Cybex Gazelle S2

Intro

A Cybex Gazelle S2 stroller can be a great help in everyday life with two toddlers with small age gape, irish twins or twins under 3 years old. Like everything in life, it has its advantages and disadvantages, but fundamentally, among the double strollers available on the market, it is an outstanding product that is worth its price. It can accommodate 1, 2, or even 3 children. It easily fits into the daily routine, perfect for afternoon naps, playing, lighter terrains, parks, urban streets, and shopping.

When I found out I was pregnant again, our first child was 1.5 years old. I was sure we would need a stroller that could be converted into a double. Comparable quality double strollers on the market were the Bugaboo Donkey 5, UppaBaby Vista V2, Thule Sleek, and Maxi Cosi Lila. After extensive review and information searching, we decided on the Cybex. After a year and a half, we didn't regret it, but I still felt a lack because when I wanted to compare strollers, I couldn't find any reviews or videos where every single dimension, every single parameter, and option were explained, showing the stroller with a child, pointing out every important detail.

Where, what's it for?

This stroller is a suitable choice for urban terrain with two toddlers under 3 years old, ideally purchased before the birth of the first child. Since it comes with a shopping basket, it's a great option for navigating the store with one child. (Someone recently asked me if any Gazelle owner ever uses the shopping basket. The situation is that it significantly facilitates shopping.) I would recommend this stroller to parents who often need to travel or organize activities alone with two small children. When the older child is around 2 years old and prone to wander off, having such assistance can be invaluable. For me, visits to the zoo, wildlife parks, and beach strolls were much more reassuring because my older child couldn't suddenly run off in busier areas when I was alone with them. If you intend to put it in the trunk of a car, a Fiat 500 won't be enough; the stroller measures 83.57 x 64.52 x 30.99 cm when folded, so at least an estate car trunk will be necessary.

When we started using it, my older child was 2 years old and 92 cm tall, while the younger one was 3 months old. Currently, my older child is over 3 years old and 104 cm tall. As seen in the picture, once we reach the seat's height capacity, our journey with the double stroller for two children will end. Considering that the stroller with 1 sports seat weighs 12.88 kg, I'll definitely be looking for a lighter alternative for my daughter from this point on.

Now let's see the advantages of one of the top rated infant stroller that can serves you for long-long time.

Advantages

Sibling stroller

Its most important advantage is that it can be converted into a sibling stroller, yet behaves just like a normal stroller when transporting one child. With one child seat attached, it's super easy to maneuver, handles obstacles well, can be easily lifted over a curb, and has a huge lower basket capacity and load capacity.

Washable cover

One of its best features is that the seat cover and sun canopy are washable in the washing machine, under the appropriate conditions. Currently, this is quite extraordinary on the market as many stroller manufacturers do not allow the stroller cover to be washed in the washing machine. What's more, removing the cover is child's play.

XL sun canopy

The sun canopy can be expanded to a truly enormous size and can really effectively shield the child when they want to hide or sleep, even providing almost complete coverage in a reclined position.

Adjustable sun canopy height

The adjustability of the sun canopy's height is a very good idea, allowing the seat to be used for a longer period by the older child, although the solution itself is not well thought out, as the canopy connector can slide on the rail after a while.

One-pull harness tightening system

The harness tightening system on the S2 model is easily adjustable with one hand to fit the child's size.

Safety

With a small age gap, the older child is not yet reliable in busy traffic conditions. In such cases, the stroller is incredibly helpful as both children sit safely in it.

Compact fold with 2 sport seat units

The stroller can be fold with 2 seat units as well.

Disadvantages

Peek-a-boo window without any means of fastening

One drawback for me is that the peek-a-boo window cannot be fastened in any way, neither with Velcro nor with magnets. This was annoying from the start because even a slight breeze would blow wind onto the child's head.

Adjustable sun canopy connector

The sun canopy connector slides on the two outer frames of the seat, but this connector becomes loose after 1.5 years of use.

Stitched harness

One of my biggest frustrations is the incomprehensible harness sewn onto the seat. We have a beautiful Makaszka footmuff, but it's unusable with this type of harness.

Water pooling

In single child mode, the stroller's huge lower basket turns into a literal rainwater collector in the rain, making it impossible to put anything there unless we want it washed...

Seat recline adjustment button

It's possible we got a bad production batch, but the seat recline adjustment button got stuck and broke in 3 out of 2 cases, fortunately still within the first 14 days, so we returned it. The stroller we received for the third time has been flawless, and we haven't had any issues with this button since.

Small legroom, small footrest

If both seats are forward-facing, the child sitting in the upper seat barely has any legroom. If the two seats are facing each other, the taller child's legs won't fit comfortably in the upper seat, making it uncomfortable for them to sit.

Short usability period

If there isn't an extremely small age gap between the two children, then the double child mode will only be usable for barely 1 year, as the older child won't comfortably fit in the seat. It's worth mentioning that although the manufacturer claims it can be used up to 4 years old, in reality, it's more like the beginning of the third year.

The two seats are not interchangeable

The seat received with the stroller and the secondary seat are not interchangeable; only the primary seat can fit into the lower adapter. (If you want to maintain the warranty. If this is not important to you, or if it's already out of warranty, and it bothers you that you can't swap the seats, you just need to grind down one small protruding piece of plastic on the connector of the secondary seat, and voilà, it's done. The same applies to the upper shopping basket.

Folding might succeed only once every leap year

In the vast majority of cases, folding the stroller requires a lot of patience and sometimes brute force.

Carrycot is not breezy

It's weird that in 2023/2024 still not a basic feature to make the carrycot breezy. i.e. ABC Design made its Salsa 4 carrycot's ventilation in a proper way.

World of accessories...

Seat dimensions, Gazelle S2 in a RAV4 580-liter trunk

Differences between Cybex Gazelle S and Gazelle S2

Apart from the color of the seats, the biggest difference in the upgraded version is the harness tightening system, which the S2 model 'inherits' from the Mios 3, ePriam 2, and Priam 4 models.

Warranty, service

Cybex provides a non-transferable 2-year warranty upon presentation of the invoice and upon requesting it with the serial number. Facilitating complaint handling is if you register the product on the Cybex website. In Hungary, after the first year, there is a 2-year distributor's warranty where you have to prove that the manufacturer is at fault if something breaks.

In the case of Gazelle, it is crucial that the serial number of the secondary seat is found on the original box packaging, not on the seat and frame bottom. If you do not keep or photograph it, you will not be able to claim the warranty in case of a problem with the secondary seat without a serial number. In our case, our Gazelle's frame with the primary seat is from Mamas&Papas, where they smoothly helped with the issue of the canopy sliding. I personally bought the secondary seat from the Mamilla store, where they did not draw my attention to the serial number on the box, so we left without it. Warranty handling is currently quite cumbersome with them.

Video

Overall

The Gazelle S2 is a brilliantly conceived and designed stroller that can serve the family for a long time, even as a travel system, if this stroller is the first one purchased. It handles two children exceptionally well, giving parents a solid workout. It's not particularly suited for stairs or inclines, as that's not its primary purpose. If the family plans to have at least two young children with a small age difference, it's worth investing in the Gazelle S2.

I hope you've enjoyed this review. Let's get strollin'...