So, I spent the better part of the last half of my pregnancy researching double strollers. I had a few criteria that I wasn’t going to waver on:
1) had to accommodate our Chicco keyfit infant car safety seat.
2) had to be sturdy and yet be able to fit through a standard doorway.
3) had to have an adjustable steering handle (my husband is a foot taller than I am).
4) had to have a big and easily accessible storage basket
After much online and in-store research, I finally decided that I definitely wanted a side-by-side (the tandem are boring for the kids and a pain to push when they are so long) and I wanted the Bumbleride Indie Twin. At $659 plus tax, it’s not an inexpensive stroller BUT it’s a good one with all the bells and whistles and very functional. When Madam Poopsalot was 3 weeks old, I finally broke down and ordered one. The price-tag was giving me serious fright since I wasn’t even sure if I needed a double stroller at all! However, since baby girl was early and small it would be a long time before I will be able to put her in a baby carrier while I stroller my son since my Becco is for 8lbs minimum (Becco BTW is THE BEST baby carrier out there!!!!). I was going stir crazy not being able to take them both out for a walk down to the grocery store or out and about. My son isn’t the type to just walk nicely beside me or stand nicely on a wheely board attached to a stroller. The Bumbleride shipped quickly and I was so excited to receive it. Unfortunately, it had a manufacturers defect and we had to ship it back and order another one. The second one also shipped very quickly and this time it was in defect-free! My husband was able to quickly and easily assemble it and I’ve been enjoying it for the past 2 weeks! My son even likes it and he’s been very anti-stroller (another reason why I was scared to shell out several hundred dollars for it. Well, in the end it was well worth it and it’s only been 2 weeks. I love it! It steers beautifully and the basket is awesome! I love the versatility of the stroller and just today when it was a balmy 82 degrees in San Diego in mid-December, I was able to unzip the back portion of the stroller cover to let some air in for my 6 week old preemie and yet still have her completely shielded from the sun (and from peoples germs) while out and about. I even went for a walk and jog down to my gym to pay my membership dues and it worked great as a jogging stroller! Now, granted I haven’t tried to fold it up and take it anywhere yet so I’ll report on that when the time comes. I’m a little afraid!
[...] months ago I wrote about how Bumbleride solved my double stroller dilemma. After extensive research, I ended up purchasing the Bumbleride Indie Twin and I absolutely love [...]
I am getting an Indie Twin the beginning of April and was also limited due to already having the Chicco carseat. When I was trying out the stroller with the carseat at the store however I was really disappointed with how it fit. The stroller’s canopy wouldn’t go over the carseat…..it seemed to intrude a lot onto the other side where my son will sit and interfered with his canopy as well. How have you felt about it? I would really appreciate any tips you have. Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth! Congratulations on your Indie Twin decision. You won’t regret it, I am certain – I absolutely love mine. As for your question regarding the Chicco carseat fit: I actually thought the same thing when I tried it out in the store. Even the saleslady couldn’t make it fit well enough for my liking. It was very important to me that the fit be secure, for safety reasons. It was also important to me that the canopy of each could meet at the top and completely block the sun. It’s sunny here in San Diego! Fortunately, my husband was at the store with me and dazzled both the saleslady and I with his brawn and his genius.
Actually, once he showed me how he did it, it really easy to make it fit nicely. You just have to make sure the car seat adapter bar is installed correctly and then really push down on the car seat and wiggle it back and forth a little so that it fits snugly against the adapter bar. The canopy of the Indie can then be brought up and fitted underneath the canopy of the Chicco car seat. They actually fit so well together that they overlap this way.
The car seat does intrude a bit onto the side where the older child sits, but only ever so slightly. It hasn’t seemed to bother my son at all and he’s a regular sized 3 year old. It does not at all interfere with the canopy on that side though. I am guessing that the car seat wasn’t fitted down in the seat far enough and this is why you encountered these problems.
Feel free to email me if you have problems getting it to fit like this when you finally get your Indie Twin.
Thank you so much—I feel a lot better now! I’ve been really stressing about making such a huge purchase and not feeling 100% about it. I’ll definitely email you if I can’t figure it out. I live up in Orange County and so sun coverage is super important to me too.
I was reading through your blog yesterday—super funny!!!! We’re living parallel lives almost–especially about laundry & nap strikes!!! I have a 2 yr old boy and am expecting a girl any day now.
Thanks again for your response!
[...] and questions about my Bumbleride posts, Hi My Name is J and I’m a Bumbleride Addict and Bumbleride Solves Double Stroller Dilemma. Choosing a stroller is serious business. A stroller is a vehicle for your most precious cargo and [...]