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View Full Version : Anyone have a problem with BOB brake system?



calypso001
05-05-2005, 10:46 PM
Hi -

Does anyone else have a problem with the BOB brake system? DH & I love their strollers, but I cannot bring myself to purchase an all terrain stroller that does not have brakes to lock the rear wheels. I think the caliper brake on the front wheel is misleading because BOB says it should never be used for slowing--just for parking. They also say that the stroller should never be parked with the front wheel pointing uphill or downhill, which means that if you need to park on a hill it should be done sideways, which could be unsafe with a larger wiggly child.

I'm annoyed because I so very much want to get the Ironman but I just cannot believe that they don't/won't add a rear wheel brake. I think that locking just the front wheel with a caliper brake is insufficient in what is supposed to be a super-sturdy, all-terrain stroller that is intended for less than perfectly smooth and flat terrain. I've emailed BOB with the question of why the don't lock the back wheels. The response was basically that they don't think it's necessary, it would cost more money to add it, and that the people buying their strollers are perfectly happy without it. Is that true? Do those of you with the SUS, D'Lux, Ironman, or Dualie think that the front brake is all you need/want? (The Revolution has the locking rear wheels but no front wheel caliper brake.) Clearly they have the parts & technology for the locking rear wheel, and the Rev wheels are the same as those on the SUS & the Dualie--it doesn't seem that it would be costly to add the rear brakes to the SUS...??).

What do you think? Do those of you with BOBs feel okay parking your kid in the stroller when just the front wheel is locked? Also, how many of you really do use the caliper brake to slow the stroller on steep downhills? (I intend to!)

Thanks so much!

loveofmylife
05-06-2005, 04:00 AM
I have a BOB SUS which I currently have up for sale and getting a BOB Revolution instead. I love the BOB SUS except for the braking system and I also like the option of a swivel front wheel. The parking brake mechanism is not really well made, mine broke off after a few uses. I did get the replacement part from BOB and I need to go to a bike shop to get it replaced. I usually used the stroller mainly for running and always used the wrist strap, so basically I used the wrist strap to park the stroller as well. The handbrake to slow the stroller down works perfectly well, but the parking brake doesn't. Plus to me, it does not feel very safe, which is why I always use the wrist strap when my ds is in the stroller.