In the late 1990s, a sleeker, narrower folding version of the kick scooter was created by Wim Ouboter of Micro in Switzerland. His invention was then copied by JDBug (or Razor) and many others as the aluminium scooter became wildly popular in Japan. In 1999 and 2000 they became popular in the United States, in a wide variety of colors and styles. Popular brands include Razor and Micro, which are still produced and are popular with children and with a niche market of young adults who use the scooters to perform stunts. The most commonly bought stunt scooters are the razor pro model and the discontinued razor 'old a'. These scooters attract riders because of their strength and their ability to have their folding mechanism bolted. These stunt riders have swelled in numbers over the previous few years.
The average aluminium scooter has a 18-24 inch (45-60 cm) long deck, with collapsible handlebars, a folding / locking mechanism, 10 cm (4") wheels, and a friction brake. Stunt riders often reinforce and replace many parts of a scooter, sometimes to the point where the deck is the only part left of the original scooter.