By Jeffrey the Barak.

Before buying the S2020, and based on my usage, I had decided that a modest Yedoo City (a 1612 BMX style scooter) or one of its limited edition variants would be perfect for me, but with more expensive shipping from other sources,  it would have cost more than the considerably more expensive and upmarket S2020 purchased via Stepshop. Of course all of this applies to the world situation in mid 2022, and so if you are reading this years later it may all be ancient news.

• Ordered on Stepshop.nl on May 23
• Shipped From the Netherlands on May 24
• Arrived at home in Hawai’i on May 27

Condition was perfect, and clean, but not detailed clean. My hands did get dirty when touching and adjusting the scooter. I looked forward to my usual obsessive cleaning.

Assembly was quite easy, especially since I have assembled a few scooters in my time. There were a few missteps, such as not noticing that the front forks had rotated themselves when I wasn’t looking, meaning I had to reverse the stem, and then reconnect the brake levers to the cables.The hardest part was getting the back brakes set up. That took considerable wrangling of the various noodles, elbows, boots and routings of a quick release cable V-brake.

Upon testing the front and rear brakes later, I was a bit shocked at how powerful they each were. I will be braking with caution and wondering why some buyers might be choosing the S2016 Disc version from Yedoo’s steel line.

Yedoo’s Steel line includes:

• S2620,
• S2020,
• S2016,
• S2016 Disc,
• S1616,

with these numbers referring to tire size in inches.

The reason I chose the S2020 rather than the S2016 or S1616 was purely my desire to get these particular tires and experience 100 PSI pressures for the first time in many years. But the reason I chose anything from the S for Steel line after having my mind set on a City, was availability. Stepshop.nl offered a shipping price that was about half as much as anyone else. It is one thing putting money into a new scooter, but you don’t really get any lasting value from the price paid for one instance of shipping. 

• Tyres (front/rear)
• KENDA  KWICK ROLLER SPORT K1029.  20×1,5 / 20×1,5 (60TPI, kevlar guard)
• Max. inflation (front/rear)
• 7 bar / 7 bar. (101 PSI)

• Tyres (front/rear)
• KENDA KONTACT ELITE K841 (BMX)
• Max. inflation (front/rear)
• 4,6 bar / 4,6 bar. (67 PSI)

• Tyres (front/rear)
• KENDA KONTACT ELITE K841 (BMX)
• Max. inflation (front/rear)
• 4,6 bar / 4,6 bar. (67 PSI)

So while the S2020 is bump up in size from the S2016 and smaller, it is still not so large that small space maneuverability suffers a great deal.

Before my first long ride began, I could already tell that I would eventually be upgrading the hand grips. The included foam grips are hard, and I have some very nice ribbed rubber ones looking for some bars to live on. But besides those grips, absolutely everything else seems to be a very high quality component.

The first run was delayed by work and weather, but that gave me time to clean it. Finally I ran a familiar route and was pleased to average 6 MPH with no fuss and no noise, and little effort. Of course, when you start and end in one place you have an equal amount of uphill and downhill. As with most foot bike class scooters with high pressure smooth tires, the mere hint of downhill sends it off and running like a spooked horse.

After owning around 28 scooters, how would I describe the experience of the Yedoo S2020?

Yedoo describes the S2020 as a compact all-rounder, capable of high speed on an oval track as well as low speed cruising. I will say that it is compact as compared to anything with a full size road wheel up front, as in 700c or approximately 28 inches. With the high pressure tires on the S2020 the 20 inch wheels take on the characteristics of a larger wheel, but the scooter remains a mid-size maneuverable ride that can politely share a sidewalk with pedestrians when the roadway has fast-moving cars that you want to keep well away from.

As I have mentioned, what sets the S2020 apart from the S1616 and S2016, is not so much  the size of the tires, but the type of tire. It is small enough to be similar to a 12 incher, and fast enough to be similar to a racer. A true in-between type of scooter.

Update: June 16th 2022 (17 days)

Since adding this Yedoo S2020 to the fleet, it has been a challenge to select any of my other available scooters. I like it that much. Adjustments are ongoing. I personally enjoy standing up vertically straight and cruising, as opposed to the more normal, arms forward, constant power stroke kind of ride. At my height, 5′ 7″ (170 cm) this Yedoo only just allows that. I have the stem at top safe height and I have rotated the bars back in the clamp a little to bring them closer, so I can stand up and coast along. My bars may be a bit too far back because they are now very close to my knee if and when I do switch to racing power stroking, close enough for the bell to ring if I am not standing at the back end of the long footboard, but this is my chosen compromise. The point I wish to convey here is, if you are taller than I am, then the S2020 may not have high enough bar height for you to cruise upright.

As I begin to meld with the scooter, which almost starts over each time I adjust anything, my main impression is, it is very silent, due to the road tires described above. The shoe on the ground and even my own breathing, are many times louder than any audible sound from the scooter. (Hence the necessary addition of a bell). The input to output ratio is excellent, meaning I can go further and/or faster with less effort. This is a tires and bearings dependent characteristic and the S2020 excels.

Jeffrey the Barak has owned at least 28 scooters and tested even more. He has written about them for 22 years so far. He now lives in Kailua, O’ahu, Hawai’i, where scooters are still uncommon.