The Cybex Avi is a great contender for a pushchair for your child. Part of Cybex's new sports collection, the Avi is lightweight running machine for keen runners requiring performance excellence from their stroller and the light, aluminium frame, air filled tyres and rear suspension promise a smooth run, making it a great all-terrain pram. It features easy, one-hand steering and the reflective details ensure improved visibility for safety.
Find out what Claire, mum to Finley, seven months, thought of the Cybex Avi...
How did this product make your life easier?
This good-looking, high-quality pram made my life easier in two main ways.
Firstly, with its large wheels, it was a great deal easier to push with an overly optimistic amount of grocery shopping shoved underneath its nice large undercarriage, making unexpected yellow sticker days at the supermarket sheer bargainous joy. Secondly, being able to push it with one hand was wonderful. I can’t even use the old regular pram anymore even for walking into town because I love being able to do things with my other hand without my previous cargo veering off to the left or right or having to steady it with my belly while juggling a coffee, phone, mask, sunglasses, headphones, you get the gist. Multi-tasking mommas will love this for both walking and running. The only drawback for using this around town is that it’s wider and much longer than other prams so you can get stuck down narrower aisles, but in fairness, this isn’t what it is designed for.
So now to the actual running! Well. I am a trail runner so taking this stylish salmon pink number on the muddy trails was a bit of a mistake…if you don’t want this beauty covered in mud then I suggest you stick to the roads and clean gravel paths. Actually, (as the product description very much states!) I suggest you stick to them anyway because of the amount of bumping I subjected poor Finny on my last off-road run through the local disused quarry. I was worried his head might come off while he slept, so I had to slow my run right down and just jog. Kind of a fast walking pace. His head stayed on - win! On roads and smoothish gravel tracks, however, this super-light suspension-enabled pram with air-filled tyres is great for getting a shifty on while your darling baba naps away. However, it would still be good if there was a head support insert for sleeping little ones.
Watch the Cybex Avi in action
What changes would you make to this product?
After having used this pram extensively for a month I can see room for four improvements.
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The safety leash is sewn onto the left-hand side of the handlebar (which by the way is wonderfully adjustable for both talls and shorties) which is great for right-handed holding, but it would be good if you could attach it to the left side too for variation of handedness.
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The pram folds easily and wonderfully flat but getting your hand into press the requisite bits to do so squeezes your knuckles slightly painfully. It would be good to have more of a gap there.
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The brake provides welcome resistance for downhills but doesn’t actually stop the pram. I’m not sure if it isn’t supposed to or whether I need to tighten it somehow, but for £500 I kinda want it pre-tightened enough to bring this baby to a full halt.
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The most annoying downside to this otherwise fantabulous piece of freedom-enabling, baby-moving machinery is the arduous backrest adjustment. While it’s great that you can achieve absolutely any position in between completely sitting upright to almost laid flat by tightening and loosening an adjuster on a strap, it’s really hard to push it into a more upright position when the heavy baby is on board. It’s quite hard to explain without seeing it, but basically, I have to use my knee to hold the backrest & baby in the upright position, pull the straps tight, then use both hands to force the adjuster up the strap to secure it. It’s a very awkward procedure… But us being sporty types, I’m sure we can handle it for the sake of a nice lightweight pram.
Would you recommend this to other parents?
I’m not sure because I’ve never used another running pram so I can’t say for sure how it compares to others in this category. It’s obviously miles better for running than a regular pram as it’s wonderfully light and steerable with just one hand, but I just can’t help thinking that for £500 new they should have got someone like me to review it before bringing it to market so they could iron out those four things I mentioned.
Would you choose this product above all others on the market?
Being not overly stylish myself and also a massive cheap-skate (hence being a journalist and testing out things rather than buying them), I would have to say no. I’d go for a cheaper one like the Out and About Nipper Sport for £300 new and £100-£150 on Facebook Marketplace and suck up the heavier weight as extra training. I would definitely only use a running buggy for walking from now on though. I’ve been totally converted to single-handed pushing.
Product Information
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Suitable from 6 months up to 22 kg (approx. 4 years)
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Max. Child Height: 111 cm
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Weight (Avi Frame and Seat Pack): 10.6 kg