When I was helping out with Vancouvermom.ca’s Top 30 Vancouver Bloggers for 2011, I was impressed with not only the awesome prize donation, but how cool the Chariot line of carriers looked on their website.
I will be TOTALLY honest here….I am not a jogger or a biker…but my kids bike a lot and as they are getting bigger, I need a bike to keep up. I have also figured that I needed a decent bike trailer for Tara too. So I have been shopping around and recently bought a used trailer by Bell. It is a nice trailer. Light weight and easy to figure out. It even has a good wheel attachment if you want to use it as a stroller. For those of us with budgets in mind, it is a good buy.
But Holy Hannah, when I got the chance to check out the Cheetah Carrier by Chariot, I was blown away.
They sent me the double version to review, which is BIG. A bit too big for me and my storage limitations…..however….This thing is amazing. It is easy to assemble and built to be easy to DISASSEMBLE too. Meaning if you are tight for space this thing can come apart and fold almost flat.
The Chariot people kindly sent me both the jogging kit and the bike kit. Sadly, I haven’t used the bike kit yet, but am working on that. The wheels for the carrier and the jogging kit were SO easy to figure out. It is like Ikea for strollers. I barely had to glance at the instructions.
As a double jogging stroller the thing is BIG, but it does not feel unwieldy. It is amazingly light weight and even with a front wheel that doesn’t rotate, I have had no trouble hoofing around our neighbourhood trails and sidewalks.
Tara Really Likes The Cheetah
We have a great Phil & Ted stroller (used) but as Tara has gotten older, keeping her in the stroller has gotten harder. As soon as she figured out the whole walking thing, she wanted to walk as much as she can. This great. I enjoy our strolls. Until we have to get somewhere in time. Like picking up the kids from school. I resorted to the kids wagon for this. And it worked pretty well. It held all the kids backpacks and her and the kids didn’t mind taking a turn pulling it. But the wheels are plastic and therefore LOUD and it does a number on your back.
She really likes the Cheetah. Even when it is all sealed up for the weather, she is quite content to sit back and enjoy the ride.
This photo shows the Jogging Stroller attachments. So simple. The rods snap onto the side of the carrier and the wheel slots in between them. Ta Da! And if you have to store the carrier or fit it in your car, they all snap out just as easily. The carriers main wheels even pop of with ease.
My husband was boggled by the huge boxes that had arrived with the carrier due to the fact that we already have too much stuff and no place to put it. He is now a Chariot convert. He is as impressed by this machine as I and too feels it is well worth the rather high $ that comes with it.
Fitness freak or fair weather walker/biker. One kid or two. This is an impressive carrier.
Originally purchased to tow our two boys on the bike, our double chariot is now our treasured apple hauler as we navigate our country roads looking for forgotten apple trees in need of harvesting. It lives on with a new role and importance in our lives. I had imagined selling it, but wouldn’t trade it for anything!
Love that chariot! We opt’d for a double jogger/walk&bike trailer version from MEC. I can’t make a direct comparison but living on the west side… And being out a lot we loooooove it. It was about $300 with attachments and I couldnt get over the price. It’s been worth every penny, especially since the chariot can run a lot higher than that. That’s a nice gig you got testing it out. How awesome is that?! I just wish the double version was just a wee bit more narrow…once I tried it on the bus…we.got.stuck. Haha