Forums >Gears and Wears>Jogging Strollers
Runs With Kid
Curious what the hype is with the Bob Strollers? My little guy is 13 months and now that the nice weather is around the corner I'm likely going to retire the treadmill until next winter and take him running with me. All of my somewhat-running friends have spent $400+ on Bob Strollers, whereas Consumer Reports rates Schwinn and Baby Trend better than Bob...and they are both way cheaper. So I thought I'd go to the experts. Any advice?
Oh...in case you are wondering...no I won't be one of those inconsiderate people pushing a stroller in a race unless I start at the far back.
Curious what the hype is with the Bob Strollers? My little guy is 13 months and now that the nice weather is around the corner I'm likely going to retire the treadmill until next winter and take him running with me. All of my somewhat-running friends have spent $400+ on Bob Strollers, whereas Consumer Reports rates Schwinn and Baby Trend better than Bob...and they are both way cheaper. So I thought I'd go to the experts. Any advice? Oh...in case you are wondering...no I won't be one of those inconsiderate people pushing a stroller in a race unless I start at the far back.
We used a Bob with my son and found it well built, very sturdy, and durable. It's a little heavy and the suspension seems to smooth out the ride for your little one but can suck some efficiency from your running. Perhaps those other strollers rate better when you factor price/value?
I've also used a Baby Jogger stroller. I find it's more efficient (fast) than the Bob but doesn't fold up as quickly.
As for racing... I do it. It can be fun in smaller 5Ks and it's never crowded in our end of the race.
I've had a double bob for several years. It's the only jogging stroller we've ever had. Don't use it a ton, but it's been great. Like xristopher said, it's sturdy and durable.
Intentionally Blank
After reading an article in Running Times about strollers (check the archives), we bought a cheap Instep 20k, and it worked very well. We now have a ginormous Burley that doubles as a big trailer. My kids don't really tolerate sitting in the stroller anymore (they are 6 and 4), so we don't use it much.
Here's the article. It may be dated now:
http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=17619
my wife and I both run a little bit. We use the bob and with a little bribery, we can get the kids to be happy to sit in the stroller for up to 12 mile runs.
IMHO, it is more about how long you can get the kids to stay in the stroller than how good the stroller is. If you have a $1000 stroller but can only run for a couple miles, what is the point... Once you get the kids to cooperate, then worry about how perfect it is, not vice versa.
I have used the Jogger II with the big wheels which I LOVED and the Chariot Cougar which I also like a lot.
The Jogger II can have an infant adapter for children under 6 months to ride in their car seat, which I needed. It drove smooth and easy. The only negative is it did not fold up much and was not a stroller you could take in the car very often. (A larger car, maybe not an issue) The big wheels is important for that.
The Cougar folds up much better and easier, and can also be used as a bike trailer. It isn't quite as smooth and fast of a stroller (weight is about the same, but it being lower to the ground seems more awkward to me) and while this doesn't matter to me, does not seems to be as comfortable if you are tall (over 6'2) even with the adjustable handlebar. .
I think having a GOOD stroller is important if you have to get any real miles in it. A few miles now and again, maybe not... but I'd rather be more comfortable.
And the better ones, you actually can get a lot back out of when you are done by selling on Craigslist compared to the cheaper ones. You might not think about that in the price, but if you are willing to use Craigslist, check the ads for a while and see how well they retain value, and if you can pick up a very good condition used one. I ended up selling the Baby Jogger for more than I bought it for after 6 months of use by catching someone quickly who hadn't seen how well they retain value and how rarely they come up in my area when I bought it, and selling it when I needed one that traveled easier.
I have tried some of the cheaper brands, including Baby Trend, from my friends. I HATED them. They did not feel like a good ride for a serious runner. Of course, maybe it's like shoes and this is just reflective of me. What I hated the most is my daughter didn't want to sit in it.
The Jogger and the Chariot are both supercomfortable for the kids. My daughter loves to ride in both, from infant to preschooler. (Less distance now, only because she wants to run too.) Older kids you can use snacks, books, talking, etc. Younger kids, talking and going during nap time work well.
I did a bit of research on this, since my wife and I are thinking of having a child. Anyway, I need to find the rest of the articles I read, but here is one.
http://www.running-mom.com/best-jogging-strollers.html
I did a bit of research on this, since my wife and I are thinking of having a child. Anyway, I need to find the rest of the articles I read, but here is one. http://www.running-mom.com/best-jogging-strollers.html
Just hit that link and noted the BOB Revolution is the first review which reminds me... DO NOT BUY A JOGGING STROLLER WITHOUT A HAND BRAKE! Of course, that's just my opinion but I can't imagine not having it.
The BOB Revolution has a handy swivel/lock front wheel but no hand brake. We used a BOB Sport Utility Stroller with a hand brake and really wore the pads down. The brake allows you to stop on a dime, or faster, and will allow you to comfortably slow the stroller when walking/running down hill. Without it you might expend a lot of energy hanging on to the stroller. I'd consider this a necessary safety feature too.
Our BOB was mostly used for walking, which I think is normal, and was excellent on challenging surfaces such as trails and even the beach. We could trunk it in our Honda Civic w/ no issue. It even fit in our Thule roof box. We flew with it many times and even the gorillas at the airport didn't break it.
Thanks for the info everyone. I decided that I'm going to do a test drive. One of my friends is going to bring her Bob Revolution over on Friday and I'm going to buy a Baby Trend tonight....I will try them both for about a mile with baby, and will then decide if I need to return the Baby Trend and buy a much more expensive Bob. I need to keep in mind though that I will likely only use this thing 1/week and that most of my running will be done solo. Thanks again.
I think your last post hit the nail on the head. Are you going to use this a lot or a little. We have a chariot double that we have used for the past 5 years and it was used an average of 4 days a week ALL YEAR long between walking, running, and biking. It has biked in the rain and spent many days in amusement parks. It is a bit dirty but it still moves as well as ever and we have had no issues with it.
We just bought a BOB double because my wife wanted to keep the two little ones seperate. We bought it based on many friends reviews of it. So far it has been great (about 250 miles on it between walking and running). It has a permanent spot in the back of the Odyssey minivan and gets out almost every day.
The issues we have seen with the cheaper brand has been durability and comfort. If you are going to use it for a once a week run and only for a year or so, then you are probably ok with the cheaper brands. I also have friends that have bought a chariot or a BOB and used it for a year or two and then sold it for 75-80% of the original price so you get the better quality at the lower price.
I am not sure about the handbrake issue that someone else mentioned. Neither of our joggers have handbrakes and I have had no issues. We do a lot of running at 8-8:30 pace with the double jogger and have had no issues stopping it. I guess if you were a small person and you had a lot of weight in the jogger it would be a different story. My wife has asked for lots of accessories for both of the joggers and never has a break been mentioned.
Definately check Craigslist. I ended up with three. A Baby Trend and two Baby Joggers. The Baby Trend has 16" wheels, lots of features, but doesn't seem to roll very straight. It' was a pain to run any real distance with, but a pleasure in a park. The 20" Baby Jogger is a speed demon, but it is the older model that doesn't break down well. I have to carry it in the back of may truck. Great for training runs and even burned through a 5k with it. The other Baby Jogger has 10" wheels and breaks down very flat. It's not a stable with the little wheels but I got a deal on it. We haven't used it, but I figured I would get both since I got a deal and will probably end up making money on all three when selling.
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sugnim
We bought one of the all-terrain bob strollers used on craig's list. It seems very sturdy. It has nice shocks, good brakes, and the tires go over absolutely everything. Our son is too young to go running, but we have started him in it for walks. The stroller does fine over snow, ice, packed dirt, and crumbly roads & sidewalks. When he's 6 months old, I feel pretty confident that he would be safe in this stroller. Of course, I'll likely stick to paved trails or packed dirt with minimal incline--no stroller mountain runs!