For those of you unaware, I have a 4 and 2-year-old. In our family, we have gotten by on one old (crummy) running stroller that we purchased for $20 at a garage sale and a decent double stroller that is DEFINITELY not made for running. In fact, the one time we ran in the double stroller in a race (the 2013 Homer’s Classic 8k in Silverton), one of the wheels actually fell of. Yes – it literally fell off.
I have been lucky enough to have the opportunity to try out a stroller by powerhouse brand Thule: the Thule Urban Glide. Following is my initial impression in the few days since receiving it. I will be following up with a few additional posts after I have had the opportunity to run with the kiddos and put some miles on it. But until then…
The easy dial to choose between a swiveling and fixed front wheel.
Set-up: I like to pretend that I am a handyman, but I am about as far away from that as one could possibly be. My father passed down his athletic talents, but unfortunately that meant I was left with no ability to really tackle construction and handiwork without completely destroying something.
Therefore, I was a little nervous about pulling this out of the box and getting it set up. I mean, it’s fancy. And if I know anything about fancy, it is code for lots of moving parts and a difficult set up. This was NOT the case. AT ALL.
Even I put this together in no more than 5 minutes. I even triple checked things, because this never happens to me. Usually when something comes that easy, I have forgotten a MAJOR component and disaster strikes (i.e. doll house malfunction in Christmas 2012). Not so with the Urban Glide. Everything was assembled coming out of the box save for the 2 back tires. These were as simple as a button press and sliding on. Bam!
Look: The look is sleek, yet extremely minimalistic. It comes in three subdued colors: Thule Blue (which I have), Dark Shadow (Grey), and Mars (Red). There is no electric yellow or lime green – it’s about functionality and simple design that is around to serve its purpose: allowing us parents to just get out there and run while providing some awesome features for doing so.
Cool Specs: This is not the most technical of descriptions, but some awesome features I noticed right off the bat:
- Front tire valve was curved so that it was easily accessible with any pump
- Wrist strap comes attached
- Extremely simple raising and lowering of seat back with adjustment strap
- Extremely simple way to switch between a swiveling front tire and a locked front tire
- There is a dial where you can have your front wheel veer slight degrees to the right or left. This would be great if you are doing track work and want the tire curving a bit to the left, or are on the street and want your tire veering to the right to move away from traffic.
- Large storage area
Storage space is a must for my family of girls.
Actual Specs (from the website):
- Swivel front wheel for easy maneuverability, locks into place for jogging
- One-handed compact fold for storing and transporting
- Ergonomic handlebar with a range of heights for parent’s comfort
- Rear suspension for a smooth and comfortable ride
- Padded seat with vented top reclines to a near flat position for on-the-go naps
- Multi-position canopy for added protection with view-in roof port to see your child
- Large storage compartment with zippered water-resistant cover
- Stroller Weight = 23 lbs.
- Weight Capacity = 75 lbs.
- Front Wheel Size 12 in; Rear 16 in.
Initial Impressions: The ease at which the Urban Guide is constructed has me excited. I have been leery to even do much with my other strollers in fear of breaking something and never being able to fix it. The simplicity of the wheels being installed (and subsequently removed) will make packing in my small hatchback even simpler.
I am on the taller side (6’2) and often feel I have to slump over a bit to feel comfortable with the height of handlebars on my strollers. At first feel, the handlebars appear to rotate higher to allow me to have more of a normalized running gait. Time will tell.
The canopy stretches really far down to cover your kiddos heads while you run. While my daughters typically like to see their surroundings, and yell at me to go faster, we here in Oregon have to deal with all types of weather. I ran the Uberthons Luckython with one kiddo in March 2013 in a downpour. I also have run the Willamette Valley Road Runners Summer Solstice evening 5k with a solid glare off the Willamette River. Both instances appear to be covered with the Urban Glide’s canopy.
The size of the undercarriage for storing stuff has me really excited. My old jogging stroller did it’s best, but did not have near enough space. I know technically I probably shouldn’t need that much stuff when going on a jog. However, I like to be prepared when I run with my kids (food, entertainment, clothes, diapers) so that I can do what I want to do – just run. I have cut more than one run short because I didn’t have the right stuff with me. The ability to have the undercarriage be able to be open or zipped under a waterproof cover makes amazing sense for Oregon winters (or clumsy kiddos leaking milk everywhere).
At $399.95, this stroller is definitely an investment. But at least on first glance and specs, the Urban Guide appears to deliver on that price point. The attention to detail and simplicity of the features (yet complexity of the structure) appears fantastic. I am very excited to get in some runs with this – and I know my kiddos are too!
