The most popular stroller these days seem to be the Bugaboo. While I love the look and many features of the Bugaboo (smooth ride, multi-terrain wheels, easy maneuverability, reversible seat/handlebar, etc.), I could not get myself to fork over $900+ for one. Thus, began my search for an affordable, stylish yet functional stroller for the NYC streets. If the stroller is great on the streets of NYC, then, you know for sure it’s better anywhere else in the U.S.! It was slim pickin’s, but I finally decided on the Bumbleride Flyer due to the rave reviews I found online by other moms. While it does look great and has a reversible handle (a feature I really wanted), this stroller highly disappointed me for these reasons.
1. Poor maneuverability and bumpy ride. Living in NYC, bumpy roads and sidewalks are commonplace. The Bumbleride stroller was very sensitive to small potholes and even gravel on the road, so your little bundle of joy may feel every bump with its zero-suspension wheels. With that said, going over curbs was a challenge. When I tried to go onto the ramp of the sidewalk, it stopped short, and my 2-month-old almost flew out!
2. Makes wide turns. You might as well have one of those truck signs that say “Caution: Makes Wide Turns.” On my stroll through a fairly spacious store, the stroller made it hard to move smoothly between aisles, even with me using both hands.
3. Uneven underseat basket. When you reverse the handle of the stroller so that the baby is facing you, the basket rubs against the front wheels … even when there’s nothing in it! I tried to go on a nice, peaceful stroll through the park, however, I was greeted with a whizzing noise of the basket rubbing against the wheels.
4. Doesn’t unfold easily. While the Bumbleride is fairly easy to fold, unfolding it was another matter. There were many times when I tried to unfold the stroller, and it got stuck. It would sometimes take around 10 minutes to open back up.
5. Heavy and bulky. Bumbleride claims it’s 19 lbs. but it felt a lot heavier and took up a big chunk of the trunk space in my car. I didn’t actually try weighing it, but if you live in a walk-up or need to transport the stroller a lot, lightweight is one feature you need and Bumbleride is not light.
Although, the stroller is cute and has a reversible handlebar option, all the cons outweigh these two positives.
Guest blogger Jeannie Lee is mommy to Max and has been living in New York City for the past 15 years. 
7 Comments, Comment or Ping
I love mine!
I think it handles really easily- and I love being able to have baby face forward and backward!
To each their own, I guess.
September 29th, 2008
I don’t own one, but I did push my friend’s around for a little bit, and was surprised at the bumpiness and blocky feel. Bottom line, it’s good to test run a few strollers … especially if you’re shelling out big bucks.
September 29th, 2008
Oh good review thanks just what I needed.
Mary
September 29th, 2008
We ordered ours online after reading several positive reviews. After taking it out for the first time I thought we must have received the wrong model by accident because we were really unhappy with how it performed. The most frustrating thing (of which there were many) was the under seat basket. Just like it says in the review, the cloth basket rubs against the wheels. Rather than have the wheels eventually tear a whole in the basket, we decided to just leave the handle bars so our baby faced forward the whole time. This is just really poor design.
September 29th, 2008
great review!
September 29th, 2008
Hello Jeannie and doesmommyloveit.com,
Thank you for reviewing the Flyer stroller, we appreciate your feedback!
We collect our customer comments and forward them to our designers so when a new model comes out our customers are directly influencing the next collection and the product is always improving.
We have made a few changes to the Flyer in the past and we now have a replacement cargo basket that should fit better ( no rub despite weight). Please email me at ryan@bumbleride.com with your mailing address and we would be glad to send the correct fitting replacement.
Also please make sure that when strolling, the rear lockbar or bar above the wheels is pushed down or engaged. This is crucial for the stroller to steer correctly. The bar in front should be up so that the wheels work similar to a car, where they pivot in front only.
Please feel free to email any questions or concerns about our products to info@bumbleride.com or feedback@bumbleride.com. For more details about weight and dimensions, this info is easily reachable at http://www.bumbleride.com
Best regards,
Ryan @ bumbleride customer service
P.S. Freedom, thanks for your kind words we appreciate it! Please check your basket for any rubbing and feel free to contact us if it does.
September 30th, 2008
Jeannie,
Thanks for your review on the Flyer. Unfortunately, I read it too late.
I have “tried” to love my Indie Spice Flyer. I have wanted to love my Flyer. It’s beautiful, it has some cool features. It’s cool looknig. But it sucks royally.
I’m embarrassed to use it and embarrassed to allow my family to stroll my infant in it because it maneuvers so poorly. I’ve tried everything I could think of to make it steer correctly. After trying to use this stroller for the last 3 months, I have given up on it. It can’t make it roll over small gravel, I can’t get it up over curbs or out of the side of the road back onto the pavement. I can’t maneuver quickly off the road when a car is coming, I often have to KICK the wheels back in place to line them up straight so I don’t have to walk practically sideways to move the darn thing. It’s an absolute horror show. I’ve locked the bars/wheels the way people have instructed. It just won’t steer well at all.
I have been encouraging family to use my BOB jogger/SUS instead of my Flyer because I don’t want them to know how bad the Flyer is. You see, my sisters bought me the Flyer because they knew I wanted it so badly. They spent hard-earned money on it, despite the bad economy and their lack of funds to even buy heating oil. I’m ashamed to let them know that they wasted their money.
Moms and Dads, if you are thinking of this stroller because of the cool reversible handle feature, the height adjustable handle feature, the included footmuff, the fully reclining option and the cool colors (all great features, btw), DON’T BE FOOLED. NONE of those features is worth it if you can’t move the thing. I can move my bassinette on wheels better than this stroller. It makes me very sad.
August 3rd, 2009
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