Customer Reviews

Schwinn Free Runner Jogging Stroller (Light Blue/Blue/Red)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I ordered this without very high expectations after reading other's reviews. I have had no problems with the handbrake or alignment of the wheel. If you have a long stride, then you might have a problem with the "axle" that connects the rear wheels. If you want to use it right away, make sure you have your phillips head screwdriver, something to cut zipties with and a bike tire pump. Enjoy those runs! By the way it's great that the seat cover is removable for that spit up and dried slober.....

I bought this stroller to use solely for walking/running with my son. We use it on pavement, grass & sand. It covers all grounds smoothly. Compared to other jogging strollers it is an excellent price for similar quality. I love the fact that the handle raises & lowers and it has a rain protector that unzips from the canopy to come down in front to cover my son if we get caught out in bad weather. On the downside, my brake doesn't work & no matter how many times I adjust the front wheel I cannot get the alignment straight. It always veers a little to the left.

I use this to run, 3-5 miles, 4-5 days per week. My daughter is comfortable, it is very lightweight, it handles smoothly and the canopy is nice and big to fully cover your child. A couple things to keep in mind-- running with any jogging stroller is not particularly easy--you need to keep one hand on the stroller almost all the time and it is heavy when pushing it uphill. They're still worth it though. Also, I've seen reviews knocking this stroller because the front wheel doesn't swivel, but if you are running you never want a swivel wheel--it will rattle around and not ride smoothly. This thing is huge and made for running, not for just walking around, and certainly not for taking into stores & such. It's great for the money and, p.s., it's about $70 cheaper to get blue & red vs. blue & gray.

I have an active 2-year old granddaughter who hates strollers but wants to be carried after the first mile. This stroller did the trick, mostly. When my granddaughter is around, it's called a "Runner", not a "Stroller." She loves to ride in it, but only if I sprint once in a while. The stroller does great, it's the engine (me) that isn't up to it any more. (A word of caution - make sure your passenger is buckled up tight and the safety strap is on your wrist - these stroller have almost no rolling resistance and the brakes stop on a dime - fortunately, my daughter wasn't present on "first flight."

I bought this stroller used off craigslist about 8 months ago. I really wanted a BOB Revolution, but since I was just getting back into running, by husband said to try this one out first. Here are the pros and cons.

PROS:
- Huge canopy that can block sun & wind when it's cold. You can detach the back of the canopy so it will rotate all the way down to the seat. Not even the BOB or Baby Jogger models can do this. We live in FL, so a huge canopy is important. I love this feature so much that strollers without rotating canopies are deal-breakers for me.
- Smooth ride, easy to push when running and even walking
- 5 point harness
- Has a hand brake and leash (I don't think the BOB has a hand brake)
- Seat reclines (not completely flat, but to less than a 45 degree angle)
- One parent cupholder and uncovered storage compartment (You have to pay extra for that with the BOB)
- Elasticized cup holders for child on the inside sides of the seat
- You can take it apart to wash the fabrics, but you have to unscrew everything (then remember how it all goes back together)
- Height adjustable handlebar (BOB has a fixed height handlebar)
- Handlebar is made of smooth, cushy, rubberized plastic that won't deteriorate with sweat & moisture. (The BOB's handlebar is made of this squishy black material comparable to what's on some lawn mower handlebars, and I know this material deteriorates over time.)
- Great on trails & off of paved roads.

CONS:
- Underseat basket is decent size, but it drags. I fixed this by tying a cord to the back of the basket and attaching it to the bungee cord that allows the seat to recline.
- Fixed front wheel (but then again, a true jogging stroller has a fixed front wheel. I really like this stroller a lot and just wish I could take it around to stores.)
- Seat angle is kind of steep for small babies. My daughter is one and really petite, so her legs aren't long enough for her knees to bend while she's sitting in the jogger.
- You have to unscrew everything to clean the fabrics.
- No way to lock it when it's folded. The fold isn't very compact. It's a bit smaller when you take off the wheels or at least the front wheel. It also doesn't stand on its own when folded.
- Seat isn't very padded & there's no head support. I added folded blankets to the seat back and the Summer Infant Cradler for more support.
- Heavy when you need to get it in and out of the car.

Overall, this is a great stroller if you're primarily using it for local walking & running. Since it's heavy and doesn't fold very compactly, it may be a pain to get it into and out of the car if you need to drive to wherever you'll be exercising. Also, since it has a fixed front wheel, it really is meant just for exercising, not for the mall or other places where you need more maneuverability. Despite the cons listed, it is a great, affordable alternative to more expensive jogging strollers.

This is the second running stroller I have owned. I bought the blue and red one. I had a very expensive brand the first time around with my older boy. This one got such good reviews and was so much less expensive that I thought I would give it a try. This stroller went together a little rough but it eventually came together. The fabric is not as good of a quality as my previous high dollar stroller, but the straps are sooooo much better in this schwinn! They fit my 6 month old boy great! He looks very comfy in it. This stroller is very well balanced and it took almost no adjusting to get it to go in a straight line. The brake pads are a little on the cheap side and will be replaced with better ones. The price is pretty good and the quality is pretty good. I gave it 3 stars because of the crunchy fabric and the lack of rain shield which has to be purchased after-market. It is nice that there are accessories that can be bought for this stroller like a baby cold weather bag and a few other do-dads. Over all, with this stroller you get what you pay for. It mirrors strollers of a much higher price with less expensive materials. It's great if you want a functional running stroller for a lower price.

Before I purchased this jogging stroller, I looked on craigslist to see what I could find. I found a lot of strollers going for $100, so I figured that I'd take a look at new ones, which led me to the Schwinn Free Runner.

Pros: I run mostly on pavement, and some trails and this jogger is just great. It's easy to run with, I don't hit it with my legs (I'm 6'0"), and it is easy to navigate. My son is conformable in it, I know this because he fell asleep in it the other day while I was running. I can shade him from the sunlight with the adjustable shade and it is easy to fold up and store. I hang my on a wall hook in my laundry room. I think for the price, you can't beat it.

Cons: I have read the reviews others have said about not wanting to put their 6 month old in this and I would agree with that. This stroller isn't as supportive as a car seat. I started running with my son when he was 10 months old (he's a big boy) and both my wife and I feel confident running with him. Based on this, I would recommend this stroller for infants 1 year and older. Also, I found that the 5 point plastic harness feels a bit cheap but still works.

Perhaps we just have a lemon but we have had soo many issues with this already. Unfortunately, I made a poor decision in purchasing this just before Christmas thinking it was a true sale price and then with the cold weather and busy Christmas season, the 30 day return period had expired before we took it out of the box and realized it was rubbish. (My bad -- I did not realize it was a 30 day return period. I buy so many baby items that I mistakenly believed that the 365 day return period applied to this).

Anyway, when my husband assembled it, he found the hand brake did not work. After contacting the company, they sent a replacement for him to install. It was to take 5 - 10 business days, but arrived on the quicker end of the estimate. Since it was still very cold, the wait wasn't really a problem. When received, he installed the new brake assembly and with the brake actually working, we were able to use it. Given that spring has only just arrived, we have taken this jogger out less than a half dozen times thus far. What was immediately apparent was the fact that the stroller has a serious alignment problem and veers sharply to the left. Since my husband was not with me he didn't realize the severity of the problem, although I complained that my right shoulder aches from trying to correct the stroller and keep it in a straight line. We continued to tweek this problem until this week, when my husband was on a walk with us and realized the extent of the problem and called the company again and was told how to "fix" the alignment of the front tire. However, in order to do so, the actual wheel itself had to be canted at about a 45 degree angle on the frame, and couldn't possibly run efficiently, although it kind of sort of made it go straighter. Then, we took it out for about 6 frustrating miles and realized the tires, which we had just inflated, had started to go flat which made it a really long 6 miles with deflating tires and the need to veer LEFT. So when he called AGAIN yesterday, he was told the company was sending new inner tubes for him to replace in all of the tires, and a new front wheel, because it may be bent. If that doesn't fix it, then they need to look at the frame itself. These will arrive in 5 - 10 business days. In the meantime, I am trying to train for a 12k run in 6 weeks so these delays are very frustrating. While the customer service may be good, I don't actually want a "reconditioned" jogger stroller because we have to rebuild it ourselves from replacement parts. I would actually like Pacific Cycle or Amazon to take back this piece of rubbish without charging me for return shipping since there have been enough major problems for this to be considered "defective". If you have to replace the brakes, the front wheel, and the inner tubes because the tires go flat, and possibly address an alignment problem with the frame itself, there isn't much else to the jogger, other than the seat pad and the seatbelt is there?

I am giving it a 2 and not a 1, because without all of these defects, there are features that appealed to me that redeem it and would make it a decent stroller, including the adjustable handle height and the fact that it does have a hand brake as well as the kick-bar brake at the back.

Update 6/10/11:

Pacific Cycle eventually replaced the jogger stroller with a new one, after going through a process of emailing photos so they could verify the "forks" that hold the front wheel on were in fact not straight (causing the alignment problem), then having us destroy the stroller and email photos and then they sent a replacement. I pleaded for them to do this ASAP since the 12k run was only 3 weeks away. The replacement arrived 2 weeks later, on the Friday. We put it together and took it out the next morning, only to discover, IT VEERED TO THE RIGHT!!!!! The replacement was also damaged, with the console being very badly scratched which is not good for being new out of the box. So I called again when Pacific Cycle opened the next week and played phone tag, only to be told, sorry for the problem but if you want another replacement, you will have to send the stroller back to us first to be inspected because this doesn't usually happen (2 strollers with alignment problems). I had already decided that I did not want the piece of rubbish any longer and had to contact Amazon customer service who kindly made a one time exception and allowed me to return the defective stroller. I purchased a different stroller (Baby Jogger FIT) which arrived on the Friday, 2 days before the 12k and thank God it was a dream. We love this stroller and it made the 12k very enjoyable (and actually possible). I will say Pacific Cycle has great customer service if you have to deal with them.

We bought our first Schwinn jogging stroller when our oldest was 6 months old - May 2003. It was incredible! It lasted until summer 2010 with our third daughter in it. Unfortunately I think some of the offroad hikes finally got the best of it and we had to retire it. Having loved the first Schwinn we were sort of fans of the brand so wanted the next one to also be a Schwinn. Overall this Free Runner does as it says it will and provides a comfortabel ride for daughter #3. What I miss about the older version was the built in rain shield, the covered compartment as part of the cup holder feature and the slightly smaller build. This Schwinn is bigger than the older one and honestly feels a bit less sturdy. We won't be using this one for too many off road hikes and instead will stick to using it for jogs on pavement and visits to the weekend soccer games. One plus is the adjustable handle and the drink holder for the rider.

I've tried several different joggers and haven't been able to find one that measures up to the Free Runner. My 2 year old is big for his age and it looks like he will fit and be comfortable for another few years which is what prompted me to purchase this particular jogger. I've run several 5Ks since purchasing in Oct. This jogger is easy to handle as far as steering and light weight (even with a 30 lb child on board). It is easy to break down to fit into my compact vehicle and a breeze to put together. Other joggers I've had required constant readjustment after breaking down and putting back together, but this one does not. The under storage is large enough to hold blankets, breakfast, and a diaper bag for the early morning 5K. I love it and so does my son. He usually ends up asleep when we go for a run in the mornings. The free shipping was extremely fast!! It got here faster than it would have if I had paid for expidited shippping :-)