Kids ride shotgun

Yeah i have one and i think its a brilliant bit of kit, my knees do go slightly sideways otherwise id hit the seat, but after ive adapted my pedalling position ive never hit my knees.

My son has used it for the last 2 years (4 now) and absolutely loves it. I have the kit that came with the handlebars which makes them sit slightly more upright but we dont always use the bars dpending on how far we are going.

Thoroughly recommended.

The shotgun seats are nice as they don't have the massive plastic bucket seat for sprog to sit into which clatters your knees.

You do need to still ride bow legged a little bit as the kid still has bum and legs.

The standard shotgun seat is a ballache to swap between different bikes, and 'OK' to take on/off a single bike.

The shotgun pro is much better for swapping between bikes.

I like the standard seat. The pro seems better but quite a mark up.

Eldest isn't on it now youngest may be a bit wee just now

the pro seemed more of a faff - can't say i read the manual but it looked like it had a collar that sat in the headset spacer stack? Surely that's more of a PITA than just clamping it on with two quick releases as per the shotgun 2.0?

Also check out Mac Ride. Great mounting system and places kid lower than on the Shotgun, meaning less helmet/chin interactions. Well worth the price for the enjoyment you and they'll get out of it.

the pro seemed more of a faff – can’t say i read the manual but it looked like it had a collar that sat in the headset spacer stack?

there is a collar in the headset spacer stack which is a permenant fit on the bike (two are supplied i think) but the cross member which supports the kids seat quick released from it (and from the seat post).

The shotgun 2.0 looks better than the original I have, but still going to be a faff to adjust the set up between bikes whereas the pro just clicks off one and onto the other pretty much (assuming you have the headset collar already installed).

I had the same issue with a weeride - pedalling was really hard going. Mirroring those above, I foind the shotgun seat still needs wide knees, but not nearly as bad. Just before we moved I was taking both kids to nursery on the bike - one on the shotgun and one in a trailer.

I've found a dropper really useful with a shotgun seat as it lets you pedal better but still be able to get feet down when needed.

Some insulation for their hands is a good idea as well - I've got bar tape on the inside of my bars now.

The macride I bought is the best bit of cycling kit I've ever bought. Gutted mini D is now getting a bit big and heavy for it.  Its getting harder to climb the hills.

Its so quick and easy to install/remove and just leaves a headset spacer on the bike.

We've had some amazing rides. We've been everywhere on it. It's unbelievable how safe he is on it. Took a while to trust it but now we do some pretty good mtb rides on it. I can even keep up with some of my friends on the trail.

Shotgun pro is a copy of Macride I think.

Macride is excellent, once you put in the headset spacer it is 30 seconds to put on/off the bike.
Regular shotgun is quite fiddly and does not work well if your downtube and toptube are not the same diameter. Also not sure about it for carbon frames. The Macride doesn't touch the frame at all.

Dropper post makes it much easier as someone else said.

damascus
Free Member
The macride I bought is the best bit of cycling kit I’ve ever bought. Gutted mini D is now getting a bit big and heavy for it.

Its so quick and easy to install/remove and just leaves a headset spacer on the bike.

We’ve had some amazing rides. We’ve been everywhere on it. It’s unbelievable how safe he is on it. Took a while to trust it but now we do some pretty good mtb rides on it. I can even keep up with some of my friends on the trail.

No point in me writing a post now as it was just going to sounds exactly like this ^

I've not seen the Pro Shotgun in the flesh, but did have the original. From what I've seen though I'd still be buying a Mac-Ride if I was buying again. Lot of similarities but the Mac-Ride seat is really clever and, importantly, low so gives it the edge in my eyes

If anyone is selling a Shotgun or Macride anywhere near Sheffield or Newcastle I'll have it for a fair price.

If anyone is selling a Shotgun or Macride anywhere near Sheffield or Newcastle I’ll have it for a fair price.

@sharkattack I've PM'd you.

I've got a shotgun, ride flats, use extra wide 110mm platforms and added pedal spacers to them to get my stance out, don't have knee problems that I had before with the weeride

We’ve got 2 or the originals and they fit on my HT, wife’s trail bike and on the Whyte e-bikes we’ve hired. I really rate them and our kids love them.

The new Mk2 one looks 5he same as the original (saw an advert yesterday) but quicker to get on/off.

I have no experience with the pro.

My wife had to switch from clips to flats due to needing to ride a bit bow-legged and hurting her knees. I had no probs on flats.

The fevaseat is worth a look. I've ridden miles with my kid from around 2 to now 4, nice and comfy and really easy to fit with no tools.

I used a shotgun and bars for a 3/4 year old and it is the best bike upgrade I’ve bought. Sad times that she’s on her own bike now. I’d say at the age of yours it’s perfect.

Another vote for the macride, best bit of biking kit I’ve ever bought. Well worth it.

Great input everyone. The main thing I want to avoid is having to ride bow legged. Has anyone tried the mac ride and the shotgun? Any view on which is less bowleggy? I don't mind spending the extra on the macride (tho it does look a bit expensive for what it is compared with the shot gun or shotgun pro) if it's actually got a functional improvement.

Both the same, you can set the seat where you want fore/aft. Your legs are just having to clear the child on this sort of seat

Just what mashr says: it's the kid rather than the seat that your legs need to clear. I've no experience of the Shotgun but used Mac Ride for two kids. I miss those rides.

Mac Ride isnt cheap but it's quality kit. Perhaps paying for the development too as they're the older design and pre-date the Shotgun Pro. Saying that, Mac Ride took the original idea of the LOCT (Little Ones Come Too) as a starting point for their design.

Note that I'm not impartial: the Mac Ride designer rode with us for years while designing the Mac Ride before he effed off to Canada.

I use the amazon special version of the shotgun, its £30 inc bars.

I can't use the bars on my current bike as it doesn't fit 35mm bars but I could get the official shotgun ones.

Zero safety of quality concerns with the kit.

I ride flats so wide knees is no issue.

I rarely have any stack height on my bikes to run the adaptor type.

Do you have a link to the amazon special that you have? Used to ride flats, so I guess i could go back easily enough.

I found that I preferred the Mac Ride to the Shotgun - though both meant I had slightly bowed legs to ride. Mainly fixed the issue with some pedal spindle extenders.

MacRide was an easier/better fit for my bikes than the Shotgun - someone mentioned the issue with different top tube/dow tubes earlier. Also - I could fit the Mac Ride on a Road/hybrid bike better as the length of the leg beams/clamps (?) were an issue on that bike.

Probably should be selling our MacRide now - both of my girls have progressed to their own bikes, so not used it in a while. Great, fun days.

Wanna sell it to me?!

I had a weeride and hated it, pain to fit, very tall and bow legged pedalling. Picked up a mac ride, fitting the headset washer was easy as it attaching the bike each time. The downtube on my enduro bike is wider then the toptube so I have had to pick up the ebike axle to stop frame rub. Love having the child in front of me and being able to communicate with each other.

Some insulation for their hands is a good idea as well – I’ve got bar tape on the inside of my bars now.

I crossed the brands and picked up the shotgun kids bar, figured holding onto rubber grips is better then alloy bars. Was super tempted over the winter to pick up the shotgun poogies for them too, but kid got bigger, new gloves were thicker and it did get warmer for a few weeks...may revisit this if the cold continues much longer!