As runners (and parents) here at Trail & Kale, we know what to look for in a stroller when it comes to finding one that’s suitable for running with, and in this Thule Urban Glide 2 review I explain the key features, pros and cons of this all-terrain stroller.
As with any quality stroller, including most of those featured on our best jogging strollers buyer’s guide, $650 plus accessories is a lot to spend (albeit on a stroller you will hopefully get regular use out of for many years), and by the end of this review you’ll know what you need to, to decide whether or not this one’s for you.
My review includes insights on what the Thule Urban Glide 2 is like to run with, whether you can feasibly use the Thule Urban Glide 2 stroller as an everyday, do-everything stroller, and what accessories are worth considering to maximize your use of it.
About the Thule brand
Thule is a Swedish outdoor gear brand that started back in 1942. You may have come across them, or bought their products in the past, if you have a car roof rack, box, hitch rack, roof top tent, or some type of RV or campervan, as they sell a lot of high-end gear in this space.
Thule jogging strollers (and bike trailers) are also popular products amongst parents who want to keep active and bring their baby or young child (or children) along for the ride.
In case you’re wondering, here’s how to pronounce Thule: Tool-uh (not Tool-ee, or Thool-ee, or Tool!).
The key specifications of the Thule Urban Glide 2 stroller
- Price: $650 from REI (check on REI’s website for any current promotions)
- Key features: 5-point harness, single, lockable front wheel, suspension, and a handbrake as well as the usual footbrake
- Other notable features: Child seat recline, one-handed fold, adjustable-height handlebar with a twisting handbrake
- Storage included: Large zippered storage basket underneath the seat, mesh pockets in seat, small zippered and mesh pockets on rear
- Weight: 25lb
- Weight capacity: 75lb (49lb occupant, plus storage)
- Folded dimensions: 34.2 x 27.2 x 13.3 in
- Designed for: its primary use is to be able to safely jog with your baby, toddler or young child. Some people use theirs as a regular stroller for everyday, too.
Note that Thule has several models of strollers, however this is their most popular option. Know that it’s not the same as the Thule Glide (which has a fixed front wheel), and may not have the exact same features as the older version of the Thule Urban Glide.
Things I love about the Thule Urban Glide 2 stroller
1. It’s enjoyable to run with
This is a pretty important point to get out of the way up front. This is a sleek ride. You barely notice the extra weight once you’re moving on a flat, smooth surface, it does ‘glide’.
Like all jogging strollers with a single front wheel, you have to lock the front wheel for safety when you want to run, rather than walk with it, to help prevent the stroller from veering off to the side or getting misplaced by a bump in the road. This is an essential safety feature to have and use when running with one.
This means that for turning you have to either lift the front wheel (for a tight turn) or take a wider arc by leaning a little on the same side of the handle as the direction you’re turning in.
If you’re new to running with a stroller, check out this post I wrote which shares my essential tips for running with a baby, and if you’re a new mom, you may also find my post on tips for running postpartum useful reading.
2. The stroller has a robust total weight capacity
The Urban Glide 2 stroller is suitable for a child up to 49lb and has a maximum load weight including baggage of 75lb.
Depending on your child’s growth rate, that in theory means they will be at least 4 years old before they get too heavy for this – and for some kids on the lighter side they may even be 5 or 6.
3. The stroller’s relatively light weight
At 25lb, the Urban Glide 2 is relatively lightweight for a jogging stroller (and the lightest all-terrain jogging stroller on our best jogging strollers buyer’s guide), although much heavier than my smaller folding Nuna Triv everyday stroller.
It’s worth noting that the weight likely has to be sufficient to help ensure the stroller is stable when moving at speed. 25lb is an ‘ok’ weight for me in that it’s easy enough to lift the stroller when folded, but I wouldn’t want to carry any jogging stroller a long way for this reason.
4. You can fold the Urban Glide 2 with one hand
Folding this stroller is quick and easy with the twisting handle located under the occupant’s feet area. Do that, and the stroller flips down onto itself and can be clipped so it doesn’t re-open, using a small catch on the side to secure it.
To get the handlebar to not stick out once folded, it’s best to push the two buttons that you also use to adjust the handlebar height, and fold it down to its lowest setting before folding the stroller; this bit does require two hands (you can see a picture of this in the image gallery at the end of this review). Plus, of course, ensure the stroller seat and storage baskets are empty before you fold!
5. The various storage compartments
The child’s seat area has two small mesh side pockets. They’re useful for toys, snacks or burp cloths. I also use them for tucking in a blanket’s corners if I use one while running with it on colder days.
On the back of the stroller is another mesh pocket, a slimline zippered pocket and a zippered and velcroed large underseat storage basket, which offers plenty of room for anything you want to take with you during your run.
6. The neat rotating handbrake
The stroller’s handbrake is a twist-to-brake action brake that’s integrated into the center of the handlebar. It’s a really neat feature, in my opinion, and a handbrake is a must-have for any all-terrain jogging stroller.
7. There is a double stroller option
Not something I need personally, but there are very few good all-terrain jogging strollers out there designed for two passengers.
The Urban Glide 2 is also available in a double version, so if you have two small kids and want to run with them in a stroller, that makes this one a good option.
Things I feel could be improved with the Urban Glide 2
1. The short canopy offers limited sun protection
The Urban Glide 2 has an UPF50+ protective canopy that you can use to cover your child as a weather shield. You also have the option of removing it if you don’t need it.
Unfortunately it’s not that large and it doesn’t extend low enough to shield my son’s face from the sun, especially as the seat itself is quite reclined, even on its most upright setting (pictured in the photos throughout this review).
Thule sells an optional extra mesh stroller cover that covers the whole stroller and also acts as a bug screen. For our needs, that’s overkill (we don’t need to enclose our child 100%, and don’t need a bug screen) and at $50 it’s expensive for something I feel could be addressed to some degree by having a larger canopy that pulls down lower in the first place.
Instead, I bought my kid a cute little baseball cap and some of these ‘unbreakable’ baby sunglasses. He’s still getting used to wearing the sunnies and the hat helps keep the sun out of his eyes, although not his entire face.
2. The stroller’s storage size when folded
There’s no getting around that this is a relatively large stroller, so it takes up a lot of space even when folded, and doesn’t readily stand on its own. You have to balance it on its handlebar to get it to stand upright, which can cause scuff marks or make the handlebar unnecessarily dirty if it’s on a rough/outdoor surface.
For a more compact fold you can remove the two back wheels but I would only do this if I was loading a packed car and needed to do so to fit everything in.
It’s hard to improve on the overall size but I would like to see future versions more easily freestanding once folded.
If folded size is a critical feature for you in a jogging stroller, you should also check out the BOB Wayfinder, which has many similar features to the Urban Glide 2, but folds down smaller – learn more about that stroller in my BOB Wayfinder review.
3. Certain features are extras that will cost you more money
I already mentioned the sun / bug mesh protection canopy is an extra you can buy. Similarly, Thule offers the option of a raincover for around $50.
You can also buy a bumper bar and a cup holder, among other accessories. It would be nice if these presumably more popular accessories were included as they are on certain other strollers such as the BOB Wayfinder (probably this stroller’s closest competitor for the price), for example, but then again perhaps they keep them separate to keep the base stroller cost down.
You can also buy an adaptor that allows you to attach your infant carseat to the stroller, again, intended for use when walking.
There are two types of adaptor so you can get one that fits your child’s infant carseat, one is a metal ring that the carseat clips into, the other is two attachments that clip into each side of the stroller and the car seat slots into. The latter, (the ‘Maxi Cosi’ version) actually works with a range of infant carseats including our Nuna Pipa RX, pictured.
What it’s like running with the Thule Urban Glide 2 jogging stroller
As mentioned earlier in this review, the experience of running with this stroller is highly enjoyable – for me and, presumably, my son (unless the sun’s in his eyes!).
It rolls smoothly and the suspension handles small bumps like they’re nothing. I don’t worry about the baby being jostled around in it, and I don’t find myself working particularly hard to push it once it’s rolling, unless I’m going uphill. It’s also very quiet.
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To speak to its all-terrain credentials, I have taken it out on relatively smooth gravel tracks. Trails like that, which you may find in your local park, will be no problem for this stroller.
As for more rugged trails with unevenness and larger rocks, roots and bumps… while the trail runner in me would love to find a way to take my young child trail running in this (or any other) stroller, I don’t think it will be a good experience for him so until he can walk himself, we hike on those trails with this Ergobaby baby carrier, instead.
Is the Thule Urban Glide 2 a good everyday stroller as well as for running with?
Whether or not this stroller is going to be suitable for you to use as your one, do-everything everyday stroller you can also jog with, will really depend on your personal preference and lifestyle in terms of where you tend to take it.
As strollers go, it is rather large and is not compact when folded. This is my number one reason why I personally don’t use it as my everyday stroller. It takes up most of my car’s trunk space, for example, so would not be a good stroller to take when I may need that space for shopping or other gear.
The stroller’s seat is also quite reclined, which your child may not like for everyday strolling around, vs. lying back and chilling while you’re running them, so that’s antoher consideration.
Those points aside, it is a high-quality, very easy to use and good-looking stroller that should last many years.
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If you have the car space and don’t mind the bulk and weight of it for storing and transporting it, then you could absolutely consider just getting this one as your one-and-only… and you can even use it right from birth with an infant carseat adaptor!
Where to buy
You can find the Thule Urban Glide 2 at a number of retailers, but my top pick and recommendation if you’re looking to buy one is to head to REI (where they occasionally discount it by up to 20%!) and REI members also get a 10% member dividend back each year – that’s $50-60 just on this one item!
Review Summary
The premium construction, smooth ride and thoughtful features win this jogging stroller an Editor’s Choice award and a top place on our best jogging strollers buyer’s guide.
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Photo Gallery – Thule Urban Glide 2 review
