Best sibling stroller for London?

[MommyMaggie]

We are moving to London from Sweden in a couple of weeks and we plan to buy a new sibling stroller for the kids (2,5 and 1 years old). Can anyone help me with picking the best one? I've never been in London, so I'm not familiar with the stroller friendliness situation over there.

I guess a stroller with the seats side by side (we have a Carena double swing) is out of the question if I want to take the bus or tube? I'm currently thinking of a Baby jogger city select or a Phil & Teds. To be honest I like the City Select more, but will there be room for such a long stroller on the bus/tube?

Does anyone have any experience from this?

The 2,5-year-old is very small and weights about 1 st 11 lb and the 1-year-old weights 2 st (we measure weight in kilograms, I hope I translated correctly).

lol, i have known tiggy for years she has 21 dc's and is a collector of pushchairs and cats, love lady, just a bit nutty

lovely lady!!!!

Anothher Option is the mountain buggy duet. Its the same width as tandem strOller but the seats are side by side.

21!!!!! Gosh that would be going some wouldn't it??

I think the bit nutty is probably accurate though. I have had years of pushing other people's pushchairs so I made sure that I bought the perfect single for my eldest (DH wanted a cheap Hauck travel system - he's come a long way since!!!). All was well and happy until we had No 2 - we even planned for No 2 and got a pushchair that would take a sit down buggy board. But she was too young, and thus the search began for the perfect double pushchair. 30 odd doubles later, I probably have my perfect set of doubles and singles (for now), but its now more than a personal mission. Not only that but we are heading back into single territory again, and this could be my last chance to play and explore and find the perfect single :D

30 tandems!! That is A LOT! :D And this was achieved in how many years? I guess it's less than 3? I'm totally amazed and also thankful... :)

What set do you currently have and why?

These past couple of days have been a nightmare, since I'm alone with my two overly active boys and have to pack and clean this whole apartment by my self... So, I haven't really had the time to think about this tandem dilemma.

However, I decided to take a break from the madness tonight and enter the madness of tandems instead. There is some new information to take in mind.

We have got an apartment now. In Woolwich, by the Thames, zone 4, very close to some kind of train station - this is good, right? As I understand, most train stations have good accessibility for push chairs and I'm planning to travel a lot.

On the last weigh-in the boys both weighted 11,5 kgs and were 80 and 90 cms tall. The older still really needs his day nap. Badly.

I have to admit I'm almost scared of traveling with my two crazy boys, especially after reading an article about getting around London with a SINGLE buggy... I hope it's not completely true.

Back to the tandems:

I love the +One, but both of the boys are fighting more and more. I think we need to wait until they are nicer to each other. :(

For a time I didn't want any P&T. But now maybe I've changed my mind, since so many London parents seem to have one. I would probably go for a used Sport v2, if I decide to buy one of these. But does the fact that everyone else has it mean that it's best..?

The Britax B-Dual is becoming more and more interesting. Space, leg room on the bottom, nice to handle, good quality... My two big concerns are that the top seat does not have any good leg rest and that it's a bit long. Does anyone have any experience with this on trains/buses/tube?

Kidz Kargo Duelette sounds interesting as well, but I really want to try it with kids in and it's not possible if it's just sold online.

iCandy Peach Blossom (and Pear, probably) I really love, since it's so easy to maneuver. When I tried it in store I just fell deeply in love with it. So deeply that I would like to go there again just to try it again and feel the easiness! But a big fat con is the reclined back seat - it wouldn't work at all for us, since the kids prefer to sit upright. I need to see the Pear, but it's not possible in Sweden. So we'll have to wait. Does anyone have experience with the Pear, especially in London?

Have a play with the Transport for London journey planner - it will let you specify mobility requirements so you can see which journeys are doable without steps. The tube is manageable with a light single buggy but with a double you're much more restricted. The Jubilee line is largely double pushchair friendly, as are most train lines but most other tube lines are not - the easiest way is usually to invest in good walking shoes, find an accessible route into roughly the right place then walk from there.

I am glad you have a new home sorted. London can be a bit of a nightmare. I have to say, I wouldn't be brave enough to try it with a tandem but I think the tip is to try to stick to buses rather than the underground as as BSCN says above, plan your route first.

I have put some links below which might help you to rationalise size. The idea is that you use what is there to work out size proportions. There are loads of similar ones to look at as well as more 1 on 1 comparisons.

Side by Side Photos

More Side by Side Photos

P&T's Verve next to B-Dual

People do have P&Ts because they are probably the most well known tandem, partly because every Mothercare stocks them here and its the one people would name if they were asked for the name of a tandem. I think there is a huge range of tandems out there and there will be one somewhere to suit everyone. The P&Ts werent for me, probably for one main reason - storage! I need somewhere to put my handbag, keys, a bottle of water and some shopping. But the Sport is probably the one I would go for if I did buy another.

The new Peach isn't far away now if you can hang on a month to find out more information. I dont know when you actually move. The Pear is the neatest of all the tandems that I have met. I have mixed feelings about mine - some bits were great, others didn't work well. Have a read

I think the Peach is the best, if you can wait for a new version. Meanwhile I think the B-Dual is the least problematic without boring you to death as to the reasons why (BTW you will probably need to lift the calf rest up for the upper child to be comfy anyway so dont worry about the lack of a footrest - it is my only niggle because the children dont really sit right otherwise). After that I would try the Duellette and then the Pear.
Length wise they are much of a muchness and a lot is perceptional as hopefully some of those photos show.

mommymaggie - am going to buck the trend here and say that you can can cope with a side-by-side in London as I have done for the last 6 months with my 2 DS (now 2.1 and 6 months). I also use a single and sling a lot of the time but I think the weights of your children might make this tricky if you're not used to it. We have a Maclaren Twin Techno and it takes up less space on buses than a P&T (it goes in with the seats facing the windows, tilt it forward to drop it past the vertical pole and that still leaves space for a single buggy although once I've been on with another side by side too, I've yet to have a bus driver refuse to open the back doors for me www.tfl.gov.uk/gettingaround/transportaccessibility/1171.aspx - right at the bottom of the buggies section). A big factor is where you will be living and what transport you will be using - many of the suburban overground stations don't have lifts/level access for one or both directions so you might have to use not the nearest station - and how much time you have (eg using a bus when the quickest route might be by train/tube) and how much walking you will be doing. The DLR goes out to Woolwich now which is I think universally accessible and the London Overground is good too. The real nightmares are the central and old tube lines but how often will you really use them? Woolwich overground goes into London Bridge and you can step free get to Charing Cross trains and not much of central London isn't walkable from either of those stations or a short bus ride away. I have taken the double from south to east London via tube but with an extra pair of hands but have often taken the double on my own to step free tube stations. Also given the ages of your children, should you find your existing side by side really doesn't work, I'd be tempted to not spend a lot of money on a tandem by looking at ebay / local fb selling / local netmums / gumtree etc, a single and buggy board will probably be all you need. Good luck with the move!

Thanks 4thtimelucky! Especially for the great advise on traveling with a buggy in London - I will travel a lot with the kids. I need all the info I can get :) I'd like a buggy which I can push with one hand, so the maclaren is not an option for us. We plan to buy a used buggy, but if the retail price isn't far off we will probably buy a new one.

Tiggywunkle, we are moving in the beginning of March and even though I love the Peach I don't think we can spend all that money on a completely new one anyway :/ You mention B-Dual, and since you are very experienced I re-thought everything AGAIN and we are now looking at a B-Dual as our first option. I will try it with kids tomorrow and if it's nice we will order it. We actually tried a Sport the other day and my eldest loved the lower seat - he didn't want to get out! But he was almost too long for the seat, as his head touched the metal bar on the back of the seat. A few more months and he will not be able to nap in reclined mode... On the other hand a few months may be all we need and the switch to single mode + buggy board. But this, on the other hand, leads me back to the B-Dual, since I think it might work better with a buggy board attached than the P&T. I may be wrong on that one though...

My biggest concern right now with the B-Dual is the width - whole 69 cms!! It's huge, isn't it? My double is 79 cms wide and it's built sideways. The P&T Sport is 60-ish (I found different numbers online) but it's 10 cms longer than the B-Dual...

Could you please explain further why you would recommend the B-Dual for us? I have read all Jus'es reviews and they just make me like it more. They even made me less worried about the other two concerns I had with it (the lack of a foot rest and it's length).

The width is an issue - but its partly due to large wheel guards whilst whilst I dont recommend you remove with two older children, are removable.

Have a play with it tomorrow and see what you think (and whilst you are there take a tape measure and tell me how much extra the wheel guards add just out of interest!). But I think there is more space, more head room etc and good value for money. If you can spot a Hauck Duett, then that would be worth a look at too although there is no doubt you do get more for your money with the B-Dual in terms of quality, ride, etc.
If you can put a B-Dual next to a P&Ts and test them both back to back, that could be useful to do too. Try folding them both as well.

I look forward to hearing how you get on.

We went there today and unfortunately both children fell asleep on the way there, so we didn't try it out with kids in it. However, I did try both the B-Dual and a P&T (they only had the Classic). I even tried the iCandy Peach again, just because I love how it's easy to push. If my kids were younger I would totally go for it!

I agree with you Tiggy, that the B-Dual gives me more for the money. More space, nice hoods, nice steering etc. The width really is an issue though, but I think and hope I can live with it. I couldn't find my measure tape but I estimated that the wheel guards add 3-5 cms on each side. That's quite a lot! On the other hand I guess the width makes this buggy more balanced and less likely to fall over if a child leans out too far from it. Right?

Even though the P&T felt easier and sturdier to push, I'm going for the B-Dual. Is seems so much more comfortable for the kids than any other tandem we have looked at! I'm thinking that if we end up hating it anyway, we can just sell it and buy a P&T instead...

The only concern of mine now is the... color (BIG problem, I know :o). The site where we have ordered from only had the blue, black and red. My first choice was the purple and since it was out of stock I thought I would take the blue. But after visiting the store today I realized the blue color was not at all like the color on pictures online. It was very bright and clear blue, not turquoise as I thought. I don't like red on buggies, so we "had" to take the black one.

Now; does this make the buggy hotter on sunny summer days? And does the fabric fade very quick in the sun?

And finally, we didn't buy any footmuff from the online store since they only had boring colors on the Britax ones. Are the Britax ones the only ones that fit this buggy or can I buy others that will be as good as them?

I am glad you decided :)
Choosing a colour :) I had a black one through the summer and it was fine. The hood mesh lets ventilation through to the child and I didn't have any colour fading.

Thanks re the wheel guard widths - its good to know because especially if someone has a baby underneath, I honestly see no need for them and 6-10cms less on the width is a lot. It's different with older children and little fingers - they are really important for safety then.
A child who is securely strapped in shouldn't be able to lean over to one side to be honest.

I would think that other footmuffs would fit fine but I never needed them through spring and summer. You need to see whether you need an envelope top ie to go over / hook on the top of the seat or if the hood prevents you doing that (I know it poppers on at the rear but I can't remember where) then where one with ties would tie on. Buggysnuggles do both.

Thanks for all the help on this!!! We have been in London for 2-3 weeks now and the B-dual is (close to) perfect for us :) It is so versatile, easy to maneuver and spacious! Of course there are a few not so fantastic things about it as well, but except for them I really, really love it!

Since we walk the kids to sleep in the evening and it gets quite chilly, we had to buy foot muffs. We got them from John Lewis and they fitted perfectly!

Thanks again!

I am glad you are sorted and happy.