To ask why people have buggies with huge wheels?

[PetalMettle]

Specifically why they do in London when they're unlikely to be going off road etc. Is it just a status thing or is there some other reason?

I had a bugaboo cam3, DD now 3.5. Live in London and walked everywhere. It's very hilly where I live and there's lots of uneven paths, parks and woodland walks- it was so easy to push, comfortable for me and her. We still use it every day walking to and from nursery (about 1.5miles) and have never felt the need for a separate buggy. I also used it for shopping a lot. If I needed bus or tube when she was a baby I'd either go at a quiet time (there's a bus around every 3 mins so not a big problem if needed to vacate it) or use the sling.

Many of my friends in Ireland were astonished that I used it so much and use it still but they drive everywhere!

North west London here where a lot of us have them. It makes getting down the stairs easier and onto the bus/tube

We had a buggy with small wheels (the only one that would fit in our car back in the day). It was really crap. It couldn't cope with anything that wasn't the smooth interior of a shopping centre. Small lumps and bumps in pavements caused all kinds of trouble. I hated that buggy.

They're so much easier to push, and to push for long distances.

We have a mountain buggy which we mostly use at weekends in the countryside. I use it on buses during the week but there's no way I'd take it on the tube. Not all stations have lifts and it weighs 13kg on its own. We got it because we love going on walks/to the beach - and it is a much smoother ride than the smaller wheeled alternatives. Not being able to afford/store two buggies means that we do walk around the city with a big wheeled monstrosity. We may look slightly ridiculous, but I don't really mind that, and I can assure you it's not a status thing at all! Thinking about it that would be a weird status thing to be concerned with - my buggy has bigger wheels than yours!

Bigger wheels tend to come with bigger frames, and bigger frames tend to come with bigger shopping baskets.

I'm in London, they push better for stairs, gravel, etc, I walked in the woods every day, regularly went to the Heath. There is a very good reason for having them!!

We have an Urbo which was marketed as a city pram with small wheels and a narrow frame. I really dislike buggies that take up loads of room. Mine fits perfectly in coffee shops and makes me feel less of a nuisance!

I've got a bugaboo chameleon and it's brilliant. The big wheels mean my son naps for hours as it's such a smooth ride. Pain on the arse for the bus though if there's another big buggy on it already.

Just bought. Phil and teds too on readiness for DS2...it's a pain in busses but TBH I mostly walk or get the metro (which is a lot more buggy friendly than the tube!) so it's fine!
So easy to push and comfortable plus copes off road easily!

Teaches you can easily fit 2 bugaboos in the space on most London buses. Never had an issue!

Well I have !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I chose my silver cross pioneer because the larger wheels looked better quality and more likely to last longer than the smaller plastic wheels on the wayfarer or the tiny wheels on the surf. We don't drive, so knew we would be using the Pram a lot. It's nothing to do with status.
Also the little buggies with small wheels look very likely to break I think.

That's odd! Wonder if different buses do! Usually just sort of wedge one on inside between bar and window with the other one beside it? All my local buses have no issue with 2 buggies!

That must mean all buses are the same !!! Maybe I'm doing it all wrong !!!!!

Mine had quite large wheels that could swivel, and it had good use over years with both DCs, mainly in parkland. Other people would be constantly un-jamming their little "trolley wheels" with sticks as they trap mud/ sticks/ leaves easily.

I'm not in London though, and I rarely used buses with it. It was a much easier push than the umbrella buggy!

London is a pretty geographically diverse place, it's not all shops buses and the underground!! We live close to the river towpath and Richmond park so a little buggy with tiny wheels would be useless for doing proper long walks. It's not really like having a 4x4 which really isn't needed anywhere in London (although I'd secretly love an old school Landrover defender!!).

I have one small buggy (Baby Jogger City Mini) and one with huge wheels (BOB Ironman). Got the BOB for running, use the BJCM for day to day usage and use a sling quite a bit as well.

I'm in north London. I don't take the BOB on public transport though unless I'm getting the bus to Highbury Fields parkrun, it takes up pretty much the entire wheelchair/buggy space which tends to piss people off.

I'm currently expecting #2 and I'm most likely going to sell the BOB and buy an Out n About Nipper double - I can run with it and it's a good general purpose double, we're going to have a 22.5 month gap and my son is only starting to walk independently now at 17 months so we do need a double.