buggy recommendations please!

[GirlWithTheMouseyHair]

Going road testing at Mothercare, M&P and John Lewis on Oxford Street tomorrow.

Had the bugaboo bee with DS which has now died a death (annoyingly), DC2 due in November when DS will be 3, and it was a nightmare looking through them all last time let alone this, any recommendations really gratefully received - NB looking for a single NOT double buggy, we'll prob have the baby in the sling most of the time but be good to be able to swap toddler and baby over

• reclines right back suitable for newborn
• lightweight and good for London public transport (many stairs at tubes, tight spaces on buses!)
• works with a buggy board!
• pref has option of parent-facing but not a priority
• adjustable, or at least high handles, I'm 5'9" and DH is 6'4"
• folds easily

My uncle and aunt have offered to buy it for us. They're a bit loaded and treated us to the Bee last time but I'd like to keep it under £250 if possible

Thankyou!

The Baby Jogger City Mini fulfils most of your criteria except parent facing but you can use a carrycot or car seat parent facing. The handle is fixed but quite high.

2 recommendations - the Baby Jogger City Mini is fab. Lightweight, folds really easily and is very easy to push around. Handle height is fine as my DH is very tall too!

2nd recommendation - do NOT buy from Mothercare if you can help it. Their customer service and after sales service are appalling in my experience. John Lewis all the way!

Happy Shopping!

x posted with Tiggywunkle, glad to see we're all agreeing!

actually from RL friends as well the jogger city mini has hands down had the most votes too

There must be SOMETHING wrong with it? Can it get on a London bus?

Yes, it's neat and small. But if necessary it's dead simple to scoop the baby up with one arm and simply grab the handle in the centre of the pushchair and pull it closed as you continue walking onto the bus. I doubt you can with the glider board attached but I don't know. Also I believe one of the new connectors for the Mountain Buggy Freerider scooter board will be for the City Mini. There is a choice of three or four wheels now too. Finally, and not recommended but worth a mention. There have been odd times where I took a single and regretted it. It was simple to recline the seat, put my baby at the very back of the recline and my toddler sat well on the main seat area. Obviously this isn't recommended as you cant use the harness properly, and it's a compromise but it's possible should you ever get desperate!!

that is good to know!!!

A 2nd hand Bugaboo Bee or Bee +? I read your list of requirements thinking Yep, Yep, Yep...

But you probably already know how fab Bugaboo Bees are - although your 1st one breaking, not so fab. What about asking Bugaboo or where you bought the pram from about making some sort of goodwill gesture to you? 3 years really doesn't sound like a long time for such an expensive pram to last.

Trouble is we ended up hvaing a few gripes about the bee, it wasn't very sturdy, the brakes often got stuck, the wheels squeeked in the winter, the seat was tough to fold back after the whole buggy was folded up, it was a pain putting it back up after being folded - and then obviously it broke on us! Oh, and the raincover split too. A few friends with bees have had similar problems so I'd be reluctant to get it second hand.

we tried out the baby jogger city mini in John Lewis today, my only gripe was although the basket was a decent size, I couldn't work out how you could actually get anything in or out of it apart from squeezing stuff in the side gaps, am I being a total numpty?

We have a universal raincover so can always use that, but footmuff/baby support wise can you get a baby jogger brand one or just a cozytoes/buggysnuggle type thing? Didn't feel like there was much support for baby, but we do still have our bugaboo bee baby cocoon which might fit in it.

We really liked it apart from that, and looking at price all the reputable places are much the same so we'll prob order via John Lewis, though checked ebay too.

The basket isn't the best at getting things in and out of, but I think a regular stroller basket is probably worse. I quite like the slightly bigger Elite because the basket is easier to access - the main difference is the chunky wheels and footrest.
You can use any buggysnuggle type thing. The Baby Jogger ones are pretty cheap and really snuggly though. But if you have a tie on buggy snuggle then you either tie it through the mesh at the back for the baby, or around the frame for your eldest.
The new version has a PE board in the back to give additional support (did you try a new version out or the old one?) I used my Bugaboo Bee Cocoon in my double and single and it worked great.
Did you also see there is a 3 and a 4 wheel version. I am about to swap my 3 wheeler for a 4 wheeler because I think it will be a tad more stable.