Baby Jogger City Select v's iCandy Peach Blossom 1

This is a comparison of the two tandem pushchairs

PLEASE NOTE: It is 18 months since this website was produced and sadly the Baby Jogger City Select did not up to expectations.
The City Select was absolutely superb for the first nine months after our baby was born, but gradually became too heavy to push and by the time he was ten months we were only able to push the City Select on very flat surfaces eg shopping malls.
At the same time iCandy have made some VERY positive changes to the Peach Blossom, partly as a result of this comparison website. I was privileged enough to be given the first UK Peach Blossom to road test over last 5 months.
The new Peach Blossom 2 is a massive improvement and absolutely gorgeous to push and use. My photos and reviews are on my Best Buggy website www.bestbuggy.co.uk. At time of writing this update, my eldest is now aged 3 and my baby is now 15 months and the new Peach Blossom is carrying their weight easily (and all my shopping!)
It is ironic that I wrote the words below thinking the old Peach Blossom 1 would only last me a short time, but in reality the Baby Jogger City Select has actually lasted our family less time than we predicted the Peach Blossom would have done!
Please bear this in mind when reading through this website, and I strongly suggest you read about the new Peach Blossom 2. The new Peach Blossom 2 kit resolves a lot of the issues mentioned below. My congratulations and thanks go to iCandy for reading, listening, acting and producing one absolutely superb tandem pushchair by making the changes to the new pip convertor. Well done iCandy! I really hope Baby Jogger listen now and address the weight distribution of the City Select!
The new Blossom 2 convertor kit is now on sale in the UK, US and Australia

Baby Jogger City Select Both seats facing forwards. Note the room between the seats. However my daughter did pull on the hood in front! Note also the longer wheelbase. For reference my daughter is 21 months old and tall (on the 98th centile). My baby is 3 weeks old and was over 10lbs. I have no weight for Teddy but he's a big teddy too!	iCandy Peach Blossom 1 My main issue with the Peach Blossom 1 is that the back seat doesn't sit upright. It only reclines as in this photo. My daughter at 14 months hated being underneath and screamed to be lifted out. The lower seat does protrude out the back.
Both pushchairs have good hoods. The City Select has magnetic flaps over clear panels. The hoods feel much bigger. The hoods have a choice of 2 positions - these are the lowest setting. They are attached with clips and the side and velcro round the back. When on the bassinet this allows for the hood to be used as a sunshade as the hood can be moved over the head, middle or feet. At the back of the bassinet is some mesh fabric which can be detached and zips onto the front of the hood for sun and insect protection.	You can only have the 2 seats facing forwards - there are no other positions unlike the City Select which has a variety of seating positions for 2 seats.
Both seats reclined. As you can see there's much more room between the 2 seats on the City Select. Although the seat looks shorter, its deeper - my daughter's knees aren't quite as bent. The foot rest extends another inch or so as well. Note the front seat protrudes some way out. But the seats can be used forwards facing too!	There are clear panels in the hoods again and at the sides (Not in the Peach Blossom 2 hoods). The hood can also slide up to give more headroom. Also the back of the hood is zipped on so you can't attach another brand cosy toes easily.
With the car seat facing my daughter. She loved being able to see Teddy!! I like the fact baby is able to see both my daughter and whoever is pushing them. The car seat can also go at the front or the back (see the configuration page).	The car seat can only fit at the back. Also you have to put the car seat on first before the main seat otherwise it doesn't fit. The handle has to stay up (unlike the City Select) which would make removing a baby harder without dismantling the whole pushchair! But its a much neater looking system. However the underneath basket is almost impossible to get into like this and any bags on the handle bars (changing bag?) would obscure the view of the baby / be dangerous if swinging.
This is my favourite seating position for the City Select but I was aware that my daughter was kicking Teddy, so when baby is in the seat, she will be going at the bottom!!!	My daughter surprisingly loved having the hood down and also playing Peekaboo with Teddy! The only downer is that my daughter adores playing with the hood, and playing Peekaboo so much (she never wanted the Peach hood down) that I may have to take it off!! We had an hour wait for the midwife a few weeks ago and for the first time ever she stayed in a pushchair for the whole time simply playing Peekaboo with me mainly through the window at the top!
The back axles are lined up on these photos. The City Select with both seats forwards is noticeably longer. It feels even longer with the seats reversed! The Peach is a much neater package but the back child can't see out! I like the fact the back child is above the front one on the City Select.	Again the back axles are lined up and you can see the difference in lengths, but also how much more leg room the back child has in the City Select.
Again the back axles are lined up. The back seat in the Peach is much lower down and protrudes a lot at the back. Once again note the back child can't sit up or really see out.	Back wheels are again lined up to show the difference in length.
Single seat mode. This shows the difference in the seat sizes. The Peach is noticeably narrower (although the liner can be removed). It may be hard to see, but my daughters straps on the Peach are on the middle height setting and even with extension straps at the waist are very snug at 19 months. The City Select straps are on the bottom ring (of 3) and are big. We have had to tighten them again since I took these photos. There is tons of room to grow. I had to take the crotch pad off the Peach because it was impossible to do the straps up with it on. On our first outing with the City Select my daughter had lots of room down the side of the seat for teddy and books which was good.	This may be hard to see but my daughter has loads of headroom with the hood at maximum height.
In single seat mode. Look at the difference in the handle height. I am 5 foot 6 ins and I always had to put the Peach handle up. But maybe the City Select may be too tall if you are small? Note the brake on the City Select is on the side whereas its at the back on the Peach which is much better and easier. It's hard to access the brake on the Peach with the back seat on. You can fit a buggy board to the City Select - maybe a good option for 3 children? Baby Jogger make one to fit, but an online friend fitted a Lascal Buggyboard Maxi to theirs with no problem.	This photo has both handles fully extended and they end up at exactly the same height. So the Peach has a greater range of handle size.
You can see the difference in chassis length, width and wheel size. The basket which is easily twice the size of the Peach's. I was worried that the City Select basket looked flimsy but its not and I have read elsewhere that people have been able to fit a lot underneath. I had the City Select with the seat facing me yesterday and it was so easy to fling shopping underneath without bending down. However when the seat faces forwards there is a cross bar which makes things trickier, however its dead simple to access the basket from the side as well on the City Select. Even with the carrycot on the bottom there's still access underneath and plenty of room (although less than normal).	Easy access still into the City Select shopping basket. Almost impossible on the Peach either at the front or the back. Where would you put a changing bag or shopping because anything on the handlebars would be in the way of the lower child?
Both footrests can be moved up and down. The City Select one can be extended by about an inch. My daughter moves the Peach one up and down using her feet which I find annoying! Note also the longer front end of the City Select. The back axles are lined up.	I have had problems with the Peach seat because it doesn't sit flat in my car boot due to the "legs". The City Select is so flat that I put one one seat on top of the other and the height was still less than the Peach. The seat is much lighter on the City Select. It's also easier to remove and recline (a button at the back to recline).
Folded up they are very similar in size. The City Select however is flatter and the seat is much flatter. But the chassis is wider and longer. The City Select chassis is heavier than the Peach, but the seats are like feathers! Very light! The Peach seats are heavier. But I am finding the City Select chassis harder to lift (but I am 8 months pregnant!) because of the weight and extra size but if you see the stats below there isn't much in it..	The City Select is slightly flatter than the Peach. The wheels on the City Select are slightly bigger at the back.
Carrycot / Bassinet The Peach bassinet is a separate unit. However there are two sizes - one for the upper and one for the lower seat positions. The lower carrycot is much smaller than the upper one. If you have 2 children of different ages then you need the lower carrycot. But if you ever want to use the pushchair as a single then the carrycot can't be moved up and looks a bit odd on its own down at the bottom. The City Select bassinet uses the seat frame. It has poppers to fix it on. The 2 seat sizes / frames are identical (unlike the Peach where the lower seat is smaller). Therefore the bassinet can be used on its own in the centre of the pushchair or as part of the tandem. I was surprised that my red bassinet has a black base with a red apron. You move the hood from the pushchair seat onto the bassinet, so that is red too. As mentioned above, the hood is moveable which removes the need for a parasol as it can be positioned anywhere over the baby. Also at the back of the hood is a piece of mesh which holds the hood down on the seat unit. This can be zipped on the front as a mosquito net which is clever! The one compromise with the City Select is that the bassinet won't go at the back with the older child facing outwards. However for me thats not an issue as I rarely used my last bassinet and most of the time we will use the car seat. It's only for 6 months anyway and I can see me using the pushchair much longer than that!!
I really like this position for the bassinet and seat. Yes, my daughter did stretch her feet out but she wouldn't have affected the baby even if she had been kicking! I can see me using this a lot. My daughter can see out and see baby, and I can see baby too!	Also the seat reclines well in this position.
Note in all these bassinet photos the insect net (usually on the back of the seat) is across the front of the hood (its black) and just zips on and off.	Access to the basket is compromised, but there's still space under the carrycot. Not ideal, but better than the Peach!
	Plenty of leg room at the back
Photos with the baby on board!
	The City Select with a custom made Snunkie cosytoes.

	Easy to store!!
These four photos of the diamond CS are posted with kind permission of a friend. We wanted to see if the carrycot would go on the top and parent facing with a toddler facing out at the front.	I need to add here that someone else tried and failed. It's a very very tight fit. Apparently it wouldn't fit on with the hoods on.
It's a shame Baby Jogger didn't put an extra cm or so on the chassis!	My baby is now out of the carrycot but this last photo shows and option that could work ie carrycot facing forwards but you could actually put the baby in "backwards" so that they are actually facing you. The hood is meant to rotate as a sun canopy, so could be moved overhead for a summer baby. Apparently you have to click the adaptors in one at a time to make sure they really click. The cot is pushed down ever so slightly as well. The raincovers would probably fit over like this. We DON'T recommend these but we wanted to try!

Folding / Unfolding
The City Select folds using a simple pull up of a lever on both sides. It can fold with one seat on facing forwards, or with both seats on facing forwards (but the latter is more bulky but saves having to find storage for separate seats). It does make the unit very long though but with one seat on its still fairly flat. I tried to fold the City Select with the seat facing me and ended up stuck!!! I need to practise the open and close! On the Peach you have to push the handle in and the mechanism collapes down. I found the storage clip on the Peach very hard but it meant the Peach was always unfolded by the time it hit the ground, so never got dirty. I can do similar with the City Select but its stiffer but that may be because its new. The City Select clip is simple to close and open. I never managed the Peach. The Peach has a handy carrying strap.

Adaptors
Both pushchairs need several adaptors which can be a bit of a pain but they only take seconds to fit. The City Select has one set of "legs" which go in the front, and also a set of car seat adaptors as well. The Peach has an "S" shaped adaptor which fits in the middle and both seats then fit into either end. You also need car seat adaptors. However with the Peach you need a different set of adaptors for tandem use, compared to single use, (ie one set for lower position and one for upper position) which means double the cost if you ever want to use the Peach as a single with the car seat on. The City Select car seat adaptors will fit anywhere, and in any direction. They do however have an extra safety strap to go across the top of the baby, but I must admit we are finding it a bit OTT and for a quick outing we leave it off.

Manoeverability
Surprisingly although its slightly heavier, I actually found the City Select easier to push (with a pushchair in each hand). I think this is because the grip on the Peach is foam rather than rubber, and also its much thicker so it was harder to grip to turn. The City Select is the first pushchair that has easily gone straight over the gravel outside our house. I was a bit worried at one point with the Peach as I tried to turn it on the gravel and it started to tip. I heard of one person whose Peach tipped when the toddler got out before the baby and I can see how that could easily happen. However as a single the Peach is extremely sturdy. I could lift the City Select no problems up 2 steps with both children in even 3 weeks post C-Section!!

Sturdyness
Both pushchairs are very sturdy compared to most. I have been using the Peach for 5 months and could easily fit 4 heavy bags of shopping underneath with 3-4 lighter ones on the handle and there wasn't a hint of it tipping ever. The City Select is excellent for sturdyness. It clearly states on each hood not to hang bags on the handlebar but I have done so (with no fear of bashing a child like you would with the Peach or a Phil and Teds). It handled an all day shopping trip brilliantly with a full changing bag and lots of heavy shopping underneath.

Buggyboard
Baby Jogger make a buggyboard to fit the City Select, and as I have put above an online friend fitted a Lascal Buggyboard Maxi to their City Select. To my knowledge you can't fit a buggyboard to the Peach partly because of the brake and also the protruding second seat.

Other things to note
The City Select has mesh pockets on the back of the seats which are handy for drinks etc. There are no bumper bars as standard on the City Select. They are approx �30 each to buy. You also have to buy the raincovers separately. Bumper bars and Raincovers come with the Peach as standard. The Peach raincovers however don't really fit properly and my daughter kicked hers off when we tested it. The City Select raincovers seem better and look like they would stay on better. They have an intriguing zip just below the hood line which I have yet to investigate re whether they will unzip and fit from the hood line (instead of all over the hood as well). Baby Jogger do cosy toes to fit the City Select but I also have Snunkies which are custom made and fit beautifully.

Comparison Stats
City Select
Single chassis folded with wheels - 83.2 x 65.4 x 31.8 cms
Single chassis assembled - 110.5 x 65.4 x 105.4 cms
Weight - Single 12.7kg Double 15.42kg
Peach
Single chassis folded with wheels - 30 x 60 x 70 cms
Single chassis assembled - 73 x 60 x 106 cms
Weight - Single 12.44kg Double 14.82kg

One final comment - I have a convertible car and I love having the roof down when its sunny. I spent months finding single pushchairs which were flat enough to go under the roof when its down. To date I have come up with 3 singles. I never thought I would find a tandem to go under the roof. Indeed the Peach in single mode didn't fit. But with the wheels off the City Select, both seats lie very flat on top and I can have the roof down!! There's still plenty of room for the changing bag etc. So I am delighted! Yes the wheels have to come off for those occasions (simple to take off and on) but in every day life I can leave them on. Also we do a lot of long distance travelling, and again with the wheels off, the City Select will lie flatter than any of my other pushchairs in the boot which is fab when there are 4 of you with lots of luggage and 2 travel cots!!

These are some of the many combinations that the City Select can create: