bugaboo bee+ is it worth it?

[TinyPenguin]

I fancy a new pushchair for my 16mth old. I'm fed up of lifting my heavy britax viguor travel system in and out of the car boot & it's heavy to push up hill.

I've got a second hand umbrella fold buggy but it's hard work to push - I would prefer one with a solid handle bar rather than two handles, and i still like the option of him parent facing when his big sister is on the buggy board.
We hope to have more children so ideally i want a pushchair that will also suit for a newborn & toddler later on - and with that also fit a britax shr car seat on with adaptors.

the Bee+ seems to be the only one i can find that is
-lightweight
-fits a britax car seat
-can take a buggy board (i have a lascal one)
-can be parent or forward facing

The drawbacks for me though
-expensive (even second hand!)
-are the wheels too small?
-is it flimsy?
-can it withstand lascal buggy board?

Advice much appreciated!

Watching with interest. The footrest snapped off on one side on my Vista yesterday and I had to restrain myself from ordering a Bee+ from John Lewis.

Well I do like my bee+, it's light, easy to manoeuvre, and well made! I don't find the wheels are too small for everyday uses, shopping, around town etc. But...The basket is awkward and the raincover is a pain in the behind! The canopy is not great at keeping the sun off my LO.
My LO was 18mth when I got it, secondhand. Lots of reviews say the seat is small but I disagree! Perhaps they don't have it adjusted to the maximum? It does meet all of your criteria and I'd certainly have no worries using it for a newborn with the bugaboo cocoon. HTH

It has got a huge seat. However it is flimsy feeling. I often have one wheel off the ground when cornering which drives me nutty. Its hard to have a footmuff on when parent facing as it covers the brake button which you need to fold / unfold. In the end I couldn't use it in winter. I can't say I would want a buggy board on the back of one, but people do. Does the Bee really take a Britax car seat?
I agree about the raincover - my LO just got wet the other day PF! Hopeless!

I have to say, if I could find an alternative to my Bee, then I would. I do like the Graco Evo - its really light and the seat is a surprisingly big size.

Also look at the Silver Cross Wayfarer and the Mee-Go Pramette. I think both of those are light.

Thank you for the replies.

I don't know what to do now!

Thank you for alternative pushchair suggestions but ideally want to use the britax car seat, and bugaboo have started doing those now.
I fancy the baby jogger versa but would need to get adaptors for britax from US somehow?!

Am having a sneaky look at the b agile but am compromising on the parent facing seat....

I don't think the Bee is worth it...bought one a few weeks ago and ended up returning it (without using it outside obviously!).

I thought it was a bit flimsy, found it stiff to recline/turn/extend the seat and overall couldn't justify the cost. I was disappointed as I know a lot of people highly recommend them and I really wanted to love it!

We have one and its fab! Lovely, lightweight, easy to manoeuvre, easy to fold, compact, changeable colours etc
I f&f the footmuff into the seat to fold and it works really well.

I'm also using it with a britax seat and that works well.

Pros
Lightweight, manoeuvrable, great on public transport (can fit down the centre aisle of buses), very easy to push, good suspension, my 2.5yo can still ride comfortably.

Cons
Can feel unstable (actually tipped over sideways on a bus once) and a bit rickety. Has needed a couple of parts replacing but these were easy to get hold of and fit ourselves. Also, one of the wheels makes a noise we can't figure out, which bugs the hell out of me.

Overall though, I would buy it again because it's SO light and easy to steer. When I try pushing other pushchairs I'm always amazed/dismayed by how heavy they are.

nowgotosleep I just bought this for our Bee and it's great.

OP, I agree with BedHanger, have had a Bee+ for 6mo (from newborn) and overall am pleased, though it's not perfect. I got mine second hand and happily would again as the parts are easily obtainable / replaceable, making the warranty less critical iyswim.

Oh, can't decide, will trawl eBay & see if there's a good deal!
If you buy second hand what's happens to repairs? Do you have to pay bugaboo to repair?

Penguin where are you based? we found ours on gumtree (London) and there seemed to be a lot of like new Bees for about half RRP.

One of the reasons I was happy to go second hand is because Bugaboo sell pretty much all the parts for the Bee and a lot of repairs can be done yourself. eg the handlebar lock on ours just went - probably my fault for hanging heavy bags on there - and a replacement is £9 and comes with the tool to do it yourself.

Bee+ parts

ooo, interesting rootypig, didn't realise you could buy parts.
My friend has a cam and sent the chasis off for reconditioning (?) - i'm not sure if she paid for that though or if it is included inongoing maintenance from john lewis?

I've seen loads on ebay for London too, live no where near sadly - am 'oop north!

poop, they are much less popular up there. they're a London obsession! I was dubious at first but admit am now also obsessed

Quick question about the bee....

Do you have to remove car seat adaptors to fold the chassis or can you leave them in situ?

after years of having a chameleon that was thoroughly knackered i got a bee+. the chassis completely broke from smashing it along a coastal walk but still. bought another. not particularly impressed.

it's ££££ and flimsy. not nearly as solid as the chameleon. god, i miss that chameleon.

would i buy another? don't think so. not least because i'm not having any more kids

i also bought that sun shade which was very good.

it IS very light and i can throw it around quite easily. the basket is a pain but it's easy to fold down. and the fact that the seat can turn around is good.

try out a friend's first.

Baby jogger city mini all the way, IMHO. Easy to fold, reclines, big basket, big hood, one hand release. Perfect. Wish I discovered it at the beginning. and not on my fourth purchase!