the brake's were totally fine, but that one small piece located on the handlebars could have used a little extra clean up after machining. Not a big deal and easily remedied.Trade offs:-The Knee rest is made of extremely durable stiff foam and will bruise/hurt your knee after a few days without additional padding. Honestly I wouldn't change this because it is extremely easy to add a layer of additional padding on top for comfort. While the soft layer of padding I added is deteriorating a bit and has flattened out after 2 months of every day use, the stiff foam underneath it has provided great stability and support and has not deformed at all. I would rather have a supportive base with a removable soft cover then a softer less supportive base that deteriorates over time.-Steering does not use the more advanced tie-rod steering mechanism used in some of KneeRover's other scooters. While I prefer that style, I think this was not included because the geometry of the tie-rods would have gotten in the way of allowing this to fold up as small as it does.-No rear differential means that during very tight turns the rear inside wheel will slide a bit as it is forced to travel the same distance during a turn as the rear outside wheel relative to the turn. Again not a "real" issue as this doesn't effect stability or regular use in any real way, just something I observed. I don't think this is severe enough to prematurely wear down the rear wheels.-I sometimes wish the scooter could turn just a few degree's tighter, but having ridden a bicycle I also understand that increasing the angle of steering lock too much can result in a sudden loss of stability. This isin't a big issue and honestly I wouldn't change it as doing so would likely result in falling off the thing.Positives:-The short wheel base, tight turning radius, and air filled front tires made using this around the house incredibly easy. The front wheels absorbed all the small bumps from everyday obstacles such as rugs, the transitions between hardwood and carpet, and even things like dog toys and cables.-The folding frame means this thing can get extremely compact. I was able to fit this in every car I tried including inside the incredibly small trunk of a friend's Mazda 3. This. Is. Awesome.-Size and strength. I am 6"4/250lb and even with its compact wheel base this thing was very accommodating and comfortable. While I try and be gentle on everything between myself and the ground, this thing has held up far better then I expected. I check the various bolts and fasteners every week to see if they need tightening but so far they have held up just fine. I recognize at my size and weight I am at the upper limit of who this was designed for but even so it has been extremely comfortable to use and rock solid.-The included ergonomic hand grips were well appreciated and a not needed but very nice touch.-When sitting down, the padded knee rest was at the exact right height to use as a leg rest. It was great knowing I could always very easily elevate my leg regardless of where I was.Other observations:-The separately sold KneeRover knee cover is extremely comfortable but not very durable. I will need to replace it before using the scooter for my 2nd upcoming ankle fusion as the padding has started to flatten and deteriorate after about 2 months of nonstop everyday use.-Out of the box, the brake cable needed a little bit of adjusting to get the brake hand grip to feel the way I wanted it to feel, but this can be adjusted without tools and is very easy to do.-All knee scooters get less stable the faster you are moving so be careful while you adjust to using it regularly. Every time I fell off the thing it is because I was doing something stupid like trying to carry something with one hand and steer with the other. If you are expecting to be using this for a while, do some balancing exercises before hand on your good foot.-The easiest way to carry the scooter by hand if you need to turn it around in a tight space is by ignoring the handlebars and picking it up using the front of the knee rest directly above the hinge in the frame as a hand hold. This spot happens to be the center of balance for the entire scooter and makes moving it around mid-air extremely easy. Honestly if they had built in a small handle bar to the front of the knee rest it would have been perfect.-You will 100% bump into things while navigating around on this thing. Having inflatable front tires kept me from damaging or scuffing walls, doorway's, furniture and all the other stuff I have bumped into so far when this did happen.-I ended up getting a small flashlight and bicycle handle bar mount to attach to the scooter. Having a light always on the scooter pointing down at the ground right in front of the front wheels made using this thing at night and in the dark way safer.Conclusion:If you are looking for a knee scooter for mostly indoor and occasional outdoor use, and value indoor maneuverability and overall stability, this is a fantastic option. Having only the front tires be inflatable really gives you the best of both worlds. You would be hard pressed to find a better option then the KneeRover Go Hybrid.