Would You Strap Your Kid into this Bike Seat and Pop Wheelies? 22

Ever wish your young kids could join you on a real mountain bike adventure? Glen Dobson wanted exactly that when he started working on this project a few years ago, but couldn't find anything that really fit his and his son's needs. Now in the crowd funding stage, he's hoping to bring the children's "Mac Ride" bike seat to market.

Made in Canada but proudly Scottish, the 3.4-pound Mac Rideย gives kids a front row seat for the trails ahead. Check out their Kickstarter video, above, for an overview of how it works.

The designers overcame several challenges when designing the Mac Ride, including:

Making it trail ready, so it doesn't rattle the child.-They got rid of the plastic seat which just conducts the bumps up the child's spine. By seating kids on a seat just like a regular bike rider, they benefit from the bike's suspension and their own natural shock-absorbers, their knees.

Making it strong enough to survive trail rides. -Mac Ride is constructed with aircraft-grade aluminum (6061 T6) and steel, and the spacers are made of Delrin, a good strong plastic with a low coefficient of friction (this helps it slide well within the bracket that clamps around it so it has a minimal effect on steering).

Making it adjustable for different sized bikes and kids. -Mac Ride fits all bikes with A-headsets (99% of mountain bikes use them). These have a threadless steerer tube and come in either a 1 1/8" ย or 1 1/4" (new standard from Giant called Overdrive II) sizes. Mac Ride will not fit the older 1.5" steerer tube which is being phased out.The horizontal tubes have telescoping action so it will shrink or stretch to fit most mountain bikes and the stirrups are adjustable for both length and angle. This allows larger children to enjoy the Mac Ride as long as their feet are kept out of the way of moving parts.

Making it comfortable for the child. -The seat is designed like a horseโ€™s saddle, so it's comfortable and self-leveling (no matter the angle the child will always rest in the lowest part of the scoop). With their feet attached to stirrups with flexible footstraps, their legs will remain active and engaged, retaining blood flow and comfort, unlike more traditional child bike seats.

Having zero impact on the bike's performance. -Mac Ride attaches at only two points on the bike: 1. a clamp goes around the seat post, where damage is uncommon and not a serious issue; and 2, a custom Mac Ride spacer replaces an existing 10 mm spacer on the steerer tube of the bike, and the Mac Ride attaches to that spacer. The spacer needs to be installed and then remains on the bike, but once the spacer is fitted the seat can be removed or attached as often as you like in less than a minute. The bike can then be ridden normally with just the spacer with zero impact on the bike's performance.

Intrigued? Check out more details over at Kickstarterย and mac-ride.com.

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