By Carey Rossi on March 23, 2011 in
I walk. I walk a lot. Even before moving to New York, my preferred mode of transportation has always been my legs—and I lived in Los Angeles for decades, where the Missing Persons song is right: “No One Walks in LA.” So when I was pregnant, I researched strollers like a fiend. I knew that when my son was born I needed an effective and reliable mode of transportation for him. Between a baby carrier—the Bjorn was my pick, though if I were to do it again I’d opt for the Ergo—and a stroller, I figured we were set.
Our First
We moved to Phoenix from Los Angeles, when baby boy was just a month old. Within two months of living in the desert outpost, our Maxi Cosi Foray stroller had a flat. The air-filled back tire had been attacked by cactus needles and no amount of bicycle tire triage could help it. I didn’t consider the possibility of cactus needles into account when choosing the stroller. I figured that the air-filled tires would be fine in the urban suburb of Southern California.
After a phone call to Dorel and approximately $100, I had two new back wheels. (I figured I needed a backup on hand.) The wheels were delivered within 3 days and the assembly was so easy that I’m sure my 3-month-old son could have changed the tire himself, if he could sit up. Those wheels served us well for two years and two more states. (We had to get out of Phoenix; the cost of stroller wheels would have put us in the poor house--grin.)
Now, we live in Manhattan and when we moved here, we had to leave the Maxi-Cosi Foray behind. As much as my son and I loved that stroller, its wide wheel base and folding mechanism isn’t a good fit for commuting via subway or storing in our tiny apartment. So we replaced it with a lighter, more compact umbrella stroller, the MacLaren Triumph.
Stroller No. 2
We’ve had this umbrella stroller for almost four months. One morning during our commute, I banged the front wheel against an escalator and POP! One of the front wheels flew off. Thanks to a fellow commuter’s quick hands, I still have the wheel. My family, with its injured chariot, hobbled the rest of the way to school. During our block and a half trek my husband and I worried aloud: Would we be able to fix it? Can you order replacement wheels for umbrella strollers? If we couldn’t, what would we do?
Luckily, my husband was able to pop the hard plastic wheel back on, but it’s a bit wobbly—definitely not a long term solution. After some online research, I found out two things: 1) there are a lot of parents looking for replacement wheels for MacLaren strollers; and 2) the only way to fix a broken wheel is to go to a MacLaren approved repair shop or if there isn’t one in your area, send the stroller to MacLaren to be fixed (which could explain the former). Who wants to send their stroller back to the company to fix a wheel? Luckily, there are two MacLaren approved repair shops near me. I called and was told that wheels for my model year would need to be ordered—it’s too new for us to be having wheel issues (yet).
I’m waiting for my wheels. They should be here in 10 days.
But this isn’t the last stroller
This situation made me realize that when the weather gets nice, this umbrella stroller won’t be able to keep up with daily commuting and long walks through the city. What will determine my next purchase? The wheels, of course! How wide they are, what type they are and if they're compatible with the environment where I live, as well as how easy they are to fix. I didn’t think about any of these things when purchasing the Maxi-Cosi or the MacLaren strollers.
Granted, my experiences with stroller wheels are probably not normal; especially because I’m tough on my strollers. With the exception of the wheels, both strollers have served my family well and I would recommend both of them. They have helped me introduce my son to the world around him—whether seeing ping-pong for the first time at The Lumber Yard in Malibu, California; discovering the smells and tastes of basil, tomatoes, and peaches at Farmer’s Markets in Santa Monica, Phoenix or New Jersey; or introducing him to the Big Apple. Those are memories that even buggy stroller wheels can’t diminish.