Choosing the Right Stroller Wheels

Choosing the Right Stroller Wheels. Stroller wheels can be large, small, swiveling, locking, fixed, air-filled, solid plastic, smooth, or knobby. How and where you intend to use your stroller will determine if these options are good or bad for you. The thing you want to avoid is having stroller wheels that won't go where you and baby want to go. So, here's all you need to know:

You and baby can use a stroller for about three basic activities: everyday living (the mall and sidewalks), training (running & exercising), nature activities (trails and parks). Of course, creative Moms can think of other categories, but these are the main ones. Each activity has different demands on you, the stroller, and the stroller wheels. Let's look at each activity in turn.

Everyday living involves grocery shopping, running errands, and dashing into the mall for that quick purchase - and of course baby has to come along for the ride. These adventures require you to easily get through doorways, turn quickly down narrow aisles, and avoid obstacles and people in crowded spaces. In addition, you may need to fit the stroller in and out of the car. Here, you will need smaller stroller wheels: 12 to 16 inches. They need not be air-filled, but the front wheel should be swivel wheel which can turn through 360 degrees.

This will allow you to turn the stroller easily and quickly. Both front and back wheels should have a quick release lever, which allows you to remove the wheels quickly when you place the stroller in the car. Training and running requires a true jogging stroller with stroller wheels suited to that purpose. Serious runners (and baby!) will prefer the ultra-smooth glide of large, 20 inch, air-filled stroller wheels. The front wheel should be a fixed wheel to keep the stroller in a straight line when you are running at a good clip.

A fixed front wheel will not turn freely, so if you want to make a sharp turn with the stroller, you have to push down on the handlebar (which lifts the front wheel) and pivot the entire stroller. This may sound crazy, but marathoners don't often need to make really sharp turns. So you can see why these fixed front wheels are great for the road, but lousy for the malls. Runners will also prefer stroller wheels with rims made from a material like aluminum or an alloy rather than steel.

The lesser weight will allow the entire stroller to be lighter: which means less weight to push.By nature activities, we are talking about getting outside into the park, along rough trails, and over uneven surfaces. In these situations, comfort is an issue, and you don't want to give baby a bumpy ride. You will definitely need the larger 16" air-filled tires to provide a smooth comfortable ride. Stroller wheels in these conditions should have thick, wide, knobby off-road tires that grip the ground and are resistant to thorns and spikes.

The wide tires will give you better grip on sandy and gravelly surfaces that you may find on or near the beach. A swivel-lock front wheel will probably serve you best. Swivel-lock means that the wheel can operate in two modes: unlocked, and locked. When it is unlocked, the wheel rotates freely, which is useful for steering around rocks, fallen branches and the like. When it is locked, the stroller operates like a fixed-wheel stroller and you power-walk or jog while the stroller tracks straight and true.
by: Kerry J