Can be used while bass is in or out of padded case?
Depends upon case and wheel
Yes
Protects the internal structure of the bass from direct shock?
No
Yes
Time required to attach?
Varies, typically
30-60 seconds or more
About 15 seconds
Allows end-pin to always remain in the bass?
No
Yes
Easy to steer?
Varies
Yes
Enables bass to momentarily stand upright? (perhaps while you open a door)
No
Yes
Non-marking wheels?
Varies
Yes
Shock absorbing?
No, although under-inflated wheels may help
Yes, absorbs and diffuses bumps
Susceptible to flat tires?
Yes, especially if wheels are under-inflated
No
Made in the U.S.A.?
Varies
Yes
Price?
Cheap ones start around $50,
better-quality are $135 and up.
$120
If you are doing research prior to buying a bass wheel, it is easy to find the benefits to the various products, but finding out potential concerns is much harder! Only you can decide whether these issues are a concern to you.
Click each link for more details about the concern:
Only weighs 3 pounds (a similar product weighs 6 pounds)
Can be strapped onto the bass whether the bass is inside a case or not
Can be adjusted to fit any size bass
Costs $120 USD (a similar product costs almost $600 USD)
Allows the bass to stand up on it's
own, perhaps while a door is being
opened or closed (although KC
Strings recommends against
standing your bass up and
leaving
it unattended!)
Since we shared about potential concerns to using a bass wheel, it only seemed fair to share any potential bass buggie drawbacks that we are aware of. Whether these are a concern to you or not is up to you:
When the bass buggie is not in use, you will need to store it somewhere. This is one reason why we worked hard to keep the bass buggie design small and lightweight. When the buggie is not being used we recommend that you store the bass buggie inside of the bass's empty padded case/bag. Another option for easy, out-of-the-way-yet-readily-accessible storage is to hang the buggie's loop over a nail on the wall! Keep in mind that if you choose to buy a bass wheel you will have the same storage issue, and not only will you need to store the bass wheel, but you'll also probably need a spare tire, patch kit, and a bicycle air pump.
In order to provide the buggie as inexpensively as possible, we do not include the extra foam padding in the standard price. The padding also helps prevent wear to the exterior of the bass if you choose to use the buggie while the bass is not inside of its padded case/bag.
