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Pushchairs

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the most indecisive buggy buyer ever?

11 replies

Thirstysomething · 01/02/2012 20:11

... I have just seen that you can put a Maxi Cosi seat on the Explorer with a toddler in the doubles seat, which looks genius - I was just about to buy a Sport v2. Anyone know both buggies and can tell me which they preferred and why? The Sport I am bidding on comes to an end tonight, so I would really appreciate it. Thanks

OP posts:
lynlynnicebutdim · 02/02/2012 11:09

i am open to correction but i am not sure you can put the carseat on the sport with the toddler in the rear seat as it is prone to tipping. I had originally thought the same thing and then saw on the P&T website forum that they were advising against it becuase of the tipping issue. I think they have redesigned the weight balance for the explorer for just that reason. Check out the website for further info. They may have changed their advice.

I have a sport V2 and am trading it in in favor of a BabyJogger City Select for when DD2 arrives in May.

Thirstysomething · 02/02/2012 12:41

Have you had a go with the City Select? Can I ask why you are trading in? I have always had the BJ single buggies, but Now I need a double I wasn't sure whether to go for the Select over the P&T Explorer after reading up on here about it. Would love to hear your views...

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BikeRunSki · 02/02/2012 12:44

You can put a Maxi Cosi infant car seat on a SportV2 with a toddler in the bottom. It's fine, I do it all the time.

lynlynnicebutdim · 02/02/2012 13:18

THat is good to know BikeSkiRun.

Thirtysomething, i have had a go on the BJCS. i took it for a spin around John Lewis with DD in it at the time and got on very well with it. I have seen a few around town as well and have actually stopped the owners to ask how they were getting on with it. Without execption the response has been positive. THe thing i liked best about it was the second seat was up high enough that i didnt have to use the shopping basket as a foot well and i could still hang my changing bag off the handlebars without clocking whoever was in the second seat in the head.

I loved the Sport when i first got it for DD1 but it drove me mental that it was so difficult to raise the back of the seat from lie flat to upright etc without taking the baby out. Doing it with the baby in it is outright impossible i beleive. The back is raised by securing various clips and zippers. THe Zippers are ok but i defy anyone to get the bottom clip done up while a child is in the seat. Apparently it is made that way so that any child in the rear seat cant collapse the front seat onto themselves. Makes sense but god it was annoying. The BJCS has very easy to recline seats with no clips or pulleyr or zips.

I also hated that fact that when DD was in lie flat mode gettign access to the basket basically requied me to get down on hands and knees. This stuff never occured to me when i decided to buy one but drove me bonkers once we actually started using it. From my experimentation i could access the BJCS basket from all angles and all seat positions.

I was also not happy that i would lose the shopping basket once DD1 was in the back seat. That might have been more of an issue for me than others though as DD1 has ridiculously long legs and wont stop growing. I could forsee grubby feet all over my changing bag/snack bag/shopping. You can get panniers that fit onto the side of the buggy to compensate but then it seems to me you lose the value of an inline buggy.

I also found that with the second seat attached to the Sport i would scuff and kick it as i pushed. I am 5"8 so not THAT tall. My H is 6"1. It would have driven him mad (he hated my zippy P&T Smart for that reason). THe BJCS has a height ajustable handle and on its longest extension was more than adequate for DH.

I also wasnt dead keen on the fact that as i understood it DD2 would be in the lie flat mode with DD1 basically sitting on top of her on the second seat but that was based on me beleiving that you couldnt have baby in carseat in the main seat and toddler in the rear seat. That was pure preference though. It just seemed so small and claustrophic and airless in there. As i am expecting a late spring baby i was a bit concered about baby getting too hot.

THe BJCS has roughly the same footprint as the SPort/Explorer but i think it is better designed at least for my needs.

Having read back what i have written i can see that it looks like i hate my SPort. I really dont. It is a great buggy that is easy to to put up and put down, goes anywhere and does it well. It has travelled with me to Oz and across Europe and survived everything we have thrown at it from sandy beaches to forest trails and it still looks great but for my needs now i am taking the opportunity to get something that will i beleive do all that and do it without the annoying niggles.

Thirstysomething · 02/02/2012 13:55

Sigh... Oh flip and we're back to square one... Do you think the BJCS will go as well off road? And now I am back to Sport vs Explorer as well, now I know about the car seat...
It is such a major buy (my first CAR only cost £600...) that I want to get it right, I am fed up with buying the cheapest second hand deals and now I am onto DC3 I want to treat myself a BIT...
I wish I could just bite that darn bullet... Right. Going to make a decision today and that is FINAL!

OP posts:
Thirstysomething · 02/02/2012 13:56

Ps thanks for lovely detailed post Lynlyn

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Thirstysomething · 02/02/2012 14:19

Hi, I have remembered the reason I am not getting the BJCS is because my older daughter is about to be 3 and I have heard that it is heavy and awkward to push with older children in it.
I seriously considered the B-Dual but am worried about it's off road capabilities. I think I am going to splash out on a second hand Phil&Teds Explorer to avoid the tippiness of a Sport with car seat attached.
Thanks all!

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Tiggywunkle · 02/02/2012 14:27

I loved my BJCS and it's great whilst you have a young baby and toddler or newborn twins. But it slowly becomes heavier and I was gutted to find that my BJCS became physically unusable by the time baby was only 10 months old. It took me several more months before I could bear to sell it though. I was in agony up one arm from trying to keep the BJCS in line along a route we did several times a week. I gave it 3 trips where it hurt me before admitting defeat. I did take it to a shopping mall after and that was fine, because it was flat, but our regular route had about 20 metres of pavement which had a gentle slope to the road and that was the issue. So OT depends on where you go re whether it could be an issue.
But our BJCS went everywhere - the beach, park, farm, fields, thick gravel etc and the huge basket was a godsend. It's perfect apart from the wright distribution.

Tiggywunkle · 02/02/2012 14:27

Sorry..weight distribution.

HypatiaTheProcrastinator · 02/02/2012 14:52

The B-Dual is surprisingly goid off road. It glides over gravel, mud and grass and has been easy to push over the small amount of distances I've done over tree roots and so on. It probably wouldn't be my choice for regular.proper offroading, but I much prefer it for seating and the huge basket.

I tried out a CS with two babies.of about 10kg and 8.5kg. It was ok to push, but I could feel that the weight over the front would make it harder to steer as the smallest got bigger. It was also amazingly hard to lift up kerbs, which is important for me to be able to do. I can't imagine it being fantastic offroad because the weight distribution isn't right. I coukd see it getting stuck if the front wheels hit a tree root or fall into a dip. It's hard to say though, if it would be good for you until the eldest doesn't need it anymore as long as the baby is over the front wheels. You may find that it would work for 8 months and then you won't need it anymore. They have a very good resale value.

I have no particular knowledge of P&Ts to compare these. I do know that the seats are fairly close together and basket space is almost non-existant as a double.

lynlynnicebutdim · 02/02/2012 15:38

no worries Thirtysomething. Sorry to complicate your deliberations :-)

Could you maybe go and try out an explorer somewhere like John lewis or kiddicare. Take your older child and as big a sack of potatoes as you can get your hands on and put it through its paces. Try adjusting the seat. Get LO to sit in the back seat and look at the basket space etc.

if those issues have been addressed and you are happy with it then go get one off ebay.

PS: i have a sport that will be for sale very shortly :-P

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