I was pushing the Volo down the street the other day, listening to the hard, plastic wheels clacking along the sidewalk. That one inside wheel looks a little wobbly, is it cracking? Wonder if I should take it to the Maclaren Showroom in SoHo and get some replacements? Hmm, wonder what it would take for someone to make some aftermarket wheels for this rig? Maybe in that dense, spongy, smooth-riding rubber from the Bugaboo Bee?
Now I'm not bragging when I say that, with its early, far-reaching reporting on Bugaboo-worthy cupholders, Daddy Types pioneered coverage of high-performance stroller accessories. [Seriously, who'd brag about something like that?] There was The Gunslinger, available in chromed steel, with or without bullets. And my all-time favorite, the three-ringed elegance of the humbly named-but-revolutionary Motorcycle Drink Thing... Anyway, point is, I know a thing or two about performance accessories.
At least I thought I did until Airborne Mini came along. Airborne Mini is a research and design outfit specializing in engineering "improvements for exclusive parenting tools." In other words, they make off-the-charts accessories and performance parts--for strollers. It's the same guys working with Iacono Design, who you may know from such insanely stylin' strollers as The Roddler [which was first reported on DT back when it was still known as the Pinstripe Prep Harmony].
Like custom car and chopper parts that are Iacono's stock in trade, Airborne Mini's stroller cupholders, brackets, buggy boards, and wheels are milled from solid blocks of 6061 aluminum billet. There's a drop axle kit to give your rig a "more aggressive stance." And all this is only available, at least for now, for the original Bugaboo Frog/Gecko/Cameleon.
Never mind that, though they dazzle, those front wheels look like they give up a lot of suspension and turning radius performance compared to the Bugaboo originals. Assuming they're real, of course. The douchiness of Airborne Mini's sales pitch makes me wonder if the whole thing isn't just a roundabout publicity ploy designed to underscore the Roddler's awesomeness. I must quote in full:
Dear Bugaboo drivers,So I can't tell. But those Roddler guys have always thrown me off. They like to play, they love extreme design, and irreverence is part of their game, so I wouldn't be surprised either way. The lack of pricing info and product specs, the Photoshoppy reflections in the product shots--hell, the almost total lack of product shots bigger than a postage stamp--it all makes me think Airborne Mini is still in the Great Idea, Let's Go To The Shop And Mock One Up stage.
We are sorry that the release of the Roddler and trike has caused you so much post purchase dissonance. We have made sure to make amends. To take the sting out of the demotion to second coolest we are making you the first to benefit from our next release.
UPDATE: OH, they are real, alright. Engineering artist Joe Iacono just sent me a bunch of photos. Stay tuned.
And while I can't imagine the performance hit a set of those donks would have on our Bugaboo, a milled aluminum skateboard does sound tempting. And if I those billet blanks come small and light enough for our Maclaren, I hope they'll be generous enough to consider the "third tier" [sic] of the stroller market soon.
Airborne Mini Tuning [airbornemini.com via dt reader nelson]
My opinion on their level of douchiness is heavily influenced by the fact that they have the word "Mini" in their company name, with a logo that looks extremely similar to another company's logo...
d'oh. expect that to last about as long as the Pinstripe Harmony brand
seriously, I thought maybe Mini Cooper had gone all Eddy Bauer on us...
BMW trademark infringement notwithstanding, how about some pricing info? I would consider some fancy aluminum rims for our Frog if the price was right.
Nice, Actually... We use to sell Aftermerket Mini Cooper performance and Styling products. We know the guys at MINI and BMW as I designed for some other majors like GM, Ford and Toyota. My machine shop and company decided to diversify the brand and keep up with the really elegant Billet we were making in Juvenile products including THE infamous "RODDLER" This was just a fun thing to help other guys in the market with cheap china made stuff. Guys appreciate the REAL DEAL... no messing around when you have a pair of Billet Rims. Moms at the park can cry and complain that its ridiculous .. but thats just the reaction we wanted.
Oh no Joe, I go this one...Excuse us ill-informed douchers #1-3 and the rest who would like to question the legitimacy of the project, two pertinent links below as to how the name originated. That is a $75,000 300+ HP Mini Cooper that was another award winning pet project that was released prior to inventing a stroller that turns into a tricycle. While Mini was calling for a new poster child, the juvenile product industry was clearly in dire need of a defibrillator. While this may be the first you have heard of us, this isn't the first you have heard of our work. Stay tuned for more mind blowing advents.
http://www.seriouswheels.com/cars/top-2007-Airborne-Mini-Coupe.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ch-Eo9Y27Y
PS - Greg, look what you started!