Thule Urban Glide 2 review

In need of a new pram for your baby?

My name's Jim and I also write the Geriatric Dad Blog for Mother&Baby. I'm a first-time dad to Wilfred (aka Mr Sprout) who is six months old and growing fast. My wife, Daisy, and I enjoy an active, outdoorsy lifestyle and want to include Wilfred in that as much as possible.

With Wilfred reaching his seven-month milestone recently, we decided to look for an all-terrain pushchair that was safe for him and also good to push when running, as we both love to participate in parkrun on a Saturday morning.

The Thule Urban Glide 2 seemed to tick all our boxes and in our review below, you'll read about exactly what we have found over three months of rigorous use of testing the jogging pushchair in a variety of environments.

Key Features

Easy-to-use build and design

First up: it is very easy to put together straight out of the box it's delivered in.

In fact, while I would never recommend NOT reading instructions before putting a product together, the Urban Glide 2 is so intuitive you don't need to.

It basically folds in one place just behind the front swivel wheel. Here, lifting part of the lower seat cover, you'll find a handle that - with two simple movements (a twist and a move sideways with one hand) - can enable folding, or allow you to fix the buggy in position ready for use.

It's also very easy to attach/take off the two 16" rear wheels. Just slide them on/off, pressing the central button on the wheel at the appropriate time to facilitate adding/removing.

The front swivel wheel (which can be locked in place) comes ready-attached and is less easy to remove (involves things like screwdrivers, etc) but we have had no need to take it off.

Should fit in most car boots

Obviously, check the buggy's measurements provided in this review against the boot space you have before you buy.

We have a Ford B-Max, which doesn't have the biggest boot room, but the Urban Glide 2 fits with no problem (see pic). We only need to take one wheel off and fold the handle down, and that's it.

It literally takes seconds to take a wheel off, fold the buggy and put it in the boot.

Suspension!

Yep - the thing comes with suspension built-in. Amazing! We've found this to be especially useful over uneven/bumpy surfaces, like cobbles, a bumpy grass field or an unmade path.

Not only does it help make pushing or running with the buggy easier, but I imagine it also helps make the ride just a bit more comfortable for Wilfred (that is an assumption though - I can't actually ask him as he's not learned to speak yet!)

Canopy and reclining seat

The canopy can be set in a multitude of positions, with a rain cover available that easily fits over the top with some simple Velcro-based fastenings.

The seat itself reclines, though when Wilfred was fully reclined we found the buggy's centre of gravity changed slightly & moved back - meaning you had to be a bit more careful than normal not to push down on the handles when running and tip the buggy backwards.

Not a big problem - we've not ever tipped it - just beware.

Testing the Thule Urban Glide 2

Now onto the important part. Using the buggy... What's it really like?

The short answer is very good across a multitude of terrains, though I might question whether you can really label the Urban Glide 2 a true 'all-terrain' stroller. I'll come back to that shortly as it depends on your definition of 'all-terrain'.

Let's look in a bit more detail at where and how & where we've used it.

Manoeuvrable

The first thing we noticed about the Glide 2 was how easy it is to push. Over pavements, roads, tarmac paths and off-road it actually does feel like it's gliding along when you push it.

Try it for yourself and you'll see what I mean. The product's name is spot on.

Weighing in at 11.5kg, it's easily manageable and pushes as though it's lighter.

You'll need to pump the tyres up with a bicycle pump before you use the buggy to achieve this 'gliding' feel, as they are supplied under-inflated.

It's no big deal, but if you haven't got a bicycle pump, you'll need to get one.

When running

One of the principal reasons we thought the Urban Glide 2 would be ideal for us was because it's touted as a good 'jogging' stroller. We've taken it to a few parkruns to give it a really good workout.

First up - fixing the front wheel in place (recommended when running) was very easy. And secure. No problems there.

Second - oh goodness, it is SMOOTH and SO easy to push when running! It seems to take the minimum of effort - more difficult of course than running without a buggy, but much easier than a couple of the other buggies I've run with in the last few months.

On my very first run with Mr Sprout in the Urban Glide 2, I managed to finish a 5km parkrun in 28 mins and 2 secs. Which was very pleasing indeed, especially as I was coming back from a nasty knee injury.

Third - it's great when running over tarmac, grass, or unmade / gravel paths that are a little bumpy. Its suspension massively helps here.

And, in the event a fellow runner might suddenly deviate into your path, the integrated twist brake on the handlebar has been proved a very useful safety feature - I've had to use it a few times, including once when another runner's dog veered in front of me suddenly with no warning.

Baby comfort

There's a clear 'peekaboo window' at the back of the canopy that allows you to see your baby - a nice touch.

And if it's raining, the inclement weather canopy (available as an accessory) is easy to put on via Velcro attachments and offers decent levels of protection against wind and rain.

Most importantly, the 5-point harness system is secure and fully adjustable. This is quite important when the seat - the position of which can be adjusted easily - is in an upright position.

Mr Sprout seemed very comfortable when in the Urban Glide 2 and has frequently slept in it, as you can see!

Around town

The Glide 2 is super-manoeuvrable, especially with the front wheel set to 'swivel' mode.

It's decent for use about town; though the 69cm door pass-through width is probably on the limit of how wide I'd like my buggy to be.

And I'd like to somehow see a bigger storage area under the baby. While it doesn't compare badly against other buggies, I think extra storage pouches can be bought separately, which you may want to do, as there's not a huge capacity for baby kit and shopping, etc.

All-terrain

Thule claims on their website that this is an 'all-terrain pushchair... perfect for urban exploration or strolling along your favourite path'.

Well - I think that's about right and a fair claim to make. It is indeed perfect for each of those things. We tested it both in urban environments (in the old town of Stamford, near where we live) and off-road paths that were pretty muddy (in the countryside where we live) and it dealt with each with no drama at all.

Indeed, we've pushed it up some pretty steep inclines and over some reasonably rough ground with relative ease.

Whether it's truly 'all-terrain' depends on your definition of 'all-terrain'. If you're talking roads, towns, cities and off-road country paths, yep - no worries.

But if you're talking trekking on some rougher paths and trails in the Peak District etc, then it would probably be good as long as the path didn't get too narrow or rocky.

We haven't yet taken it to such a destination to try. I am almost certain we will though - and will report back to update this review thereafter.

Final thoughts

Sitting at an RRP of £599.99 with a decent range of accessories also available to buy as optional extras, this is not a cheap stroller.

But you're buying quality. Real quality that I think should last the course until your bubba exceeds the safety weight limit for the buggy. The Urban Glide 2 is sturdy and has worn well so far.

We've used it now pretty much since the start of the year and have been very impressed - the pros the Urban Glide 2 offers seriously outweigh the minor cons, by a long way.

We get a lot of admiring glances when people see us with it - especially at the various parkruns we've been to - and are asked a lot of questions about it, which we're happy to answer. It's a snazzy-looking bit of kit!

Mr Sprout seems happy and comfortable enough when riding in it, and is happy to sleep in it when tired.

Perhaps its biggest boon is how easy it is to run with. It's just so smooth. You can adjust the position of the handle to suit your running style and you expend minimal extra energy pushing it along with you as you go.

My aim is to do a 25-minute 5km pushing Wilfred in it: a time that should be easily attainable for me personally with a bit more training (I can do 24 minutes without the buggy!)

Finally: is it worth the money and would we be prepared to pay £599 for it knowing what I know now? Yes, I think we would.