Kids Ride Shotgun has to be one of my favorite companies out there in the mountain bike industry. If you don't have kids, you probably won't get it, but once you become a parent it will make a lot of sense. Being able to share something you are super passionate about with your kids when they are this young is pretty special.
Kids Ride Shotgun wasn't a thing when my three older kids were young, but at least I got to enjoy some time with my youngest child for a few years on Kids Ride Shotguns first product, which is a seat that you can attach on your mountain bike that lets your kid sit right up in front of you and behind the bars. Before this seat we were using a kid backpack which was fun, but my daughter couldn't see and had to poke her head around the side of me to see what was going on. It was also probably not that comfortable for her and just awkward and uncomfortable as she would just kind of get tossed around . When these seats came around it was a straight up game changer!
Nothing compares to having your kid tag along as a co-pilot with you on your rides! Now instead of wondering how I was going to make time for a quick ride it was an easy, "Hey honey, I can watch the kids for a while longer today!"
My daughter would beg to go all the time! And it got her used to the actual feeling of riding trails, so that when it was time for her to start riding her own bike she was already pretty used to what it was like which I think stepped up the learning curve for sure. At the time the Kids Ride Shotgun product came out they had the first version of their seat which was great for a lot of reasons. You could mount it over the top tube of your bike without messing with spacers and if you ran your dropper post slammed all the way down to the collar you didn't have to worry about it mounting to your seat post, which is how the other MTB kids seat that was out around the same time (Macride) mounted to your bike.
The only problem was not being able to mount the seat to an E-bike because of the wider downtube where most Ebike batteries live. Kids Ride Shotgun solved this by coming out with the Kids Ride Shotgun Pro Seat which mounts to your headset and seatube just by replacing a headset spacer with one of the Kids Ride Shotgun mounting spacers.
It comes with a couple spacers so you can easily swap between bikes. Kids Ride Shotgun didn't stop with seats either. They have their own toe rope with a little fanny pack the kids can wear to put the strap in while they are riding down as well as a few snacks or even little toys to play with when they start tiring from riding.
This tow rope has been another game changing product. I have used the tow rope even with some of my older kids. It opens up a lot of possibilities as far as trail options go with kids that are old enough to pedal on their own but still don't have the legs for longer rides. When the kids get tired just hook them up and keep on
riding. One thing I have learned is that when the kids aren't having fun anymore, then nobody is having fun and your day is over. I have used this tow rope as a leash for my powsurf too.
Another product they have launched more recently is tDirt Hero Off-Road balance bike. This thing is a rad, scaled down Enduro rig made to make learning to ride easy and fun.
The Dirt Hero allows you to run 12" or 14" tires so you can make get more use out of it as your kids grow. It even has an optional Magura hydraulic rear disc brake! and don't worry about your little grom getting their fingers caught in the rotor because Kids Ride Shotgun developed a rotor guard that fills the space where little digits could normally get into. The HC1 Magura brake lever is great for little hands as far as reach and a super light action lever feel. 2.25" Vee Tire Crown Gem tires are super grippy and you can run them super low pressure due to kids being light, so they actually take out a lot of the bumps and sting when riding real trails. This makes it safer too because the bike stays planted and in control way better than bikes with foam or other solid tires. The Dirt Hero makes me want to have another kid just so I can get it! By the way, if you are still trying to teach your kids how to ride a bike with training wheels, STOP! Please quit now. If you don't get this balance bike then get a different one. It will help more than you will ever know.
I'm excited to see what is next up on the docket for Kids Ride Shotgun! What is more rad than a brand with the mission of raising the next generation of mountain bikers and allowing families to do spend more time together outdoors? Not a lot to be honest.
