Review: Doona Liki Trike

When I first saw a trike stroller, I was immediately intrigued. A stroller that gives my energetic 1-year-old the sensation of riding on a trike? It sounded like his new happy place.

My son loves taking walks in a variety of strollers—he’s been in the front row of my testing for the best strollers, after all. With the Doona Liki Trike S3, he gained more freedom, but also lost some of the comfort and support he preferred if the walk went too long.

Doona isn’t the only maker of trike-style strollers, but Doona’s Liki Trike stands out for how easy it is to fold. It breaks down into a compact rectangle of sorts that has a soft handle, making it easy to pick up and transport. It’s still heavy, though, even if it looks nice and small.

The only downside? The larger parent handle doesn’t fold. You have to either leave it on and have it stick off the trike at a strange angle or remove it. To remove it, simply pull out the pin at the base of the handle that connects it to the rest of the stroller. The pin is attached to the body of the stroller with a short cord. That makes it a little annoying to use, but it’s a guarantee you won’t lose it.

It's a little weird to carry the parent handle separately, which is why Doona sells a Liki Travel Bag ($45) that fits the folded trike and has a pocket to hold the handle. It’ll stick straight out of the bag, but it’s still a little easier than just holding it in your hands. If you purchase the Liki Trike S5 ($300) instead of the S3, you’ll get the travel bag included, plus wooden handles. That’s the only difference between the two models.

Breakdown isn’t the only thing that’s compact about this trike. Other trikes, like the Joovy, are large and bulky, but the Liki has a smaller body that takes up less room on a sidewalk or a grocery store aisle. It’s a nice choice if you’ll be somewhere busy, like a park or bustling sidewalk. It’s also quite reactive to your touch—both my husband and I found it easier to control if we kept the handle height lower than a normal stroller, closer to our hips rather than the elbow height of a normal stroller.

That sleek profile comes at a cost, though, which is comfort. As my husband so eloquently described it when he saw the trike, “There’s no cush for his tush!” The cushion is thin, and the narrow frame meant that when my son got tired, he didn’t have as much room to lean and lounge back like he would in a standard stroller.

Photograph: Doona

The handle for the trike doesn’t just remove for travel. The Liki Trike is intended to grow and change with your child, from when they need you to push them along until they don’t.

Like any parent, that time feels eons away from me. My kid can’t even walk yet! (As of this writing. When you read this, that may have changed.) Any parent can attest to how fast little ones grow out of things, especially in the early few years. The Doona Liki is designed to be used from 10 months old all the way to 3 years old, and it has five different “modes” depending on the age and size of your child.

The main difference is that for the first two modes, which range from 10 months up to 2 years old, there are no pedals for the child, so control is entirely up to the parent. My child was 10 months old when I tested this stroller, so we were dependent on the parent handlebar to steer. This mode also has a little U-shaped ring to keep him inside the trike, which my son did lean on when he wanted to lounge, but it clearly wasn't as comfortable as a regular stroller. (You take off the U-ring for older kids.)

From 2 to 2½ years old, Doona recommends “tricycle mode,” which means you put on the pedals but keep the parent arm in place. Then Doona recommends you take off the handle and use the Liki as a solo trike from about 2½ until 3 years old. It's worth noting that, unlike other adjusting trike strollers like the Joovy Tricycoo ($130), the Doona doesn't get any longer in the middle. If you have a taller or long-legged toddler, they could grow out of this faster than either you or Doona thinks.

My son is on the tall side, but only time will tell if he'll still be using this comfortably when he hits 2 and 3 years old. Until then, while the Liki Trike isn't great for a long walk, it's perfect to throw in the car for playing at grandma's house or a quick errand.