Bugaboo travel systems - any reviews/opinions?

[AllieM]

I'm having my first baby in May and am trying to choose a pram (or buggy, or pushchair, or whatever you're supposed to call it!). My head is spinning with the availability, price range,etc. Having wheeled a few around, compared the fit of car seats, and lifted up the whole thing, I had thought that the Bugaboo was the answer (whilst I'm loathe to buy something so fashionable it seemed pretty good overall). But the thing that bothers me is you can't fold it umbrella-style without removing the seat/carrycot, and that reviewers seem to think this is a problem on buses etc.

Does anyone have any experience of them? Also can anyone recommend a good alternative? I've looked at Pliko, Bebe Confort, etc. but they were too heavy or the carseat didn't fit. I need something light as I have a back problem.

Many thanks!

tbh if you plan to travel by public transport you probably won't use a car seat with the pushchair. Travel systems tend to be on the heavier side and none fold with a car seat in place afaik.

As one who travlled on public transport lots with dd as a baby - an umbrella fold was never a problem as i could never fold the buggy - hold dd - hold the changing bag and get on the bus and tended just to use buggy friendly buses or walked.

I never used the bugaboo but i have used abus with a pushchair where I had to remove the carrycot and collapse it seperately - it wasn't a problem, and I liked not having to wake dd up.

do people who buy bugaboos use buses?

Well if I get it I'll be the first bus Bugaboo user! It'll have to get lugged on the tube and into the car, too. Think my problem is that I want one piece of kit that will do everything, including walking over rough ground, to go shopping in town and to walk to the park. I see how easy it is to become a one baby/two pushchair family!

Thanks guys!

really don't think a bugaboo would work on the tube. think of those escalators! we had a travel system for ds which we are still using the pushchair bit of. but hardly used the car seat attachment. i do however fancy a nice light three wheeler for new baby.

What about a micralite?

micralite

mountain buggy - use it on the bus all the time, you either fit with a pushchair or you don't. The big tires are good for bumping up and down stairs etc if you have to. It is pretty light in the 3 wheeler stakes. You can buy carry cot, car seat attachments if you want to. Good over rough ground.
There is an extensive thread on them somewhere.

There is a Maclaren which takes a Britax baby car seat if that would be of any interest ( Maclaren Global but it is still 9.5kg. Trouble is small wheels and rough terrain just don't mix.

Calling this thread 'extensive' is like saying the Pope is Catholic.

AllieM: the Mountain Buggy freaks are here . Warning: First half of thread is 2004.

For extensive bussing, you may want a simple Maclaren Techno XT type thing - fold flat, umbrella. Not ideal for off-road adventures.

Several of us have gone with the Mountian Buggy Terrain as it is fairly compact but great on rough stuff / in town. If you need to spend hours spinning your pushchair round and around you can get the MB Urban.

my only opinion is that mugaboos are ugly, short and very very common.

I've seen people struggling with them in the woods so I don't imagine they would be any good for walking. Not the ugliest buggy I've seen, but close!

Message withdrawn

marslady, I've also seen people struggling with them in snow , but never on just the 2 large wheels as I thought it was designed to do to cope with snow and soft sand. Perhaps it is a lot of hassle to do ? Also saw one recently where presumably the family were on holiday but had lost one of the little wheels in transit. It looked a bit odd but still seemed to balance although the parents didn't seem too pleased. Actually one of my friends has just got one too and seems happy with it.

Another vote for Mountain Buggys. I drive an Urban and love it. We also have a cheap stroller for when I need to fold a buggy easily on my own - a bit excessive maybe, but you can get a secondhand one v.cheaply.

i am also a mountain buggy urban fan, but the few times that i have tried to get on abus with it have found that it sticks out into the aisle too far and you get old aldies tutting at you.
if you are planning on using public transport a lot i would def say buy soemthing along the line of maclaren techno, mamas and papas pulse and as these are fairly cheap (esp pulse) buy another all terrain buggy for when not using public transport.
however i do hear that the micralite with the carrycot/carseat attachment is great for public transport, have used micralite without carrycot and is a great buggy, for a newborn you would need the carrycot or carseat as buggy not suitable from birth.

oops ladies not aldies

I should have come to you ladies before! Never have I read so much information! My head is now spinning twice as fast as before, but having perused the websites I am very taken with the look of the Mountain Buggies. Both the Urban and Terrain look v.g., and have read the exhaustive opinions and reviews on both models on this site. The only answer is to go and try 'em out. John Lewis Kingston, here I come again . . . also interesting what you said about possibly needing something small and cheaper to fold on public transport in addition. Will bear it in mind.

Thank you all for your help and advice! I have baited breath to read further info that comes on this thread . . .

:0

Ggglimpopo, apparently Gwyneth has done away with the Bugaboo because the nanny had trouble folding it! (Sigh) just can't find the staff these days...

PS I have also heard that she has gone for a plain ol' Techno XT instead!

Now that i can also endorse as mine's fab! Dunno what it would be like on the bus though...

yummyvicki - should have got the Terrain then, eh... a few inches can make all the difference... so I've heard.

I have a bugaboo (Dh liked it long b4 became celeb freebie!) I love it. It is very agile, making it excellent in shops and crowds and is light enough to pick up incl DS and put on a bus. I do wheel onto escalators (naughty?) but can't be bothered with lifts - pram is easy to hitch onto 2 wheels. This is how I had to trek through the snow - front wheels got frozen.

There is a knack to folding - takes practice but there is CD which shows you how!!

The seat has a handle and can be detached meaning you can use it like a baby seat on its own. saves equipment when going to friends etc.

Needs the footmuff though for winter, as blankets get kicked off and there is no cover when using the main pram rather than carrycot.

vickyumyum i've got the urban and just force the front wheel back underneath once I'm in the bus, then the buggy fits in the pushchair spot OK.