What's the fuss about bugaboos ?

[MamanFlo]

Hello !
I am in the very long and painful process of buying a pram/pushchair and I see lots of young mums with Bugaboos (I live in Notting Hill !) ...they are definitely not cheap but they are supposed to be among the best...

can someone tell me why ?

thanks for your help !

Flo

i have the older mb urban 2004 which i ahve to say is absolutley fantastic, even though it hasn't got an adjustable handle, its great for town and country,ours has been to cornwall on the sandy beaches, brighton on the pebbles (oh and just to please all us smug mb owners, a lady with a bugaboo actually came up to me in brighton this weekend and said how she wished she had brought the mb instead and did i fancy selling mine!)it has been on walks in the yorkshire dales and even survived a flight to sydney.
i love it and if you are quick there are still plenty of 2004 models out there that are suitable for off road use as well (kiddicare.com and the other pushchair website mentioned below) the advantage being you get them cheaper! yippee!

Hello - just seen this thread and thought I'd add a little - I have a Mutsy Urban rider which is a 4 wheel chasis which is articulated - the back wheels move independently from the front. Sounds bizarre, but is really easy to manoever (sp?) when you get the hang of it. We bought the carry cot, car seat and pushchair attachments, although the maxi cosi car seat also fits the chasis. The good thing about the Mutsy car seat is it lays totally flat, so when you are in and out of town, you can put the car seat onto the chasis and your baby can still lay down instead of being hunched. The pushchair is rear and forward facing. We just love it! The only draw back is it doesn't fold down to be very small, but is very easy to fold and put back up. If you do a lot of walking and Off roading! it's great.

OK, cp... updated info for you.

This is from Nigel at pushchairs.co.uk. He replied on a Sunday and now on a bank holiday Monday. Star.

2005 Urban has padded seat. 2004 didn't.

2005 Urban has polyester seat fabric. 2004 had canvas.
(Nigel, however has both in stock - even the soon to disappear PADDED CANVAS - I think - GASP !)

2005 has changes to seat mounting for better basket space.

2005's adjustable handle gives more space to a kiddyboard user.

2005 can be locked into 'straight' or 'swivel'. 2004 was locked into 'straight' or just floating, IYSWIM.

2005 swivel when locked has slightly more freeplay though.

Nigel obviously knows his onions, so call him up for more details.

Oo hub! you have been very busy I've been typing out a list of all their packages to compare and contrast. I did find the springy axle things on the One Tree Hill website - couldn't find prices though, so I'll get in touch with them tomorrow.

Nigel sounds wonderful! Is he saying that some 2004 Urbans have PADDED canvas? I will call him too to find out just what "floating" means with the front wheel, I don't really know I am intrigued, especially as the 2004 models seem to be on special offer at the moment!

Vicki - I'm on a mad price comparison hunt now for a 2004 Urban in case I decide to get one of those instead of the Terrain.

Hellsy, I had a good look at the Mutsys a few weeks ago and thought they looked great - I ruled them out for me however because of my old back injury. Yet to see an articulated one out and about - they must look cool!

cp, if you CAT me I can forward Nigel's (long) e-mail to me explaining all this in detail.

I can see, like me, you are a rather fennickety detailed researcher. I hope all those around you worry about this habit, as do those around me.

Padded seats are only on '05 not '04.

In the UK, all seats on the new model will be padded polyester. However some kind of ordering mistake meant some seats in padded canvas were produced, so at the moment, at least from Nigel (don't know about any other dealers) you can get PADDED CANVAS (more gasping please).

OK, ref: floating thingy - The '05 can POSITIVELY LOCK the wheel in two positions - swivel or straight. On '04 you just had the ordinary spinning default position, with a positive locking position only for straight lock.

You and me need to discuss all our other purchase plans ad infinitum till we want to bash each other's heads in - actually it's more likely to be our dp's which want to do us in !!!

Are you planning cloth nappies ? Now there's a minefield !!!!

If you're going to buy in the UK, Nigel seems to have excellent pricing, especially with bundles on either Urban or Terrain, plus you get fancy wheels, and all his anti-puncture stuff.... his e-mails have been super prompt. He obviously loves this product.

I should be on commission.

Let's see if he can do some MN specials !

Lol! yes, I drive my dp to distraction with my need for details/reasons and explanations. He almost broke up with me a few weeks ago when I had to decide on a shower door for our new cubicle

Hmm - the one lock or two locks. I can't see that that would make any difference to me. Thank goodness.

You are just teasing me semantically aren't you with the use of the words "spinning" (as you were referring to the 2004 model) and "swivel", re the 2005 model. Please tell me there this means the same thing?? I don't have to research the difference between a spinning wheel and a swivel wheel do I?

Don't even mention cloth nappies to me! Yes, I am planning on using them, but have decided to simply not go anywhere near them until baby's at least a month old. I have just found the right cot and I'm still exhausted from that, and next I have to look at slings......

If you could send Nigels email to me at [email protected] that would be brilliant! Thanks

darn it - that should be oo(underscore)I(underscore)[email protected]

hi all im abt to buy phil teds buggy but am stuck abt the jane powertwin ,,which is best can anyone help.....phil teds good as i have 2 yr old and 5 month old but sometimes two year not with me and nice to have one seater as well as two seater...but jane powertwin looks cool,,,,,please help

shazia - Phil and Teds sounds like it would have the flexibility to deal with your sproglet situation. I think misdee has one and you should maybe track her down and post queries to her, or search on 'E3' and you'll find all the E3 lovers huddled together. They need to huddle together because the Mountain Buggy owners come charging at them with their mighty three wheel chariots in a most aggressive fashion, and herd them, like sheep, into a pre-allocated area.

charleeeeeeeeeeeeeeypops: Did you consider the E3 ? It fits nicely into 'ultimate forward planning buggy' if there's a chance of more babieeeeeeeeeeeeeeees.

I do not indulge in semantic torture.

I think it's going to be easiest for you to bore Nigel, or go hands on (GASP) with a buggy to better understand these differences. FWIW, I don't think it's going to make a blind bit of difference to you, but do share insights if you make any discoveries on the path to self-actualised buggy nirvana.

Ref: Slings - I started that search big time a few weeks ago, but as I'm sadly not surrounded by sling-toting hippies

Charleypops - I await your decision with interest - your needs sound almost identical to mine (dog walking, shopping etc)! I am expecting no.3 in Sept as a bit of an afterthought and had got rid of all old stuff, so need to buy everything all over again (great shopping opportunity! ) I too get a bit obsessed with researching perfect products, so please send me a list of everything you end up buying!!!

Has anyone experience of maxicosi speedi? Think this is made by Quinny as it looks same as Quinny speedi. Think all Quinny prods look great so would like to hear what you think.

Also, are any of these 3 wheelers cheaper in States? Dh off there in April, so would like to load him down with baby stuff to punish him for leaving me for a week!!

Sorry to hijack this but can very highly recommend the Instep 10k stroller. I believe it it is the lightest 3 wheeler on the market, fixed 16inch wheels. I use my off road daily for dog walking over some very rough terrain. Its easy to fold but I admit I would not recommend it for daily folding to put in a car, I use a cheap umbrella stroller for the car/public transport. I bought mine 2 years ago from www.kiddicarecare.com but not sure if thery still sell them. It is a USA brand.

Should have said it's an Instep 10k Ultimate (apparently there are 2 types), have a look at www.joggingstroller.com

Charleypops,
Slight digression. I used Babyboom to send my Silver Cross carrycot and pushchair seat back to manufacturer for modification of hood mechanism, even though I hadn't originally purchased it from them and it was almost a year old. The temporary replacement (also a Silver Cross) was newer than mine and in v good condition. Mine returned very promptly and I found their customer service excellent.

LOL Hub2dee, you do make me laugh! (and for the record, we do NOT huddle together actually )

Shazia, I think it's probably best to go and try them both out first. I looked at pretty much all three wheel pushchairs in existance before purchasing my E3 last year. I went to daisy and tom in Manchester to try one out. Also looked at the Jane single whilst there and didn't think it was quite as well made, but having said that it really depends on what you are using it for most.

As far as swivel wheels go, and I'm not sure whether this will help you much in your choice CP/hub, I have never had to lock the swivel wheel on my E3, and we have been up some pretty rough terrain. I know though, that fixed wheel models do tend to be more finely balanced for turning (i.e. most of the weight is on the back wheels) whereas swivel wheels tend to have the weight more evenly distributed.

Bit worried not about the holes in buggy thing with the E3. Can I just ask if that was due to having it in sibling mode when folding? I have only ever used in toddler mode so far and so have yet to try folding it with the newborn sling on.

Hub, any time you fancy a chat about nappies, please give me a shout. I thought my head would finally explode this weekend whilst doing my research .

Andif, I've got a maxi cosi speedi and love it. I do a lot of walking on all terrains and I've never had any problems in 7 months. The swivel wheel is great in town and it was easy to use with the cabrio car seat. The only thing I would say is the wheels are quite wide so getting in and out of narrow doorways can be awkward until you are used to it. Also Maxi cosi car seats score highly in which reports and Jane ones dont do very well.

andif: Montain Buggy is much cheaper in the States.

Many of the Euro brands, though, aren't (Maclaren, any of the Dorel brands like Quinny etc.)

Bagpuss: baaaaaahhhhh.

.... will bore you with nappy questions as I approach my moment of decision...

Just wanted to say we LOVE our bugaboo! Yes, there are a few things which I would change but I am sure every buggy has their quirks.

Bagpuss - holes in E3 were made when folding it in normal pushchair (not newborn) mode, additional seat was not attached.
We very very rarely fold ours but when we do it nearly always 'catches' although has only ripped once. If you have folded yours a few times you are probably ok..it's probably a fault in a few of the frames rather than a design fault of the buggy if you know what I mean.

Good-day all. Just wanted to make sure you've checked out our mumsnet find the best review sections - pushchairs from birth , strollers and three-wheelers are all newly updated. We are working on travel systems now and early signs are that Bugaboo Frog is going to be top or nearly top rated amongst these. If you are contemplating purchasing any of these then pushchairs then please, please, please use the "buy it" links from the reviews if you can as mumsnet gets a commission if you do . Many thanks.

Thanks for that Bluebear, mine is in a permanently folded state at the moment as I can't be bothered with it until after the baby is born . I have just inspected it and can report no holes so I guess its just down to the frame type as you say.

hub - yes I did consider the E3 and ruled it out, can't remember why now - maybe the weight? I sent poor Nigel a really boring email earlier today and will share any further enlightenment with you. Today I might be leaning back towards the Terrain as it is 6cms narrower than the Urban. I know it's 6cms longer. but I don't think an extra 6cms in length is as important as in width.

As for my email addy - I so don't mind if someone wanted to send me the cheapest MB with free carrycot etc

Please share your slings links...... What do you thinkg of the hug a bub then?

Anif - pmsl at your no 3 "afterthought" I would love to send you a list of everything I end up buying - but you might have to wait - My first baby's due in June and I've not actually bought one solitary item for him yet! I think the MBs are defo cheaper in the States. If I were you, I'd make him bring one back with all the trimmings!

Lapsedrunner (great name!) I love the look of those big wheel prams - need something to fix a carrycot to though.

Lizs - thanks, that's good to know about Babyboom, but I've heard the delay with repairs happens at the Jane place itself, so probably nothing to do with the shop. Also when I asked the guy in there (who was very nice) if they supplied a temp replacement should mine ever need fixing he said yes, but it might not be up to the same spec. Which worried me a bit. I'm so suspicious these days!

Great new review section Justine!

Anyone know best place to buy a pushchair (I'm thinking mountain buggy) in New York? I've done a search online but haven't turned much up. Might start a new thread if no joy here as must be loads of people looking for baby bargains when they go there?! It has to be easy, otherwise dh won't bother!!

Maybe order it online, from Sycamore Kids - linked directly from mountainbuggy.com (they must be the master distributor I guess), and get them to deliver to the hotel ?

can anyone tell me if the pushchair connectors work on the quinny zapp. i have a two year old and a one year old and i am looking for two pushchairs that fold very small as we have limited space for holiday and sometimes we will need a double and sometimes we will need single pushchairs. Anyone with any ideas please?