stroller help from the experts--city dwellers/condo/infant

[larig]

With an almost 3 year old and all the new 2011s, I'm a little out of the know when it comes to strollers. I'm hoping you stroller experts could help me give some good friends a short list of strollers to test. They're living in Chicago in a condo on second floor (have to take stairs to get to). They walk a lot, and want something with air tires. When they visited us they really liked the push on our BOB. So, given those specs, could you guys offer your top contenders (and bonus points for ballpark price). Thanks! (eta: and they have a car, and infant seat that they may want to attach once in a while).

[crl]

Will they have to carry the stroller up and down the stairs? Or can it be stored in the foyer or car?

Catherine

[larig]

Will they have to carry the stroller up and down the stairs? Or can it be stored in the foyer or car?

Catherine

I'll get back to you on that. They have a car trunk to use, for sure, but don't know if they planned to do it all the time.

Oh, and I should say the budget I'd guess would be the price of a bob give or take twenty bucks?

[roseyloxs]

MB swift or bumbleride indie. Both are about $450 I believe. Both also have air tires but are compact enough for most indoor use. The indie is a little bit more but comes with more accessories standard like the car seat adapter. Both have 3 wheels but the front can be locked straight for stair climbing.

If they want a reversible option then I would look into the bugaboo Frog being discontinued. You can find them as low as $530 new or $300 used on CL.

There is also the Musty 4-rider light. Features air tires and 4 wheels which strollerqueen recommends for stair use. Also has a reversible seat but it is pretty wide and would not be the most indoor friendly option. (the frog also has 4 wheels)

The uppababy vista is a favorite of most on this board but it lacks true air tires. (has 4 wheels)

[crl]

I love my Indie, but I'm not sure I would want to take any air tire stroller up and down a full flight of stairs on a regular basis. I would probably sacrifice my beloved air tires and get the lightest stroller with full recline and a decent push I could find under those circumstances.

But if they want air tires, I highly recommend the Indie for city dwellers. Suitable for a newborn, awesome canopy, leg rest, good basket, small enough to take into city markets and libraries and so on, and so pretty. I recently did a comparison of the swift and the indie if you are interested. Let me find the link.

Catherine

ETA. http://www.windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=388294&highlight=Indie

[larig]

Apparently they will be able to leave it inside at the bottom of their stairs, so that opens up the possibilities for them.

[arivecchi]

If they want to use it indoors also, I would go for the MB Swift because it works really well indoors and outdoors (I have taken mine on the L, restaurants, malls, lakefront, parks, snow) and it has a standing fold so they can fold it up in the foyer. I would recommend they get a bike lock and lock it up to a railing or lock the wheels to the frame. The Indie would probably work well too but I would not want a fabric footrest in the Midwest.

[roseyloxs]

The Indie would probably work well too but I would not want a fabric footrest in the Midwest.

If a fabric footrest bothers you then you can tuck the fabric underneath the vinyl footrest for snowy winters or muddy springs(see attached photo). For a baby I would want the adjustable footrest that the indie provides (the swift does not). Also the fabric footrest won't even be a problem until the baby is walking around.