Running Prams

[Jodiann]

Hi,
I'm new to forums, but have a question and am hoping that someone can help.
I'm 29weeks preg. I am a triathlete (well not right now! what a sight!!!), I am looking for a running pram, tossing up between a Bob Running Stroller, which has a fixed wheel, and only reclines to 45degrees, so am worried that it will be hard to take shopping etc, but will be good for running, the other option is a Valco, which is more general purpose, will be easier to shop with etc, but worried how it will cope with running everday, unfortunately my budget does not stretch to two prams! can anyone help, or maybe you have other ideas.

Thank
Jodiann

[Chickadee]

Hi Jodiann,
I'm not sure I can give you much advice, my hub is the triathlete, not me. But he did come to help select a pram on the presumption he'd be running with it. Not that he ever did...

We settled on a Valco 3 wheeler. It is definitely sturdy, we've had no issues with it over 2 years of solid use and a bit of rough handling while walking dogs. A couple points on it regarding running with it.

- although the front wheel locks straight we have never ever used this feature. Really, how often are you going to be going in a perfectly straight line for very long?

- The suspension of the baby seat is probably not as good as some other prams, in that there is very little. Most "shock absorption" is provided in the way the seat is suspended, and not at the wheels. So it can get a bit rough for bub over grass but is fine on pavement. My DD actually liked it bumpy as an infant and would cry when went from grass to pavement (future moutain biker! :D )

- The seat reclines enough that I had DD in it from just a few weeks after birth without the extra bassinette.

- It's not much use shopping, being too wide for all but the wide handicap aisle at the supermarket.

Good luck!

[cosmic]

Jodiann,

Choice did a review of 3 wheeler jogger/strollers earlier this year. Of 10 models tested, only 2 pasted their tests and they were the Beema Q by Swallow (available from Babyco) for $399 and the Mountain Buggy Urban Single (new model about to come out for $695. You might be able to get this year's on sale for around $600 - from Babies Galore).

Both have lockable front wheels, are relatively light (12 and 10kg respectively), the Mountain Buggy is from NZ hence a little bit more expensive and is also designed to be very much onroad/offroad - gravel, sand, tracks etc, while still zippy enough to get around the shops in.

I'm in the middle of choosing between these two and while I like the Mountain Buggy, it's bassinet attachment for newborns is about $250 :eek: whereas the Beema is on sale for $70 - much more reasonable for the 3mths or so the bub is going to need it! And the MB doesn't come with a bumper bar - you need to buy it extra for $50 whereas it comes with the Beema. So pricewise - the Beema has it all over the MB.. I'm just trying to work out if the difference is worth it. :rolleyes: I also thought the Beema might be a tad bulky when folded, but I just checked the dimensions and it is slightly smaller than the MB both upright and folded... so the Beema is coming in ahead on all counts.

Hope that helps. If you want to read the choice review, you can download it for a fee at www.choice.com.au - many of the other models had wheels that came off after a certain amount of time and other problems that you would never know to look for.

good luck :).

[Naggy]

Hi

This is my first post on this forum. I have a Mountain Buggy Urban - it's an old model as my son just turned 3. Before I had him I was fit and ran every day and had great plans that this would continue.... hence spent a bit of money on the pram (about $800). The rain cover and sun shade were extra - somewhere between $50 and $100 each.

However I've got to say it was a great investment. It looks really simple and you wonder what you're paying for (ie, there's not bells and whistles) but it is sooo light. The front wheel locks in so you can have it in either swivel mode or lock-in mode. I must say I've only locked it in twice and that was prob when running but the swivel mode is much more useful, otherwise you have to tip it up on the back wheels to turn it which is annoying.

One great thing that I did was to put a wireless bicycle computer on the handle. This gave me so much motivation as it counted distance, speed and time. You attach it just as you would a normal bike computer, but you have to make some adjustment when you program it for the size of the wheel. It was excellent even when walking in the early days to keep an even pace or later on to beat the distance done in a particular time.

Lastly, I put my Sam in it from day 1, didn't use (and I don't think there even was then) the newborn attachment. It reclines flat and he was perfectly comfortable with a sheepskin liner in there!

Naggy