Mountain Buggy Duo - is it for us?

[beccasmom]

Hi, I'm new here and i must say im really enjoying these threads, stroller-obsessed mama that i am!
Here's my situation, would love if you could help! I have 3 kids, ages 3.5, 22 months and a newborn. I need a stroller that could accommodate my two youngest as well as a buggy board and still push well. Our current double, the city mini was hard for me to push with my two oldest, (yeah, i'm spoiled by my bugaboo bee's push) so i imagine it will be impossible with a board attached. I live in the city and will be using it for daily walks and in/out of shops. From reading reviews it sounds like the mb pushes great. Does anyone have any idea how the mb would push with a board on (i was thinking of the lascal or the freerider)?
My others concerns about the mb are: i live in a walkup and will need to keep it folded in the front hall. is it practical for daily folding/unfolding? also ill need to bump it up one flight of steps outside and i'm afraid it'll be too heavy - any thoughts on that? how are the air tires, do they need to be pumped often? hope you can help me with this, i'm open to other recommendations as well. Thanks!

[jacksmoma]

i don't have one but have had many a/t doubles- sounds like it would be great for your situation....will be much better to push than a bjcmd. it is nearly impossible to find anything with the bug bee's amazing push, the bob duallie i have is just as great but i'm thinking too big for city life :( i'm sure the mb lovers here will weigh in with their thoughs.... :)

[abh5e8]

hmm...my dd was 3.75 years and my son 23 months when my second son was born, so not too far off of yours....i love my P&T. i carried the newbie a lot at first, but when he was 4 or 5 months i started putting him in the bottom seat. then i would have the 2 olders take turns walking and riding, and when i wanted them all to ride i just reclined the top seat, loaded them both in it and tucked the baby into the bottom seat. it was pretty full with > 70lbs of children in it, but still suprisingly easy to push. i think for city life the small footprint and air filled tires would be a real plus.

[abh5e8]

eta: or can you wait for the new MB duet?

[mom3boys]

You may also want to consider a Bumbleride Indie Twin--I think it is maybe a bit smaller than some other AT doubles. I had a BJCMD and now have Indie Twin--my newborn is not here yet so I gave it a test-drive with my 3 and almost 5 yo and the push was so much better than BJCMD even with that weight. And it is very nice otherwise, looks nice, large basket, etc.

That said it is still fairly heavy, and the fold is not compact, and I think the seats are a little small--my 3 yo is about 39 inches tall and JUST fits--something to consider if your 3.5 yo wants to ride. But of course if you want a smaller AT the seats will be smaller . . .

[arivecchi]

I have a Duo and live in the city and I LOVE it. My kids are 2 and 4 and it is super easy to push. I think it would work great for you. I would actually recommend the Valco hitch hiker instead. It works with MBs and it is wide enough for the older child to sit when he/she is tired.

The Duo is very narrow so I can take mine anywhere. It is the slimmest side by side AT stroller out there. It has full recline for newborns and snoozing kiddos and the new canopies are great. It is very sturdy. Perfect for city abuse. ;) I do think that it would be a bit hard to lift up a high step fully loaded but would be very easy to do empty. I can lift mine up curbs fully loaded easily though, so a small step would not be a problem.

It has a standing fold and it is a one-step fold so I do not think that would be an issue.

There are tons of MB doubles here. Tons. It's a great city stroller and they last forever.

[beccasmom]

Hi, thanks for all the input! I think I'm leaning towards the duo. The bumbleride does look very pretty but sounds kinda complicated to fold daily, and the p&t won't take a buggy board as far as i know.
That said, I'm also considering waiting for the duet. Can anyone speculate as to how well it'll push compared to the duo? I've looks at the specs and the duet has 8 inch wheels compared to the duo's 12. Do you think this will make a big difference? Also interesting, is that it's only two pounds lighter than the duo and the folded dimensions are not all that smaller. So basically it'll just be a narrower stroller, not lighter or more portable for the car?

[legaleagle]

the p&t won't take a buggy board as far as i know.

The mountain buggy freerider just came out with P&T adapters.

[beccasmom]

oh, thanks for that info, was not aware of it. will look into the p&t now.

[arivecchi]

Hi, thanks for all the input! I think I'm leaning towards the duo. The bumbleride does look very pretty but sounds kinda complicated to fold daily, and the p&t won't take a buggy board as far as i know.
That said, I'm also considering waiting for the duet. Can anyone speculate as to how well it'll push compared to the duo? I've looks at the specs and the duet has 8 inch wheels compared to the duo's 12. Do you think this will make a big difference? Also interesting, is that it's only two pounds lighter than the duo and the folded dimensions are not all that smaller. So basically it'll just be a narrower stroller, not lighter or more portable for the car?
IME, the bigger tires make a diference if you are in really rough terrain, snow or sand. In those scenarios, the bigger tires do much better. For uneven pavement and grass, smaller air tires do ok. I had a Swift, which has 10 inch tires, and it did well on uneveran city pavement and grass. My guess is the Duo will be easier to push if you have heavier/older kids because of the bigger 12 inch tires.

Pic of the Duet:

http://windsorpeak.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=401878