It’s fair to say that with two little boys in our household, we seem to have a rather extensive collection of things that go vroom and wheels that go round. According to them, you can never have too much of a good thing. When I learnt that our favourite children’s equipment company, phil&teds had added a new ‘toy’ to their range, I knew that it would have immediate appeal to our boys. Wheel in the freerider stroller board. Just to clarify the freerider itself is a mountain buggy product developed by phil&teds sister company – but it is also available through the phil&teds webshop and is compatible with a number of different strollers. It is a scooter board that is attached via a connector (purchased separately) visit the website here to check compatibility.
It’s a rad bright blue colour, the wheels spin with ease, the handle bars are sleek and the hand grips are comfortably spongy. There is a bit more to it though. This clever little device can be used in two ways. Your little person can carve up the local bike track with it. Hoon around corners and have fun with all the other little people on their various wheeled toys…skateboards, trikes, bikes and toy automobiles.
Here’s where it starts to get extremely useful. Picture this. Your enthusiastic toddler is keen to go for a ride/walk. Great, we love going on outings. Nothing like a bit of fresh air and a change of scenery to keep said toddler entertained. We got a lot of use out of our doubles kit but more often than not, if it’s a walk outside, our toddler loves to ride wheels everywhere.
We finally head outside the house – baby snuggled up in the p&t explorer (still going strong after 3.5 years of hard work I might add), two dogs in tow, food, drinks, toddler dressed, helmet on and freerider ready for action. Now, usually our little fella is pretty fit and can easily go for an hour without complaint…but he is three and so can pull the unpredictable card at times. We’re past the point of no return – no short way home – either keep going or go back the way we came. If the toddler is on his balance bike it usually ends up with me carrying his bike and pushing the stroller with him hitching a ride, sitting on the footrest, right above the wheel. I’m fairly seasoned with this awkward way of returning home, the buggy fully laden. It’s not particularly easy.
Enter the freerider! With a simple click and a push, I anchor the front two wheels of the freerider onto the connector which runs the length of the back buggy axle. The single back wheel of the freerider is twisted around so that the back wheel now acts like a caster wheel – making it easier to turn whilst attached to the buggy. Off we go with the toddler standing on his freerider whilst I push the buggy along. It gives him a nice break and if he changes his mind and has another surge of energy then off it clicks and he goes on his way again.
The freerider is light and very portable. If you need to carry it with you on walks, it comes with a handy elastic toggle that allows you to hook it out of the way, on the back of the buggy. The handlebar pole pops out with a simple click leaving the unit in two pieces to fit into the smallest car or wardrobe in your house when not in use. We even managed to squeeze it into the phil&teds universal travel bag on our recent trip to Australia! How cool is that, taking your wheels on holiday with you?
It wouldn’t be a proper review of this nifty adapt&survive accessory, unless I share a couple of insights gained from our experience, that may come in handy if you’re thinking of purchasing the freerider for your family. Unless you’re a seasoned scooter rider, your little one might find steering the scooter a little bit tricky. The front wheels don’t turn, rather it operates like the old fashioned skateboard trucks whereby a lean to either side dictates direction. Once you get the hang of that, you’ll stay on your chosen path. Secondly, the adapter can be a little fiddly to install on the axle of your buggy. We found that tipping your buggy totally upside down and removing the parcel tray fabric will give you better access to screw it on tightly. Once it’s there however, it’s nice and secure and not in the way whilst walking etc.
Yes, there is plenty to love about these ‘wheels’. It’s a robust design, that still looks nice and shiny after three months usage and I’m confident it’ll still look good by the time boy number two gets his turn to freeride. I did have a giggle at the name of it too as I watched my poor husband push the explorer buggy with a baby on board, nappy bag, camera bag and the toddler with the freerider attached, up a steep street in the hot summer sun in Perth – our toddler was only too happy to be ‘riding close’ going uphill but let me ‘ride free’ on the downhill part Daddy, I’m off!!
Interested in the free rider find out more here!
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