iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat
- Front-mounted child bicycle seat for added safety and comfort
- Puts your child directly in front of you for easy and safe interaction
- Fully adjustable 3-point safety harness; pivoting lap bar that locks into place
- Patented tool-free Stinger mount attaches to handlebar stem in minutes
- Solid leg wells provide 180 degrees of protection; 38-pound weight capacity
The iBert safe-T-seat was designed with quality and safety first. The safe-T-seat places the child up front, safely between the parent’s protective arms. This evenly distributes weight over the bike giving a stable, safe ride. Kids enjoy the close interaction and the unobstructed view of the fun ahead. Mounted conveniently on the handlebar stem; the high, forward position allows you to pedal in comfort without banging your knees on the seat.Created by parents who were disappointed with the family bicycling options available, the iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle seat was made to offer families the best biking experience possible in safety and comfort. This front mounted seat offers both parent and child excellent range of vision, with the opportunity to interact as they bike together. Noted for its ease of use, the seat takes just a few minutes to install and remove, and it is equally easy and safe to load and unload the child from the seat. Providing plenty of clearance for the knees so that the adult can bike with ease, the seat is positioned so that it is easy to maintain the center of gravity. This adaptable seat fits any adult bike with a minimum of 3/4 inches of clearance on the handlebar stem.
The iBert Safe-T seat was developed after its creators became frustrated with the available bike seat options for children. They found that bike trailers kept their kids uncomfortably far away from them, got too hot in the sun, and only provided a limited view out to the children. The rear-mounted seats presented similar problems. The kids had a limited view and it was difficult to interact with them. Additionally, the balance of the bike was off and it was not easy to load and unload the kids. Other front mounted seats were complicated to hook onto the bike and difficult to remove. These seats also did not allow knee clearance for biking, and as a result were not comfortable.
The iBert Safe-T seat offers a variety of safety and comfort advantages compared to other child bike seat options. The iBert Safe-T seat allows you to maintain control of the bike when loading and unloading your child. To load and unload the child, you simply straddle the bike and lift the child into or out of the seat. When using the iBert seat you can always see what your child is doing and you can make sure that your child is safe and comfortable at all times. The center of gravity in the iBert seat is closer to the center of the bike making it easier to control the bike as you ride. The seat sits higher on the bike and is smooth on the bottom so that even tall riders rarely brush the bottom of the seat with their knees and if they do they just glide along the smooth edges on the bottom.
The iBert Safe-T seat is easy to install. The patented stinger assembly attaches to any bike with a minimum of 3/4 inches on the handle bar stem. The stinger system attaches to the bike in just two minutes and the seat can then be attached and detached from the stinger in 15 seconds. If you buy additional stinger assemblies the seat can be attached to multiple bikes.
The iBert Safe-T seat is made in the U.S.A. with safety and quality as the main objectives. While the iBert Safe-T seat is designed to meet all 1625-00 standards, at this time ASTM 1625-00 is written for rear child carriers not front mounted seats.
Specifications:
- Allows interaction with your child
- Child has a clear view
- No dirt, dust, rocks, or water thrown in child’s face
- Small and easy to attach
- Easy and safe loading and unloading of child
- Maintains center of gravity
- Similar construction to rear-mounted seats
- One adult can take multiple children for bike rides
- Easy assembly
- Full clearance for knees
- Made in the USA
- Recommended for children one to four years old
- Maximum recommended height is 42 inches
- Maximum recommended weight is 38 pounds
What’s in the Box?
iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Bike Seat, Stinger Assembly
Manufacturer’s Warranty
Two year limited warranty for manufacturer’s defects
I looked all over for a front mounted baby bike seat. I was told by many ‘experts’ in bike stores that they did not carry them due to safety issues. In my opinion, a rear-mounted seat is no more safe than a front mounted one. If you are reasonably competent at riding a bike, you will have no problem with this. You just can’t turn as sharply. It is great to be able to interact with your child and have them excited about biking from a great vantage point. You will likely have to pedal with your legs slightly wider than you are used to. You won’t want to do this for a 20 mile ride, but it is fine for 45 minutes or the average attention span of a 14 month old! Set up is easy, the only thing to be aware of is you need to have adequate length under the handle bar stem to attach the clamp. I had to have spacers installed and my front brake cable lengthened. It feels a little rickety empty but there is little movement once baby is in the seat. Highly recommend this product
The installation was easy (just be sure you have enough stem to your handle bars, about 1.25″ is good). Lots of people look amazed as we ride by and we’ve had lots of great comments. I should have bought this immediately the first time I saw it in the store instead of waiting 3 months to buy it online. My son (19mo. old) loves the rides and he gets really excited when I ask him, “do you want to go for a bike ride?” He usually grabs my hand and drags me to the garage. Not much improvement could be made to make a more perfect child seat for your bike.
I bought this product to put on my Mountain Bike for my 18 month old son. He absolutely loves it and he gets so excited when I get home from work so we can go on a bike ride. There’s nothing better than seeing your child so happy and excited.
great product!
The iBert makes sense if you’re taking a weekend pleasure-ride through quiet suburban streets or slowly cruising the well-maintained paths of a country park. It also makes sense if you’re riding a cruiser-style or hybrid bike, where you sit relatively upright and your back is fairly straight, instead of leaning over the handle bars, as is common with road bikes. But if you’re riding a road bike in a heavily urban environment, the iBert could be hazardous to your child – so, seriously consider your riding environment and individual needs before buying the iBert. You may find a traditional rear-mounted seat is the safer option.
Most bike accidents are front-end collisions — typically, you hit an obstacle, such as a rock or pothole, or a car cuts you off. With a rear-mounted seat, both you and the bike frame help shield you child, but with the iBert seat, your child will take any impact first and foremost. Think of it this way: you would never put a child’s carseat in the front of a car, so why would you feel safe putting a child in a front-mounted bike seat? The same obvious dangers hold true for both a car and a bike. In addition, unlike traditional back-mounted seats, the iBert lacks upper back and head support. In back-mounted seats, this layer of protective plastic not only increases comfort, but cocoons your child against possible impacts, much like an infant car seat does. (The back support also lets the child rest if he/she falls asleep.) Finally, sometimes in an urban setting you must break quickly, which can cause your bike to lurch forward. The extra weight of a child on the handle bars increases the chance of flipping over entirely – in fact, among bike accidents, flipping over the handlebars is not uncommon.
With a ten-speed or road bike, you typically ride leaning over the handle bars and you lean into curves when you turn. When riding this way in an urban setting, the added weight and bulk of a child on the handlebars makes it hard to effectively navigate and can destabilize the bike as you take turns. Most bikes are designed to take the weight on the rear of the bike, while the iBert places more weight near the front handlebars. Additionally, the iBert leaves little space when you need to hop down at stop signs.
A number of reviewers say it’s nice to have the child upfront so you can easily talk to him/her as you ride. But if you’re riding through trafficked streets, you probably shouldn’t be distracted by carrying on lengthy conversations with your child – it would be much like talking on a cell phone while driving a car. When need be, it’s very easy to talk to your child when they’re in a rear-mounted seat – after all, they’re four inches behind your back.
The advertisement for the iBert states: “No dirt, dust, rocks, or water thrown in child’s face.” Actually, if a child is sitting up front, they’re going to be at an added risk for getting debris in the face – any rider can tell that a face full of bugs on a hot muggy day is a common occurrence. Similar seats that I saw in the Netherlands at least had a bug shield!
All that said, the iBert seems like a great seat for casual weekend excursions. And in such an environment, where you’re not likely to suddenly stop and maneuver quickly, the iBert would probably work with any style of bike. But if you use your bike as transportation in an urban environment, for safety’s sake, I would opt for a traditional rear-mounted seat. I suspect a few years down the road, people will find that the iBert seat does increase the chance of injury in particular settings. I could picture buying both the iBert and a rear-mounted seat, and using each one in different settings — but in a urban setting, I can’t recommend the iBert.
We purchased this child seat in the hopes that our son, who is 10 months old, would have a more engaging experience on our family bike rides. We have a pull-behind trailer for longer trips or when he’s tired, but we thought he would enjoy this front-facing seat better. We have not been disappointed.
The seat mount attached to our Trek Soho with very little trouble and there is good clearance around the handlebars and the frame. The seat slides onto the mount and attaches firmly and securely. There are harness-style over the shoulder belts as well as a crossbar to secure our son, and there is very little possibility of him wiggling out or getting turned around. He wouldn’t be interested in turning around, anyway, because with this seat all of the action is right in front of him.
The seat does somewhat limit your ability to make extremely sharp turns, mainly due to our knees possibly hitting the bottom of the seat, but this is not a real problem because you would not be making those types of sudden and extreme movements with a child on board anyway. Normal operation of the bike is not affected with this seat.
The balance on the bike is still very reasonable and manageable even with the little guy out over the front handlebars. Brakes and shifters are still easy to get to and operate.
Our overall satisfaction with this purchase is extremely high, the build quality and components used on the seat are first rate, and we would highly recommend it to anyone with young kids who are tired of their bike trailer, or who aren’t quite big enough for their own bikes yet.