Customer Reviews

Graco LiteRider Stroller, Lively Dots

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was looking for a lightweight foldable stroller with good storage, a decent sunshade, and child tray that could double as a high chair.
This stroller has all of that and handles very well. However, it has some design problems that could be improved upon: 1) the way
it folds up, the child tray bangs on the ground quite forcefully. It can get dirty and seems destined to break, but it's made of flexible plastic
so maybe it can take that kind of stress 2) the padded metal bar
on the seat back is very low--my 14 month old's head already hits it,
although she sits up and doesn't touch the back usually. I was hoping
to use the stroller until she is 3 and I don't know if that's going to work.
3) one of the cupholders on the parent tray is so shallow that water bottles
can fall out. The other one is OK.

Pros:
I love this stroller for the size, weight, and price.
The stroller is also a good height, has cupholders, and baby has a tray with drink holder which I love to put his cheerios in for less mess.
The storage basket is huge.
My Graco Safe Seat can lock into this stroller as a travel system.
It is easy to wipe clean.

Cons:
When you unfold the stroller, you have to replace the seat into an upright position, and also reset the storage basket. Every time.
When you fold the stroller, there is no way to keep the tray from banging on asphalt. It was scratched up the first time we used it.

The baby's seat does either sits straight up or reclines half way. I would much prefer a stroller that lays flat for diaper changes or naps.

The baby's tray table does NOT hinge. You have to slide baby in and out, difficult for someone with weak back or squirming baby to manage. Lucky me, having both. You can remove the baby tray, but it is difficult to put back on.

Mom's tray is nice to have 2 cup holders and a flat area in middle for your phone, keys, shopping list. I wish it had a lid like some strollers so your camera, etc. isn't in plain view. However, the negative is that mom's tray flips up because it is attached only by two screws and really needs four screws, or a latch to keep it down.

Sun canopy does next to nothing. It is not angled well, and not large enough to create shade for baby. I have to put a blanket over the canopy to extend it, but it does look trashy. In addition, small viewfinder is not enough to see baby.

Canopy is sticky, bending forward and back is hard to manage and makes a loud noise which has awoken my son from his nap more than once.


CONCLUSION:
My goal was to find a stroller that baby is comfortable to sit in, and light enough for my poor back to be able to lift at a reasonable price and this does meet my top requirements. I would NEVER recommend it to a friend. I think it would be great for a grandma or other occasional baby sitter to have on hand, but not for most people for daily use.

After doing a lot of research to find an affordable, lightweight stroller with the "perks" of a bigger stroller, we bought this stroller and are very happy with our choice. It folds up very nicely and I love that it reclines allowing our 13 month old to nap if he wants. The basket is huge and I love that you can still get to your diaper bag even when the seat is reclined. I definitely recommend this stroller! It's GREAT! :)

I would rate this higher than 5 stars if possible! I registered for this stroller because I wanted something lightweight (that I could lift and that didn't take up a lot of space). This one only weighs 9 lbs. My friend who bought it for me as a gift complimented me on the price (only $40). I have had this stroller for four years, and have used it with all three of my kids since they were born. I am always getting compliments on this stroller. It is as compact as an umbrella stroller, with the amenities of a very nice stroller, with the cargo basket, sun shade, recline position, parent tray with two cupholders, and removeable child's tray with cupholder. Since I have an older model, mine does not accomodate a car seat, which I didn't want at the time but later realized is a nice feature. I've always had to wake up my baby to move him from the car to the stroller. Also, when I first got my stroller, the parent tray didn't fit. I called the manufacturer and they sent me a new one, which also didn't fit. I took it in to Babies R Us, and the sales person took the tray off the display model and it fit just fine. I heartily recommend this stroller to everyone - I really love mine and will use it as long as I can!

In an effort to be as minimalist with baby stuff as possible, we chose the Graco Snugrider stroller frame for our Snugride 35 car seat and a Maclaren Volo for our son to grow into. We were VERY happy with both purchases but realized that although the Maclaren's suggested use is 6 mos. +, our 8 month old still needed a stroller that would recline. He is at an age where he is not too happy staying in the car seat for a stroll, so we had to find something to help us transition to the Mac. Obviously, we're not big on bulky strollers and were hoping not to purchase more than two strollers for this child and subsequent children. If I'd had the foresight to spend a bit more on a Mac that would recline, there'd have been no need to buy the Literider.

Having said that, I am very happy with this purchase. I kept the box for the Literider because I was not sold on it even when I took it out of the box. It is a $60 stroller. Now that I have used it for a few weeks, I definitely feel that I got more than my money's worth. The basket is huge and easily accessible (I carry a small, pocketbook sized diaper bag that doubles as my purse, so I have the whole basket for quick trips to the grocery.). My son loves his snack tray and the cup holders on the parent tray are deep enough for my needs. This stroller is relatively compact when folded and is small enough to navigate through the grocery store.

Here are the drawbacks. First, I'd prefer a five-point harness although my son seems to do fine with three point. "Lively Dots" has three, but the Literider also comes in the "Pippin" style which includes upgraded fabric and a five-point harness. Second, the parent cup holder does pop up a little at the front after the stroller has been folded, but doesn't pop up while in use. When I bought this (from another retailer because I had a gift card), only "Lively Dots" was available. While I really like the pattern, it is not as gender-neutral as I thought it would be. It looks kind of feminine to me. I took two evenings with my sewing machine and made a plush seat cover for it out of one of the many blankets I received at showers. I am much happier with the look and my son seems more comfortable. This brings me to another issue. There are (machine) washing instructions on the back of the seat, but I don't see how the seat cover could be removed without the use of a screwdriver and more time than I want to take merely to remove a cover to throw in the wash. The handle is not adjustable like my Graco stroller frame, but this isn't a problem for me (Again, I LOVE the Snugrider stroller frame and have walked miles and miles behind it... still good as new and will be in excellent working order for child #2.). It might be a problem for my taller husband, but he hasn't complained yet. The wheels are not as nice as those on my stroller frame, but again, for a $60 stroller, it rides very well. Thanks to those of you who wrote about the child tray hitting the ground when folding, I knew to catch the tray before it hit the floor and it still looks great.

I kept the stroller for these reasons. The stroller seems to offer a version of the standard stroller amenities, but is much smaller, weighs less and is more affordable. It easily accepts my Snugride 35 car seat. Although it's not super compact when folded (It's just slightly more bulky than the stroller frame when folded.), it still works well for us and it folds and opens more easily than both our Graco stroller frame and the Mac. It seems to ride well and my son seems to enjoy riding in it. I walk a lot and it does well enough on grass and asphalt. I am able to see my son when the seat is in the recline position through the peek a boo window. The snack tray is removable and if you prefer, will snap loose on one side and swivel away on the other for easier access to your child. I was finally sold on it early this week when my son fell asleep in the upright position and I was able to recline him without waking him. He slept until I picked him up to take him out after a three mile stroll through our neighborhood. I threw the box away and filed the receipt after that! ;o)

The main thing I'd like to point out is that (I'll say it again...) this is a $60 stroller. I think Graco does a great job of offering a lot for a little, but it's still a $60 stroller. We were looking for something lightweight and inexpensive to get our son into the Maclaren. It now looks as if we'll be using this more than we thought because it exceeded our expectations. Although I really didn't want to buy another stroller, I'm now glad we had the need for it. For the price, it's awesome! I certainly hope this helps someone.

We love this stroller.
It folds one-handed, it has a decent parent and toddler tray, the basket is huge and easy to get to, compact when collapsed....
Only reason I don't give it 5 stars is that it is a pavement only (no good on dirt trails etc) and therefore is limited in it's use.

This stroller is super lightweight. The basket is spacious & it has 2 cupholders. The seat holds the graco snugride car seat. It doesn't recline totally flat like in my other stroller but it's acceptable.

I registered for this stroller and received it as a gift...

Basically I am very unhappy with this stroller and will be getting a new one very shortly...My daughter is almost 5 months old now, and this stroller has been nothing but a hassle...

Pros:

-Lightweight
-Relatively easy to strap baby in and take baby out (though the tray is difficult to remove and always in the way).

Cons:

-TERRIBLY reclining system...Your baby is either straight up like the equivalent of a high chair, or half way down...In my opinion there needs to be at minimum three reclining positions if a stroller is going to have the option to recline...Can't lay flat, really really obnoxious when your baby needs to take a nap when you're out somewhere, or if you need to change a diaper in a pinch...
- Horrible sunshade...We live in a warm/sunny climate year round so having adequate sunshade is crucial for us...This shade does next to nothing...When we push her around when on walks we literally have to sometimes walk backwards or do other ridiculous things to block out the sun, so useless...
- Flimsy plastic - The plastic on the tray and other areas is very flimsy and wears easily...Simply taking it in and out of our car trunk and it looks like it's 5 years old already, with tons of scratches all over the place...
- Doesn't turn well - Whether the wheels are on swivel mode or normal, if you're not on a perfectly smooth surface this thing handles terrain like absolute garbage...A tiny bit of gravel or an uneven pavement causes this thing to get caught up on things and go all over the place, very annoying.
- The standard seat is uncomfortable and poorly constructed...Basic material, nothing special about the little headrest insert, it flops all over the place and does next to nothing to keep my daughter comfortable...
- Straps are REALLY bad - This is probably the thing that annoys me the most about this stroller...The strap that goes in between the legs has no means of being adjusted...It is just sewn RIGHT ON the seat! You can do anything to make it longer, it is very tight against my daughter which upsets me because there's no excuse for something like this...

Basically I would not reccomend this stroller to anyone, there are equally cheap strollers out there that don't have this many design flaws and poor construction, I would say stay away if you can...

This stroller is convenient because the car seat attaches right on the child's tray, so for your younger infant there is no need to take the baby in and out of the car seat. It also has plenty of space for drinks, snacks, cell phone, or keys. However, I am now looking for a better stroller. This one does not steer well. It is difficult to steer with two hands, and you can forget trying to talk on your cell phone or sip coffee while maneuvering this stroller. The front wheels always seem to be jamming up. The seat with only 2-position recline is not adequate. The harness is made of thin straps that my toddler has discovered how to wriggle almost completely out of. After 21 months of light use this stroller is ready for the trash. We have basically used it for mall shopping, and it's a good thing because I can't imagine trying to steer it on a rough surface. The canopy has ripped along one side and is separating from the body of the stroller. I bought this one because it had lots of coordinating pieces, and I thought I was getting a real bargain at the price. But now I have to purchase another more expensive stroller since this one didn't hold up.

I bought the Graco Lite Rider when my chunky 6 month old outgrew his infant seat that we were using with a Snap-and-Go. I had a Graco Quattro Tour with my older son, and I loved it, but I wanted something a little lighter and easier to maneuver this time around. The Lite Rider does meet those requirements, and very well. But I do miss having the amenities of the Quattro Tour.

Overall, I think this is a decent stroller, but not a great one. I would recommend it for shopping trips and quick jaunts, and for people with limited trunk space in their cars, but not for long walks or intense daily use.

Pros:

* Wonderful fabric! My Lite Rider is in the "Pippin" design, not "Tango in the Tongo." They are the same stroller body, though. I love, LOVE the Pippin design. Adorable for a boy or girl. It's attractive without being too cutesy, durable, and comfortable for baby.

* Huge storage basket for a lightweight stroller.

* Decent canopy with a window.

* Child tray and parent tray make the Lite Rider a huge improvement over an umbrella stroller.

* It is indeed light, and it rolls smoothly on pavement or indoors. It's a great choice if you have to lug your stroller upstairs, or in and out of the car frequently.


Cons:

* It's a smidge too short. I do okay with this stroller. I'm just over five-feet-four-inches tall, and it is only a little lower than I'd like it to be; I'm not totally comfortable, but I'm not hunched over, either. But my husband has to slouch a bit, and at five-foot-nine, he is not a large man. Skip this one if you're tall, as there is no way to adjust the height the way you can on some other Graco models.

* The child tray sticks out awkwardly when the stroller is folded, and it also does not swing open and closed.

* The stroller must be reclined to be folded, so if you usually want to use it in the not-reclined position (and I do), you have to straighten it up every single time you unfold it. The basket needs a tug every time you unfold the stroller, too. These little things add up when you're juggling a squirmy baby, a diaper bag, and whatever else.

* The parent tray is attached with 2 screws, but it really needs 4. It keeps popping up in the back. It won't come off, the two screws in the front are tight, but it is annoying.

The bottom line: this stroller is not great competition for a full-sized stroller like the Quattro Tour. It feels cheaper and it just doesn't have those nice extras. I don't think it will last a terribly long time. But when you compare it to an umbrella stroller, it comes out leaps and bounds ahead. So it definitely fills an important niche in the stroller market.

If you're on a tight budget or just need something easy to lug around, you could do a lot worse than the Graco Lite Rider.