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One of the best things we get to experience with our babies as parents is scenic and warm walks. Naturally, their little bodies can’t quite walk yet, so strollers are absolutely necessary if you want to enjoy the fresh air together. But there’s one thing that can ruin such a joy, and that’s when the wheels of the stroller can’t seem to get past a simple curb or sometimes just a bump. Would bigger wheels be a solution?
You can put bigger wheels on strollers from manufacturers such as Evenflo, and buy separate parts for replacement. Jogger strollers have the largest available wheels, followed by all-terrain strollers that push the stroller smoothly and quickly. Keep in mind that online stores have various wheels and tires, but they may not be compatible with every brand of stroller.
In this article, I’ll discuss with you some common reasons you could want large wheels, why strollers have smaller wheels, to begin with, and the brands that have modifiable tires you can use. So stay with me!
Why You Might Want Bigger Stroller Wheels
Nothing ruins a stroll like environmental obstructions. Rocks, small toys in the yard, or just a sidewalk with uneven and jutting sections don’t make the ride very enjoyable for either you or the baby.
In what ways can larger wheels help the experience? Well, first I should probably clarify that when we’re talking about the wheels of a stroller, it’s the center part. The tires are the rubber parts around the wheel.
Many benefits of a larger wheel for your carriage are the same benefits that car wheels share.
- Larger wheels are usually also wider, giving you more stability.
- You won’t need as much friction to start rolling because of the larger diameter. The wider surface area makes it easier too,
- Your baby will be higher up from the ground, helping them feel bumps much less.
- Your stroller will actually go slightly further, faster. Comparing a 6” wheel in diameter with an 8” wheel, one revolution of the 6” diameter will carry the stroller 6”, while the 8” wheel will carry the stroller 2” further.
With all of these notable benefits, why even have smaller wheels on the stroller? Even odder, why is it manufacturers always have slightly larger wheels on the back of the stroller than on the front of it?
Why Do Manufacturers Use Small Wheels?
Most of the time, the smaller wheels do work okay, especially for taking a short stroll around the block. The standard size of baby stroller wheels is 8” in diameter, but manufacturers typically have specially designed strollers that have wheels with much larger diameters, also known as jogger strollers. These larger tires allow the stroller to roll faster and smoother to keep up with all of the jogger Moms out there.
That’s dandy for the jogger carriages, but what about the other strollers? Well, the smaller wheels do in fact serve a purpose. Maybe they don’t absorb shock as larger tires do, but more often than not, we need to actually tilt the stroller back, particularly to get on top of a curb. When we need to lift the stroller, it’s easier to get smaller wheels on top of the curb than it is to get larger wheels up.
Nevertheless, we want to have the option to put on larger front wheels if we want to, right? So how can we do that?
How to Put Larger Wheels on Baby Strollers
In order to replace the wheels on your stroller, you need to get the new, larger versions somehow. Do you have to buy a wheel specific to the brand you have? If you want to avoid as many complications as possible or buy a wheel that won’t fit altogether, I recommend buying from the manufacturers themselves. You could even try buying the larger wheels that are usually put on the back and install them to the front instead.
There are, of course, wheels and tires of varying sizes online, there’s just no guarantee they will be compatible with your stroller. Still, it’s always worth a try. The first thing you should do when installing the new wheels is disengage the brakes so that the tires can move.
Next, there should be a quick-release for each wheel, usually used in order to replace broken wheels. There might be a second button you need to push to release the wheel from its axle. Now you can slide in your new wheel onto the axis and screw it into place. You may have to replace other parts, or get around them, such as the fork plate and holding plate.
Stroller Brands with Modifiable Wheels
Shopping for baby stroller wheels is made so much easier when you know the brands that allow modifications to be made. Several brands allow you to modify the wheels, usually so that you can add winterized tires.
According to Kristle Jones of How to Adult, the brands below allow you to modify your stroller wheels however way you would like:
- Bugaboo
- Quinny
- Evenflo
What About All-Terrain Strollers?
If you really don’t feel like forcing wheels into axles in strollers that may or may not except them, and don’t find jogger strollers really fit your fancy, all-terrain strollers have wheels specifically made for rocky terrain and gravel. While not the largest tires, they are more than your standard plastic wheels with a thin rubber layer on the tires.
They are equipped with pneumatic tires, which have actual air inside, compressed air mind you, surrounded by reinforced rubber. They don’t even have to have an innertube. If all else fails, you can be sure these tires will make it through your city’s ill-kept sidewalks. If even that fails to work, maybe consider moving, dear.
Why Not Have Even Wheels?
One of the odder things about strollers is the fact that many of them don’t have the same-sized wheels. In fact, most have larger back wheels. But why? For the answer to this question, we can take a look at another vehicle that always has larger wheels in the back than the front. You’re familiar with tractors, right?
One likely reason baby stroller manufacturers have large back wheels is for weight distribution. Your stroller is responsible for holding your baby or toddler, along with every
But the most likely reason is probably the benefit I listed earlier: the stroller can be pushed much more easily. If you look at a lot of strollers closely, the large wheels are always closest to you, the stroller pusher. When the wheels with the greater surface area are closer to you, you don’t have to exert the same amount of energy trying to push the carriage as you would if all the wheels were the same size.
Conclusion
In addition to size, your baby’s soothing stroll around the block can be made easier depending on what kind of tires you use for the stroller. Some strollers have wheels with what are called, “pneumatic tires,” that are filled with air instead of foam. When air-filled tires are combined with larger wheels that have good bearings in order to reduce resistance and noises from the wheels, you’ll find yourself envying your little boy or girl sleeping because the ride is so smooth.
