Forward facing child’s bike seats – There’s more to them than meets the eye

Typically you might associate a child’s bike seat with a plastic bucket-style carrier that goes behind the rider. This type of kids bike seat fits to your frame using an additional rack and/or metal brackets, requiring a number of screwdrivers, allen keys, spanners, often a Torque wrench too as torque requirements for nuts and bolts are often specified in the installation process/manual.

The weight of the child in this type of seat is distributed over the rear wheel and the child faces the back of the rider. Even though the seat is located directly over the rear wheel, the centre of gravity is now considerably raised to a higher position, which can make the bike unstable and more prone to toppling.

As a regular cyclist and off-road rider, you will know how stability is essential, especially when riding bikes with children. A rear mounted child’s bike seat can cause highly unpredictable movements, particularly when raising the front wheel for any reason such as curbs, obstacles and  steep inclines, often lifting the front wheel completely off the ground, risking a fall or at least a vary hairy moment in the ride!

When mounting a bicycle, typically you might swing your leg over the rear wheel to the other side of the bike seat. When a bicycle is fitted with a rear mounted child bike seat, swinging your leg over the rear could result in a collision with the seat or even the child. So the option is to balance on one foot, lift your leg over the cross bar, while holding the bike and your child upright, which even for a gymnast this is still an unstable way to mount a bike with a child in a rear mounted kids bike seat.

So what makes a front mounted child seat different, other than the position in relation to the rider?

Firstly, it’s safer

With the child’s weight distributed over the front of the bike, the centre of gravity is shifted forward, significantly reducing the risk of the front of the bike flipping on inclines. This makes for more controlled mounting and dismounting of the bike as well, by allowing you to swing your leg over the rear wheel to mount the bike, completely eliminating the risk of kicking your child or catching your foot as you try to lift your leg over the cross bar.

It’s more educational

Education is not necessarily the word you might associate with cycling with your children, however, child seats on bikes are a transition from being pushed in a buggy, supported on a balance bike or walking alongside you. Their view is unobstructed in all these activities allowing the parent or child opportunities to point out interesting things to talk about and risks to be aware of. When the child outgrows the Feva Star Seat, they will be on their own bicycle, enjoying the view and looking out for hazards, interests and their companions – why obscure their view for those middle formative years of cycling with your back, or worse, your rear?! With a front mounted kids bike seat your child gets a front row seat, immersing them in the adventure along with you. They feel the inertias of pedalling, braking, leaning and steering the bicycle, building their own confidence and balance, aiding the transition to their own set of wheels.

It’s so much more enjoyable!

If you want your children to enjoy being part of a family activity, or to expose them to new adventures and sport. Cycling offers these things, and with a front mounted, forward facing child’s bike seat like the Feva Star Seat, you will capitalise on those immersive experiences. You just need to read some of the reviews to see how much fun it really is.

‘A terrific product. My daughter loves riding along with me on this seat.’ Nelson

‘My kiddo loves it! We go on rides all the time in the mountains and around city trails. Anytime she sees it on my bike her eyes light up and the excitement level is unmatched. Highly recommend for anyone with a mountain bike.’ Bryan

So you see, there’s more to a front mounted, forward facing child’s bike seat than you might at first think.

To order yours, simply visit our Feva Star Seat shop today and bring a new dimension (and views) to your happy, healthy family time in the great outdoors.