Phil n Teds Vibe Inline Buggy Red/Black

This an expensive but stylish pushchair that continues the Phil & Ted tradition of being able to transport two children in the space of a single buggy.

However, alongside the Sport, it is a bulky pram that gives more width to the toddlers. This extra bulk means that it is only 1kg lighter than the steel-framed Sport.

Good things:
* Easy to push at low speeds and easy to steer
* The handle mounted brake is a real boon but note that it is a parking brake and cannot be used to slow the buggy down a hill.
* The red version looks very smart (the colour is only on the seat cushions and cocoon mattress).
* The hood is an improvement on the Sport in that it can be slid up the handle to give the toddler more headroom

Bad things:
* Expensive at between £125 and £150 more than the Sport
* When pushing briskly the front wheel oscillates and one is tempted to set it in the "fixed" position which defeats much of the object. This could be an individual fault.
* There are design problems with the wheels and hubs that mean some wheels do not lock on to the hubs and have to be exchanged. Any one of three components: wheel, spindle or bearing may be at fault. Or, it could be user error in incorrect fitting of the mudguards.
* The cushions are marked "hand-wash only" but this does not get them clean. However, the seat cushion survived a 30 degree machine wash without any apparent problems and it came clean.
* Folding is an art: the handle must be put in the uppermost position; the parcel shelf/footwell must be tucked in and the wheel carefully aligned before it will fold.
* The second seat has two possible positions when in the "baby and toddler" mode. In the top position, there is inadequate headroom for a toddler and in the lower position, the buggy doesn't fold properly - best to remove the second seat
* The aluminium tubing scratches easily when trying to align the second seat on the front and the buggy quickly loses its newness.
* It's still early days in production but there seem to be no spares or support available in the UK at the time of writing this (end May 2008)
* The parcel tray become the toddler's footwell when the second seat is on the back. To provide extra storage space, Phil & Ted say that the saddle bags sold for the Sport will fit - and they do, but poorly, being on a tilt.
* When pushed by a tall person with the handle in it's uppermost position, the hood bangs against his knuckles.
* P&T say that the bumper bar can be stored on the rear second-seat mounting points when not in use. Although it is true that it fits there, it does not lock on and can be jogged loose.
* The second seat does recline a bit but then there's a metal bar above the toddlers head so that it's only suitable up to about 9 months. After that, they have to sit up without recline.

If none of this puts you off, buy a Vibe. If it does, consider the original Sport, the cheaper Classic or the better derivative of the Sport called the Dash.

The Phil and Teds Vibe suited our needs. We have two young children only 18 months apart and needed an inline push chair that could accommodate both children and to allow us to easily get on and off our public transport. We live in Zurich Switzerland and similar to NY, driving is a nightmare so you either walk everywhere or use public transport. We did to have a TFK (Trend For Kids) and liked that very much but you couldn't accommodate two children, hence the change.

The Vibe it's self is ok. I agree the they could have added shocks absorbers and better breaks. The breaks (which is a little red button in the middle of the hand grip) is extremely sensitive and easy to knock, if your kids aren't strapped in, you would think that they would get flung out of the buggy but you can get use to that and work around the button. The really bad thing are the tyres! We've owned the buggy less than 5 months now and we have had 2 tyres burst on us. The rubber tread is so soft that it wares right down to the inner tube before and bursts with an all mighty bang. The first time it happened (3 months after we bought it) we got a replacement and wheel, then after a couple of weeks (thank god we still had the TFK). We ordered 3 new replacement tyres, as we could see the tread wearing away on the 2nd tyre. 2 months later,Bang!! and still no replacement tyres and we had sold the TFK since then.

Now when you have children, your buggy is everything. You need it for mobility and to go shopping and it is MASSIVELY stressful when you can't leave the house because your buggy is out of action. We have literally been searching world wide for a replacement tyre. But because its a special size you can only find a replacements from Phil and Teds. Apparently the entire country (Switzerland) has no more spares as other people have had exactly the same problem. Now, we are stranded and desperately trying to find replacement tyres. We have tried to buy tyres from a bicycle shop but doesn't fit because of the strange size.

PHIL and TEDS if you read this. I'm begging you! PLEASE! Sort out the quality of your tyres.
While your at it, try adding some disk breaks and shocks. I expect a lot more value for my money and LOT LESS STRESS for that price.

There is a lot to recommend about this pushchair, but I had to return it. I wanted to post a quick note that everyone else has missed.
The second (removable) seat - I assume due to the nature of the locking/fitting mechanism - is limited to 15kg max. This means that the whole pushchair ceases to be usable (as a twin) once the lighter of your children is above 15kg (in my case at 28 months on current projection!). My older child is only a year older so I would have had to find alternative transport when she's just over 3yrs. at > £550, it's a lot to spend for 12-18 months use..