Saturday, February 17, 2007

In the market for a running stroller?

If you're in the market for a running stroller, you can learn from me before you make the same mistakes. Now some would say that the first mistake was taking the stroller out in the snow (this was two years ago).


I had such a good time that I can't agree. However, I did learn from the experience.
  1. If you have metal spokes and rims, you must wipe them down until they are completely dry. If you don't, they'll rust. (Mine did. I had to sand out the rust and paint them with rustoleum.) Better yet, don't buy a stroller with metal spokes and rims.
  2. Get a stroller with a front wheel that can rotate and lock in the straight position.
  3. Make sure that the seat can recline!
  4. Get a locking handbreak for stopping on hills or at intersections.
  5. Get a stroller that can accommodate a car seat.
So here's the one we got, the Baby Trend Expedition LX (which meets 3 of the 5 criteria): (For some reason Baby Trend seems to have discontinued the LX version that comes with car seat and locking mechanism, so this image is without.)

It has been rugged, and has gone everywhere - on-road, off-road, through snow - everywhere. I have easily put hundreds of miles on it, if we haven't topped a thousand yet (and only finally had to repack the bearings of one of the wheels today).

Both the BOB Revolution
and the BOB Stroller Strides.
So what's the difference? The Stroller Strides is $20 more and comes with a handlebar console (for parent and kid stuff). Both accommodate an add-on that makes it work with an infant car seat. The downside? It is over 3 times the price of the Expedition.

If you don't have sticker shock, another good option is the Phil & Ted's E3, which has all the virtues of the BOBs (except it has smaller rear wheels and no suspension), but can easily convert to a double-decker 2 child stroller.
And if you're still interested after reading this far, there's a very helpful article here. And if you balk, like I did, at the cost of the stroller, you might be able to find a lightly used one for the price of an Expedition-and-a-half on Craigslist.

3 comments:

aennswind said...

When our first son was born we bought a chariot. That was in 1999 in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, CANADA. This thing goes through snow, mud, rain, behind a bike, etc. Every cent was worth it, as we thoroughly enjoy using it. We were about to convert it to a cargo carrier when we found out we were expecting again. Our third son was born in September and is already enjoying our chariot. Check out the site:
http://www.chariotcarriers.com/pdf/2006_brochure_lo.pdf
http://www.chariotcarriers.com/html_english/home.htm

Graham said...

Great point! I neglected to mention the convertible strollers that can be both running strollers and bicycle trailers. The best ones I've seen are Chariot and Burley.

runningfor3 said...

Those are all great choices for jogging/walking, but not ideal for faster running or longer distances. Larger wheels and lighter weight will be appreciated. It is hard to beat a Baby Jogger for that.
I have a Kelty single and a Dreamer Design double and have found that both required new tires, or whole new wheels for the DD, at about 2000 miles (2 years).