Brand NEW Phil and Teds Vibe Buggy WIth Doubles Kit Black
November 7, 2009 by Double Jogging Strollers
Filed under Double Jogging Strollers
Brand NEW Phil and Teds Vibe Buggy WIth Doubles Kit Black
The NEW VIBE Features include a wider seat for almost an inch more space and 2 pounds lighter than the sport buggy. The wheels feature a lower, wider profile for a smoother ride. Fully adjustable seat angles from upright to totally lie-flat newborn
Introducing the NEW Vibe double kit. Features a layback position to allow the child in the toddler position to recline. For those of you new to looking at buggies and what is best to suit your changing lifestyle, this totally unique buggy has earned a reputation as one of quality, innovation, and fantastic versatility.
Newborn – Lying flat on a firm padded mattress is the best position for baby and healthy growth. Baby can face forward or backward facing Mom or Dad.
Toddler – Upright seat enables views of everything going on, also with a layback for resting times.
Toddler and Baby – Toddler on top and second newborn lying comfortable, flat and secure.
Two Toddlers – Both riding in line so you can go anywhere a single can. When the older toddler outgrows the need for the buggy simply return it back to a single.
User Ratings and Reviews
4 Stars Great handling, smooth ride and gets a lot of attention
In a nutshell:
Pros: Excellent handling, excellent ride and easy to push despite two children in the stroller, especially over grass, trails, any surface the typical Graco or umbrella strollers have trouble.
This stroller gets a lot of attention as the bugaboo used to in the beginning before everyone had one. Still very rare to see a Vibe.
Front seat fully reclines so I loved it for my newborn. Adjustable to any position you want.
It is relatively simple to close. It took a few weeks to get used to and perhaps it was stiffer when it was new, but it became easier to close as time went by.
Front tire locks in place or swivels – your choice. I have used this for light jogging (locked wheel), regular use I set on swivel.
When baby was born I put my newborn in the front. My older child walked. At around 2-3 months I had my infant in the rear seat (with a nice little headrest to support his head. 4 yr old in the front. Only for long walking excursions as most of the time the 4 yr old doesn’t need to sit.
Cons: The rear seat is only big enough up to 2 yrs old (give or take depending on the size of your baby. Rear seat supposedly reclines (zipper to adjust recline) but the frame awkwardly prevents this. If the seat is reclined the frame sits on top and the child’s head rests on the frame which is not comfortable. I put the seat on top of the frame which is fine but no recline. Slightly odd and awkward.
Tires are like bike tires. They get flat. Simple enough to fix. We went to target or walmart and bought a replacement tire tube I think it was 12″ size (the small one) and it worked fine.
Canopy is too small. You can move it but it is small, covers the front child only.
Wider than most strollers (but less than side by side doubles obviously) but still quite wide for those thin store aisles.
The break is a red button in the middle of the handlebar. I hit it a few times in the beginning by accident and hit the break. A slight nuisance but you get used to it and only happens when pushing one handed.
Overall I am very satisfied with my purchase, the smooth ride is worth it. We are active and go on trails and the parks and the Graco stroller would not move on grass! It was a nuisance to have to push harder on grass. This stroller is great for the parks.
5 Stars Perfect for NYC
The old P&T was the standard for doubles for older/younger children combos in NYC. The Vibe fixes the annoying brake issue of the old one, which is a huge improvement, especially if you want to avoid waking a sleeping baby in the bottom as you head out. I also have a Bugaboo Cameleon and find the P&T easier to push. It is great up and down curbs and is very stable. Some people are concerned about shading the baby from the sun. I’ve found it easy to hang a blanket down from the handlebar to completely protect my little one. It is too big to take in to most stores around my neighborhood, but that’s an issue with all of the doubles I’ve seen.
1 Star Terrible Break Design and Resulting Tire Issues
This stroller was great for the first year… yes, sometimes my hand would accidently pass over the VERY sensitive break which is right on the steering handle. It was a bit jarring – but I was OK with it.
Eventually I got used to the break. Unfortunately, the tires were severely damaged due to the 10 (or so) times this happened to me… and 1 year in (conveniently just after warranty) – the tires blew. They are non-standard tires… and I have not been able to get a replacement for 8 weeks now. There are no distributors in NYC currently, and the Australian company does not allow customers to contact them directly. MONEY DOWN THE DRAIN. In order to survive in NYC, I had to buy a 2nd double stroller.
1 Star Loved it while it worked…can’t buy new tire…useless now
I loved this stroller for a year. At one year (after warentee ran out) both rear tires fell apart. I wouldn’t mind except that you can’t buy replacements. Really useless 1,000 stroller that I am very dependent on. Maybe get the Sport model so replacement parts are availble.
1 Star Phil and Teds tyres are terrible quality
The Phil and Teds Vibe suited our needs. We have two young children only 18 months apart and needed an inline push chair that could accommodate both children and to allow us to easily get on and off our public transport. We live in Zurich Switzerland and similar to NY driving is a nightmare so you either walk everywhere or use public transport. We use to have a TFK (Trend For Kids) and liked that very much but you couldn’t accommodate two children, hence the change.
The Vibe it’s self is ok. I agree the they could have added shocks absorbers and better breaks. The breaks (which is a little red button in the middle of the hand grip) is extremely sensitive and easy to knock, if you kids aren’t strapped in you would think that they would get flung out of the buggy but you can get use to that and work around the button. The really bad thing are the tyres! We’ve owned the buggy less than 5 months now and we have had 2 tyres burst on us. The rubber tread is so soft the it wares right down to the inner tube before it bursts with an all mighty bang. The first time it happened (3 months after we bought it) I got a replacement and wheel after a couple of weeks. Thinking we were clever, we straight away ordered 3 new replacement tyres, as we could see the treads wearing away on the 2nd tyre. 2 months later,Bang!! and still no replacement tyres.
Now when you have children, your buggy is everything. You need it for mobility and to go shopping and it is MASSIVELY stressful when you can’t leave the house because your buggy is out of action. We have literally been searching world wide for a replacement tyre. But because its a special size you can only find a replacements from Phil and Teds. Apparently the entire country (Switzerland) has no more spares as other people have had exactly the same problem. Now, we are stranded and desperately trying to find replacement tyres. We have tried to buy tyres from a bicycle shop but doesn’t fit because of the strange size.
PHIL and TEDS if you read this. I’m begging you! PLEASE! Sort out the quality of your tyres.
While your at it try adding some disk breaks and shocks. I expect a lot more value for money and LOT LESS STRESS for that price.
