Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Mountain Bummer.

Coffee with Alice & Grama Barb. May 2012.

I have an update on my stroller.  Remember how stoked I was to try out my Mountain Buggy Terrain after I had Alice?  Well, I am sad to report that it has fallen way short of my expectations.  Mountain Buggy must've spent all it's money on that bad-ass video with the rock music and the hardcore runner chick rather than fine-tuning the mechanics of the front wheel swivel and lock mechanism because it pretty much sucks.  Here are my thoughts...
  • When using the stroller around town with the front wheel unlocked in swivel mode, it rides like a dream.  I can steer it with one hand.  It is a smooth ride for Alice.  All is good.  If I were only using it for trips around town, I'd be one happy mommy.
  • When using the stroller for running, it sort of sucks.  The front wheel is supposed to lock in a forward-facing position giving the stroller more stability but there is too much play and the wheel doesn't stay facing forward, making the stroller pull to the right or left.  So unless I plan to run in circles, the front-facing locked wheel position is a no go.
  • I have been running with the wheel locked in the back-facing position, making running much more manageable.  Here's the problem, though.  That play on the locked front wheel makes the back of the stroller sort of fish-tail when I run, making for a more bouncy ride for Alice and an awesome arm workout for me.  I think as Alice gets heavier, though, the stroller will ride more smoothly at a running pace.  Want to know how I know that?  When carrying two 6-packs of beer underneath, the stroller rode much more smoothly.  So either I'll carry a bunch of beer around when I run, or I'll have to deal with it till Alice gains more weight.  Bummer.
  • And FYI...  To ensure Alice has a smooth ride for her little head and neck, we've added this Infant Snuzzler to the stroller that tucks up around her head and neck, giving her support (although she has awesome head control already).  Trust me.  If I saw that her head was flopping around I would never run with her.  I am not that kind of mom, I promise. 

Like I said, I am making it work because we all know how important running is to me and my mental health.  And maybe I am being a bit harsh because my expectations were so high that this stroller would just rock my world.  I guess if I wanted to have a truly bad ass running-only stroller I should have gone with one solely for that purpose, like this one.

And over the weekend my husband and my father-in-law took off the front wheel and devised a plan to make it more stable.  So there is hope that this stroller will finally live up to my expectations.  And then maybe Mountain Buggy will hire them to fix their shitty design!

Hey Mountain Buggy, I have some guys you should talk to.  Call me.

What have you bought recently that was a major letdown?  I was hoping I could have the best of both worlds and have both an awesome around-town and a running stroller all rolled into one.  But, as a marathon and ultra-marathon runner, I think my expectations were a bit higher than the average Sunday jogger.    

3 comments:

  1. I love our jogging pram, the Valco Trimode Ex. I have noticed that as she's gotten bigger the jiggling in the front wheel is much less, so maybe the companies just don't imagine that women with small babies would want to jog?

    I downloaded the yoga app you use & love it! Thanks x

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  2. I cannot believe you ran over 53 miles. At one time. Holy cow, lady! Impressive beyond belief! I ran one marathon and I guarantee I could not run one more mile.

    As for the stroller, bummer. Sorry you are experiencing technical difficulties. We have a cheap-o double jogging stroller but mostly I just enjoy running in the evening with nobody with me, no stroller, nada. FREEDOM!

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  3. I think that the average stroller is designed for a baby who's 6-9 months old at least so they aren't built to handle an itty bitty baby.

    I got a baby jogger after my first, and bought the extra bar to attach a car seat to so we started jogging at 2.5 months with her, when we bought the stroller. The wheel will bounce less as she grows. Maybe for now you should stick to more smooth routes/surfaces. I found mine wiggles less when I run on the road, than side work or dirt roads.

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