Tall? Hate your umbrella stroller? I have a solution!

[ginnymack]

I have an umbrella stroller that I have always hated because I am tall and dh is taller. Because of the low handles we have to walk semi hunched over and cannot take long effective strides. I finally came up with a $5 solution that made our umbrella stroller perfect for the park!

I bought some plastic electrical conduit (basically a grey plastic tube that is about a quarter size in diameter. I cut it down in to 2 24-30 inch rods. I then bought a pair of j bends out of the same material. I superglued the j-bend onto each rod and basically made a nice handle extension. I just used some zip ties to attach to attach the new handles to the side of the stroller (using several ties to make sure it was secure), making sure that I could still fold the stoller with no problem. You could probably get really fancy and cover the whole thing with a pretty color of duct tape, but I left it as is since I was not sure how durable it would be.

It worked great - on and off the plane with no trouble, it still folded quickly and easily for bus trips and allowed to comfortably crusie around the park. The only "down" side was that we were stopped frequently by men wanting to see how we rigged our ride!

Hope this helps someone else

 

[WizardLarz]

Your decription might be confusing. Try posting a picture if you can!

 

[charity]

Too funny! My hubby is 6'4 and hated the stroller but we needed to take it on our last trip so he came up with this idea! I thought he was insane until we used it and it made our life sooo much more easy!

 

[ginnymack]

I looked through all of my old pics, but I do not have one with the stroller in it and it is currently stowed away in the attic!

The best way I can describe it is to imagine using the length of pipe and j-bend to make candy cane shape that looks just like the stoller handle already in place. Then just attach them to the corresponding peice on the stoller, just a little higher.

It really was a life saver for us!

 

[nonzerosum]

what a great tip, although I didn't really understand how the zip ties worked in...Did you use the zip ties to actually affix the new handles to the existing ones, or were the zip ties used to transport the handles when the stroller was folded? I'll be trying this one for sure. Thanks!!

 

[kbmck]

Sounds like a great idea.

 

[dmoore718]

great idea

 

[ginnymack]

I used the zip ties to attach the new "candy cane" handles to the stroller. Imagine laying your folded stoller on its side with the old handles on your right hand side. Putting your new candy canes on top of the exsiting candy canes on the stoller, then just slide them to the right which will make your handles longer. Use the zip ties to attach the handles to the stroller by attaching the straight edge of your new handles to the corresponding straight edge of the stroller. You end up with your new handles at the exact same angle as the old ones, just longer. When you are finished, if you held your folded stroller upside down the handles would look kind of like a double hook that you may hang a coat on!

 

[Vility]

good idea, i am suprised they have yet to come out with an umbrella stroller for us taller people.
I have NEVER owned one (turn down free ones) becaues they are like a doll stroller to me! ha

 

[meghanlea]

a few years ago i saw that someone (dont rem who) sold extensions for umbrella strollers. You basically clipped them on the bar right below the handles. I think anyway, lol. I may have dreamed it since im so tall . Im going to google it now, im curious.

 

[ginnymack]

I researched different handle options a few years ago and I could not find anything that I could get shipped to my house for less than $30 - $40 - which was more than I paid for the stroller! I also found several options with a "cross bar" that would not allow you to fold the stroller without removing the handle. I am curious to see if you can find anything now - I am sure there are other parents over 5'7 that would love to find a quick and easy solution - with no saw or superglue required! (Even though had I Home Depot cut it for me!)

 

[ginnymack]

Oooh - here is a picture of what I am talking about!

http://www.instructables.com/id/Stroller-Handle-Extensions/

I used conduit to make my handles instead of harvesting from another stroller - which seems like too much work. I also attached my handles on the outside of the frame as not to interfere with folding.

 

[Dixiemom]

What a great idea!!! Cool link!

 

[momma2minnie]

ginnymack, where were you 3 years ago?!? My back still hurts Lol!

 

[wdwfan16]

Great idea!!!!

 

[crysplefty]

Great idea, but if anyone else decides to do this, don't go to your local hardware store asking for j bends because they won't have a clue what you are talking about. Tell them you need 90 degree ells (short for ellbows).

 

[ginnymack]

I am getting my plumbing parts mixed up with my electrical parts!

 

[englishteacha]

I know this is an ancient thread, but as a new parent whose hubby hates pushing the umbrella stroller because it's short, I thought others might find this useful too!

 

[DisneyMomma81]

Great *old* thread and a timely bump ~ I'm not super tall, just under 5'6 but yes many umbrella strollers look as though they're made for children to push around their dolls and other loves.

DD's Disney stroller for many years was a Mac Volo and that is the perfect height for me

 

[Mama Who]

good idea, i am suprised they have yet to come out with an umbrella stroller for us taller people.
I have NEVER owned one (turn down free ones) becaues they are like a doll stroller to me! ha

Search "stroller for tall adult" here on the DIS. I got some excellent suggestions, some of which were even reasonably priced.