Can any Mountain Buggy experts help me out please??!!

[Caz10]

I'm thinking of getting a MB Urban single for new arrival. We dog walk a lot and it seems to be the best off-roady thing. Also think we could splash out to get it new and hopefully sell it later.
However there are a couple of things I just don't get!!

• do you need a carrycot for a newborn? If not, how on earth do you stop them falling out the back?!!
• how good is it with a Maxi Cosi car seat attached - ie are the adapters worth buying?

Any other hints and tips gratefully received!!

the whole seat unit is complete. there is no 'flap' on the back for the baby to fall out of. but it doesnt lie completely flat, so carrycot would be better IMO.

no idea on the car seat bit.

sorry to but in but im selling a jane powertrack 3 wheeler, its great to push & off road too.

Ive also got the matrix carseat which is great because it lies flat - completely. so its better for babies back, i have the adaptors to attach the carseat, little raincover and footmuff for on the carseat and also the big raincover for the pushchair and matching footmuff

oh and matching changing bag!

Its really good and I dont want alot for it,

its this one

I would have a carrycot personally.
But if not then you strap the baby in- then it won't fall out

I have a Mt Buggy Urban and love it, it's a dream to push, best 3-wheeler on the market IMHO

I used the carrycot for 3-4mths, but DS is exceptionally long (off the scales), so transferred him to the seat then, and made it more snuggly with a sheepskin and headhugger. As others said, they can't fall out if strapped in

V cheeky, but do you want to buy my carrycot rather than forking out £130 on a new one??!! It's still in great condition

kitsandbits thank you so much, but I think we have our heart set on a MB now if it all works out!

amazonianwoman we would definitely be interested in your carrycot if we go ahead with the MB, as the plan is to buy the basic buggy new then shop around for all the bits and bobs. How much are you looking for for it? Has it been used much?

We live in Scotland so have not been able to see one in real life yet, very few suppliers up here. However DH thinks that his friend has one, so we are hoping to visit them this weekend and have a look at it. If we then decide to go ahead I will post back on here and would def be interested in the carrycot! Thank you!

We used the "car kit" with a Britax rock-a-tot and it was fine. I'm sure it wuold be fine with a Maxi-Cosi.

We bought ours from a lady in Biggar and went down one weekend to have a look at it beofre ordering.

We also had a car kit with a Britax, and it was fine, although in practice we were able to use the carrycot for quite a while as DS was quite small. I'd definitely recommend the carrycot, as you can effectively use it as a travel cot when the baby is small (e.g. if you visit someone's house for dinner) - much better for the baby to be sleeping flat, rather than in a car seat, I thought.

Would also definitely recommend the UV cover: it provides great "black out" conditions if you have a baby that isn't too keen on sleeping in a pram in daylight hours!

We also used the carry cot the same way. In fact, it didn't get used that mush in the Mountain Buggy, but did get used for ages as a spearate "travel cot"!

We used MB from 3 wks - not quite flat, but flat enough, particularly if you pad out with blanket underneath etc - this also makes more cosy.

We never used car seat attachments - its not good for baby to be in the car in them for longer than 90mins- so, by the time you've gone out in the car, got to walk, attached seat etc, not really enough time to do walk to make it back home.

We have dog, and MB fantastic. We have urban model which we have taken over very rough terrain - the front wheel can be fixed if you need - but the swivel wheel makes it much easier to steer when you have a heavier child in it, particularly if you want to keep one hand free for the dog lead most of the time. Probably only need the terrain model if you do mountains every day at quite fast speeds!

We went for MB partly for its simplicity - no brakes or anything else to go wrong. This was the right decision - I'm sure that we'd have had to stop lots of times with some of the other buggies we looked at to unblock brakes or wheels from long grass or mud and grass clippings. In over 2 years only had 2 punctures and lost one wheel bearing - MB sent replacement very efficiently.

Great choice - go for it!

oh, and

• you can get thorn proof tyres if you think you're likely to get a lot of punctures (lot of glass in our neighbourhood); and

• make sure you get an old fashioned bike pump, with a wiggly tube bit - v hard if not impossible to blow up the tyres with the modern bike pumps

We had brakes on our Mountain Buggy and like the facility (was it an optional extra - I've forgotten). I personally found the brakes useful for steep hills!

We did find the car seat attachement useful while ds was younger - not for long trips, but more for shorter trips where either before or after he mgiht have fallen asleep and then I didn't have to disturb him. As he spent most of the time flat, eg on his baby gym, I wasn't too concerned.

The Mountain Buggy was very robust and I definitely preferred it to the Maclarane that we bought prior to a week's holiday to Greece when ds was 11 months old. So much so that when we went to South Africa 2 months later, we took the Mountain Buggy.

We've been down steep hills with no brakes - wrist strap for safety and peace of mind, but certainly felt no need for brakes. If we'd have had them, they would definitely have become clogged up on some of the walks we've been on (mud/water up to axles, 1' high grass, lots of grass clippings)(its amazing how grass clippings clog together, and threaten to stop front wheel, but just go backwards and they all fall off...)

Caz10 - the carrycot was used quite a bit in the house, but not much on the frame as I also have a Phil & Teds so I could transport baby + toddler. I bought it from a woman who used it from new for only 1 month. It's still in great condition, and includes a raincover + I'll include a few brushed cotton sheets which fit the mattress.

How about £48 + postage? Email me if still interested amazonianwoman dot mumsnet at ntlworld dot com

hi,
prettybird - was MB ok to take up to departure gate? or did it have to go in as luggage? I've been worried about the size

I have to fly and don't want to have to rely on sling in case of delays etc

i have a mb travel bag.

I took it to the departure gate. We used a "stretchy" (those bungee elastic things with hooks on either end) to keep it folded shut when it then went into the hold.

Maybe my desire for brakes was also 'cos I was planning on running with the mountain buggy. (Only went out a few times though - and got dh to do most of the pushing along side me! !

amazonianwoman - just to update you - the friend of DH does NOT have a moutain buggy! So we are trying to track down somewhere we can see it in real life, which is going to slow things down a bit.

I don't want to keep you back from selling your carrycot just in case we end up not getting the MB or something. So please just go ahead and advertise it or whatever -if you still have it for sale when we definitely know we are getting an MB I'll buy it from you, but I'll take my chances on missing it if you know what I mean.

Thank you so much for the offer though!

This is the joy of living north of the Border, it will be a full day trip somewhere to view a bl##dy pram!!

List of stockists in Scotland here if it helps!

I'm not in a desperate hurry to sell the carrycot, so let me know if/when you make the MB purchase. You won't be disappointed, it's the best buggy around, it literally pushes itself and you just walk behind it The adjustable handle is ace, storage basket roomy, seat comfy for a 5mth old or a 3yr old, hood offers good coverage, you can easily hose down the whole buggy when it gets dirty... I could go on forever

I'm in Glasgow if you want to see one - altohugh the model might havechanged slightly since I got mine (ds is now nearly 7!).

We've just loaned it to my SIL, who is due end September, but I'm sure I could arrange to get it back over.

Thanks prettybird that is such a kind offer. I'm liking the fact that all you experienced mountain buggy people are so evangelical about them, must be a good sign!

Have been researching online for what seems like days now - NONE of the Scottish stockists on the MB list keep a display model now, they will only order in for you. But I have spoken to a few online stores who are cheaper anyway, and all we would lose if we order then don't like and send it back is our postage. That would be about £25 max which would be at least equivalent to petrol money to any of the suppliers!

So think we are going to go on blond faith and optimism and all of your help - thank you!!!