whats the deal with 3 wheelers?!

[jinglybits]

not for the 1st time i've just seen a woman really struggling steering her 3 wheeler down the aisle of the bus and squeezing into the space next to me, not very well! so whats the deal with 3 wheelers? am i missing the point? can see that they would be great for country living but in the city? they even take up a lot of room on the width of the pavement if you have to get past builders or roadworks or just down a narrow street! they look heavy if you need to struggle up a few steps?! i admit they look cool but surely the impracticalities outweigh this quality?! ...not wishing to offend, just wondering?...

Yeah, I don't take my 3-wheeler on buses. But it's good for the tube, when it's not too busy - it's easier to bump down the stairs.

And it's much much much easier to push than my regular pram. Given I walk at least a mile per day and often much more, this matters.

ah!...good point about bumping down but what about getting it up the stairs?

I have two, one is a 3-wheeler which is really smooth to push, as NQC says, and I can happily push it for an hour at a time, but I wouldn't dream of taking it on a bus. I also have a Volo which folds up very small and is light enough to pick up and walk up and down steps with ds in it, but it gives me backache to push, it stops at every little uneven patch in the pavement and it's not as comfortable for ds. If push came to shove and I was forced to give up one pushchair I would keep the 3-wheeler because I love it so much.

(Thread hi-jack, NQC thanks for recommending Yi-Ban, we've been there a few times now and it's so much more laid back than Royal China, it's great)

jinglybits I just pull my 3-wheeler up stairs backwards, I probably wouldn't want to do more than 20 or 30 steps but it's nice and bouncy so ds doesn't mind.

and I see them with puntures too.
Not exacly practical - but the thing is they look cool to push.

I would like 3Wr to get down gravel driveways (everyone has them locally) and to take on the beach (can take 3wheeler on train ok).
3-wheelers are really pleasant to push, too, compared to small buggies, on long walks.
Otherwise, impossible, you can't get a 3-wheeler into most of the shops (doorways too narrow) where I live.

They are soooooooooo light to push, I loved mine. Wouldn't have had one if I was regular user of public transport though, too bulky and heavy to lift, IME.

Yes it's true they do get punctures, although I haven't yet, but I don't see why they would get any more punctures than a bike would. I keep meaning to buy that stuff that you spray into the tire that coats the inside so that any puncture is self-sealing, does anyone know if that really works?

MistressMary, mine doesn't look at all cool , it's not a trendy one, just a Mothercare one. I do kind of know what you mean though, especially around Canary Wharf it's like a catwalk of trendy, outlandish pushchairs, 3 and 4 wheelers.

do look cool!...but i love to shop and doorways, shop aisles must be a problem...exluding big department shops obviously...can even squeeze my little buggy into a changing room with me! ...bet they are lovely on a long walk though! but imo too many cons for the city

They are very easy to steer - turning circle is tiny.

I've never had a problem getting into shops with my 3 wheeler; I notice some of you have?

Now that I've had a good think, I can see why people don't think it's good for a city. I think of myself as a city dweller, but Docklands is different from the rest of London. Thinking back to when we lived in Balham, pre-ds, a big 3-wheeler would have been tricky with a narrow Victorian hallway in the house, and lots of people on the pavement on the high street, and having to find a gap between parked cars so that you can cross the road.

We live in an old market town, HMC, most shops in older buildings, narrowly crammed aisles. When I lived in Loughborough (shops in newer buildings) 3 wheelers could go in virtually of all them, but not where we are now.

I think we agree that you need both! I bought my 3-wheeler for walking in the woods and days at the beach and generally bounciness and comfort. The buggy is great for slinging in the boot of the car, for getting on and off buses but it hurts my hands pushing it on uneven pavements for any length of time so I use the 3-wheeler for my long walk to school.

We have 'slime' in our three wheelers wheels and it does work. Have had lots of things stick in the tyres but no flats since we put it in. Every tyre was flat after our first walk out off road as there are some awful spikey seed things where we live.

Live in London have a light 3wheeler, actually lighter than a lot of people's buggies, 7.6kg when the maclaren xt is 6. something. Have vary rarely found it tough in buses and tubes. There is the odd bus with a funny pole which means you can't get past but the drivers just let you in the back door.
The occasional shop is a bit tricky to get into but they move around so easily that it isn't really an issue. We live in a first floor flat and you just go backwards up the stairs no worries.
It is really smooth to push, haven't had a flat tyre yet (touch wood dd 14mths).

I live on the outskirts of SW London and have an E3 which is fab. we broke our first pushchair pushing across rough ground (a chicco trio..which I hated anyway). the E3 is pretty narrow and Ive had very few problems on the buses and I find that some the smaller buses you cant even get the small pushchairs down them cos they are so narrow. We get out and about alot walking so its brilliant and has a big space underneath and extra panniers for the sides which are great for picnics etc. Its even made it to the top of Box Hill with us. Have to say I loathe shopping so any excuseto get out of it

Thanks Cooperoo, I'll definitely look for some slime then. Where did you get yours from?

The wheels come off mine separately, so when you wheel through dog crap you can take one of them off and wash it! (or you can save it for dh when he comes home from work!! }

I have one (TFK Jogger), I am really happy with it but do an lot of off road walking and when ds is a bit bigger i'll run with it. Where I live its hilly so the brake is really useful. it has a wheel on the front that I can change for a swivel wheel making it easy in the city. When ds can sit up properly I'll buy a second really light weight one for the city though.

Love our 3 wheeler; quite sad that DD doesn't really need it any more. It is made by Torkq and we bought it whilst on holiday in Europe when pregnant.

It is very light - much lighter than most normal pushchairs, and even lighter than some of the buggies we get here in UK. Wheels come off and in in seconds too - meaning it will go into small boots if need be.

Dead easy to manoveure. Ours isn't too wide. Easy to put on and off of the trams (not used buses). Not too hjheavy to bump up and down steps if need be.

And it looks great

Oh, and only had one puncture in 3 years - and that's because DH drove it through loads of sharp smashed glass, when he wasn't looking.

Like others, I drag my three-wheeler up stairs. Our school run includes a flight of stairs, and I happily bounce DS2 up it in the three-wheeler. With our McLaren fold-up buggy, I just carry it sideways, but that wouldn't work on those stairs, as they're narrow. DS2 loves being bounced up and down stairs, he laughs and laughs.

The goop does work, any bike shop would stock it.

Oh, I do have a problem getting my three-wheeler into small shops, but then I just leave it and DS2 outside (often with DS1 to keep him company).

If you don't walk a lot, I can see that a three-wheeler is a pointless accessory, but for people who walk, they're very sensible. DH will sometimes walk from Oxford Street to home with ours, which has got to be a couple of miles at least.

(hijack: bran, I'm glad you're enjoying Yi-Ban. Oh, there's a lovely New Vietnamese place in Lauriston village, just north of Vicky park, that's very enjoyable as well. Also, there's a fair in Mile End Park on Sunday, from 12-6, that looks v good. Not a rides-and-candyfloss-fair, but a community-music-food-fair.)

Hi Bran, as NQC says you can get the 'slime' stuff from a bike shop. I am in Cyprus and it is so widely used here for bikes etc that they sell it in the supermarkets.