So we were checking out the Erector Set skyscraper at Rockefeller Center this afternoon, when a big Hare Krishna parade caught up with us. Obviously, we stuck around to watch.
The annual celebration is called Ratha Yatra, or the Festival of The Chariots. Which was apt, considering the number of Krishna dads pushing strollers.
No Bugaboos, but there were several Phil & Teds, and one sweet-looking in-line double stroller, the Graco [I know, right?] Quattro Tour Duo in what looked like mocha [it's actually called Soho.]
I was too busy staring at the Quattro Tour to get a photo, but here's what it looks like. The first sentence of the manufacturer's description is as follows: "Moms with two stroller-aged kids rejoice! " Just moms? Clearly, Graco feels they have some karma to burn.
Check out a few more photos or Ratha Yatra on flickr
Buy the Graco Quattro Tour Duo Stroller on Amazon, $240 [amazon]
It is nice and simple which is always good. But the thing has like four cupholders. But the sweep of the frame is lovely.
I agree it's a great looking stroller. Not sure how it pushes or stands up but it's too bad you feel the need to defend yourself for calling out a Graco stroller. I'm just working up the energy to add a comment to your post about the Phil & Ted's sunshade issue that I plan to fill with a pretty lengthy list of the shortcomings of the P&T Sport. (I've got a 5-day old at home, hence the lack of energy and the Sport.) Anyway, there are a lot of deeply flawed stollers being bought up by a certain demographic because they are marketed at a high enough price point. No reason the QuattroTour Duo is any worse just because it's coming in under $250. And it looks great.
[i've called out the original Quattro Tour before; I'm always happier to look at one than to drive one. The single handles like a grocery cart, and I suspect the double is the same. Congratulations, btw, and take your time; the world's strollers will still be imperfect when you get back. -ed.]
I actually looked at getting one of these before I bought the Phil & Teds. I tried one out at Babies R Us. It doesn't fold all that great. The front canopy is a joke. It has to shut in order for the stroller to fold well...but of course it wouldn't close. So I pushed it closed and the hinge broke...but the look cool... The cupholders also fall out when you fold it.
Okay... so you know I'm a fan of the Graco... and I adore my Quattro Tour (still do to this day, nearly 4 years later and I still love and use it regularly).
Anyway, we also own the Quattro Duo -- in French Roast which has similar colors but is more brown than green. I like it. Not love... but like. It's awesome for neighborhood walks, handles the sidewalks excellent and has great shock absorbers, but it does not have a small fold at all and it certainly will not, no matter how much cramming I do, fit in the trunk of my car.
It's not so much like driving a grocery cart -- more like driving a grocery cart with one of those kid cars attached. I would never want to try taking it to the mall or walking down a busy street with it. It's longer than it appears in the photos.
That said, the seats are awesome. Connor's almost 4 and fits easily in both, his head is below the top edge of both seats. The front weight limit is 50 lbs. and the rear is 40 so there's no risk he'll grow out soon. There are five-pt harnesses for both seats and the rears seat fully reclines. The basket is huge and the front child has their own little basket beneath his/her seat.
I don't have any really good photos, but here's Connor about 6 months ago -- you can see how much room he still has...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15008471@N00/966645341/
So would I recommend it. Yes and No. If you're using it because you walk everyday with your kids around your neighborhood? Absolutely.
If you live in New York City... heck no.
About 2 weeks ago at an event for my niece some woman was asking me about the P&T and complaining about her Graco Quatro Duo. She said she couldn't get the thing up and down a curb if there wasn't a curb cut. Apparently the physics of the thing require herculean strength to get the front wheels the 4 inches up off the ground on many corners in NYC. The P&T Sport is not perfect by any means (don't ask me about the foot brake), but this lady wasted months of aggravation and $250 on a stroller that she now plans on trying to sell on craiglist at a loss and then buy the P&T which she didn't buy originally because of the price (even though she liked it best). If you are simply driving to the mall for walks with your double or strolling down giant suburban supermarket aisles then yes a traditional tandem or side-by-side can work perfectly fine for you, but I could never steer that Graco through my local grocery store without taking down a couple old folks with their granny carts and forget about getting over the curbs and potholes on the way home with my 2 boys and a week's worth of groceries on board (which is exactly what I do with my Sport). My sisters-in-law have burnt through approximately 3-4 carriages each, over the course of having their three kids each. At two to three hundred a pop for those plastastic rides, they could have bought a Bugaboo or a P&T and had one carriage that lasted them...
I was in NY this weekend and saw preparations for that parade. I was wondering what it was, so thanks for identifying it!
I have both the Quattro pictured here as well as a Bugaboo Frog. While the Graco can't measure up to the Bugaboo in terms of build quality and feel, it is a serviceable stroller that folds *much* easier than the Bugaboo.
The Graco is a bit more difficult to get up curbs, but that's likely going to be a problem with any twin in-line stroller.
I can't understand why Bugaboo refuses to build a twin stroller. Seems like they could make a mint.
O.k. all you people with big opinions about strollers, save me from the horrid pain in my back, my adjustable handle Graco seems to have been made so that a 5 foot person would not have to reach up, it does nothing for me at 6'9. Any help
I like the Graco stroller. It is looking simple and good .I saw that in stores before purchasing Zooper Double Stroller for my twins. I bought that in sales tax offer. Zooper Double stroller is strong and light in weigh. It can support kids weighing 45lbs each. I can easily pass through narrow spaces with the stroller thanks to their compactness. It is easy to fold and convenient to store.