Shotgun bike seat for kids

Has anybody got one? I like the idea but the method of just clamping top and down tubes with all the weight of the child bearing down on the middle of the top tube gives me the willies.

My frame is an aluminium banshee prime. Am I being a bit paranoid?

Yes, they’re not all designed like that.

We use a MacRide. you put a special headset spacer under the stem, which is clamps on to, the other end clamps on your seat post, so all the load is going in the right places.

I had our little one on from 2 years old, making sure she was capable of holding on and had the strength and patience to go riding with me.

I’m unfamiliar with the weeride, but that’s different beast, suitable for smaller children.

so all the load is going in the right places.

So you’re saying Shotgun doesn’t work? It’s not as if it’s the first seat that mounts that way. Also not convinced that loading up your steerer tube is more “right”

Possibly a bit paranoid. I got one from the kids on Fathers day to go with the Marin Hawk Hill I got myself for Fathers Day. The quality is excellent and you don’t need to clamp it up really hard to stop it slipping. No issues so far and my 2.5yo seems to get the whole ‘you can’t get off when we’re moving’ thing, which I was more worried about TBF. One thing I discovered is a real must is a dropper. You really need both feet flat on the ground setting off and stopping and there isn’t room for you to move forwards off the saddle with Jr. in situ.

I can see mine will get lot’s of use.

apologies, I thought that “shortgun” was just a term for riding in front.

Looking at the Shorgun seat – no, that’s not ideal. As an engineer I wouldn’t load up a frame like that without knowing the properties (diameter, wall thickness, material) of the frame it’s clamping on to, the weight of the passenger and being confident in the installation (is it clamped on to both top and down tubes, solidly enough without slipping and soft enough without crushing?)

I’d not use that except on a sacrificial bike without more knowledge or testing.

not convinced that loading up your steerer tube is more “right”

the weight from the rider’s hands goes in to the handlebars and through the stem, just like the passenger…

To choose between the two, I mean, the shotgun isn’t cheap (£120)… The MacRide is a bit more £200?)

The stirrups on the MacRide are great – keep the little one’s feet planted and secure. She’s not going to topple off due to inattention.

Edit again – more info here (not my content)

The best front mounted bike seats for older kids

The stirrups on the MacRide are great

TBF, the Shotfun also has stirrups, not sure why they’re not on there

the weight from the rider’s hands goes in to the handlebars and through the stem, just like the passenger…

and the weight from everything else goes through the collar on the steerer and to the seatpost

Ok, when a rider is on a bike the weight goes through three contact points: handlebars, saddle and pedals. there are load paths designed to transmit these loads, eventually through to the ground.

The forces that each tube is designed to take depends on the bike and suspension layout but typically on a hardtail or road bike with skinny tubes, the tubes are significantly going to react axial forces (tension and compression). If you were to stand on the middle of a long skinny tube, it will break easily as it doesn’t have much bending strength.

This same principle applies to mountain bikes.

A mountain bike frame will have more strength – it may have
+ thicker tubes
+ suspension forces acting on tubes in a transverse direction, so the tubes will have been designed to transfer a bending load (unless you’re a sick engineer)
+ crash or misuse load cases

which will all mean it’s more likely to cope with the forces from a tube mounted seat.

However I hope this all makes clear why I consider the MacRide solution to be superior – the additional loads are being applied through the designed contact points. :-)

I agree that the Shotgun does have question marks. I’m thinking about getting one that would be mounted on a fairly chunky hardtail and a Whyte G160 – these bikes do not give me concerns. OTOH I wouldn’t have mounted it to my old Giant Anthem with it’s incredibly thin walled tubes.

As I’ve barely got any usable seatpost showing on the Whyte, the decision might have already been made for me anyway

A quick look at the G160 and I reckon you’ll be fine. With the shock mounted on the top tube, there ought to be plenty of strength in it.

Have fun and happy riding with your wee one, it’s great 😁

p.s. If anyone in the North East ever wants to borrow our MacRide for a test, I’d be happy to help.

Thanks all. Not sure that I feel any less paranoid about it mind.

The only thing I’m paranoid about it crashing with the young un onboard!

We’ve got a weeride that is probably now too small.

I keep looking at the macride, but can’t help feeling that £200 for about £20 worth of parts is a bit of a rip-off.
I’m sure they are great though & could still be swayed.

There’s a comment above about using a dropper post. This is something I heartily agree with.
For me to use the weeride, I have to drop the saddle a comical amount to allow me to reach the floor while seated on my Inbred. There is no room to slide forwards off the seat, as I normally would.
A dropper would allow you to set-off safely & then pedal more comfortably once you are underway.

I recently started looking for something to replace the excellent Yepp Mini I’d been using on my old Mk2 Soul, but that worked with heavier growing passengers and also worked on my new full sus. I hankered after something that didn’t require you to leave fitting hardware on the bike like the yep mini did too. Then the Souls reba fork died, forcing retirement of my kid carrier and a new urgency for a replacement! The yep mini didn’t fit my 29er full sus as it won’t work with a short modern stem and the foot extensions massively restricted turning circle.

First port of call was a project I’d watched for several troubled teething years, the MacRide ….They seemed to finally have it together on production and access, but then found out that the black version I wanted was unavailable until August in Europe. I didn’t fancy the bright blue one that was in stock. Drilling down into compatibility, it turned out that in the small print, it wouldn’t work with my stem anyway (you have to have additional stack space for it to work with a sub 50mm stem….doesn’t seem very compatible with modern geo trends). I also didn’t like the cheap hard plastic seat as my daughter is a bit “princess and the pea” in nature.

So I looked into the shotgun, with caution, as i have a carbon frame. There web site stated ok for carbon but I wasn’t convinced, so got in contact for a really helpful back and forth about their design and engineering with the company owner. They were also able to confirm compatibility with my frame and that other users had had no issues with my specific frame during its year of use down under before being released in the NH. I’d recommend that if in doubt, get in touch with them directly.they were very approachable….. From their website:

CAN I USE THE SHOTGUN SEAT ON MY CARBON FRAME?

Yes, we have many customers around the world using the shotgun seat on high-end carbon mountain bikes.

The clamping force of the shotgun seat is minimal thanks to the load being shared across 5 points of contact, with each point having moulded rubber frame protection.

If you have a question about the installation or suitability of the shotgun seat for your bike, please contact us or send us a Facebook message for a speedy reply.

It is a really well engineered bit of kit, is pretty quick to get on and off, and has a soft padded seat with infinite positional adjustment for a good passenger riding position and a happy bum. The thick grippy rubber for the 5 contact points leaves no marks on my invisiframe cover, and there is a sensible system for limiting to minimal clamp force. Most importantly, my main 3 yr old passenger absolutely loves it! We have been on some really cool adventures the past month and look forward to many more. Its something special to here your 3 yr old daughter whooping with excitement as you share a trail!

dropbox.com/s/mrm6mvgcuhjt345/Photo%2015-06-2019%2C%2017%2041%2043.jpg?dl=0

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Is this no help at all?

https://www.halfords.com/kids-zone/kids-bikes/kids-bikes/apollo-starfighter-kids-bike-16-wheel

:wink: