iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat
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List Price: Our Price: $89.93 You Save: $5.06 (5%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Category: Sports See more product details |
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Description of iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat
Easy and safer loading and unloading of the child, enclosed leg wells for comfort and safety, seat fits most children four years old and younger.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
Sports reviews of iBert Safe-T Front Mounted Child Bicycle Seat
Customer Review: Good seat; some flaws
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
Ok, You've probably read all the great things about this seat, which is why I wanted the seat. But here're a few things to watch out for:
1. If your bike is on the small side (I'm 5'4" and about 135 lbs) then it's possible your knees WILL bump the seat. Mine did and I'm not a big person.
2. If your child is curious like my 16-month old is, he / she may want to play with the brakes, squeeze the brake CABLES (which applies brake pressure to the tires) or mess with the shifters during the ride.
3. The instructions that come with the seat are NOT clear. Luckily, it's not too too hard to figure out how to put the seat on. But both times tech savvy guys put the seat on for me, they were unsure whether to put the seat on under the handle bars or over. Seems obvious, but it was not.
4. My bike does not have the proper handle bars for this seat. But it's not clear (there's no disclaimer or warning notice) prior to buying the seat. So, now I have to buy a new bike or at the very least find new handle bars for my bike. I had to rent and borrow bikes for our first two rides.
Otherwise, the benefits are wonderful. I'm hoping with my new bike or handlebars, that my knees wont hit the back of this seat.
My son enjoyed the ride.
The fun thing was when he looked up at me and I got to sneak a kiss during our ride! ;)
Enjoy! I still give it 5 stars!
UPDATE:
If I could change this to 2 STARS, I would. Not a great seat. Many of the bikes I have tried it on wont host the seat. I have yet to find a bike that fits the seat and works with me. Sadly, it's too late to return the seat. Another thing: it's a night and day difference from using this seat to riding with our son in a pull-behind trailer. With a trailer, you barely notice the additional weight. With the child in front, the handlebars are topsy and balance is quite an issue. I'm surprised none of the other reviewers have commented on this.
As well, if you use a trailer, you don't have to worry about safety as much. Meaning, if you wipe out with the child on your handlebars, the child is likely to get quite hurt. It's a long ways down to the ground! If you wipe out with a trailer, the trailer has a roll bar. My son is muchmore relaxed in the trailer than on my handlebars. On the handle bars, he gets bored quickly, wants to be taken off, and plays with my brake cords and shifter.
I am no longer recommending this seat.
It's sitting in our garage unused.
Customer Review: Wonderful product!
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
We have a toddler who loves to "go" and also loves to be outside. We had gotten one of those bike trailers for him to ride in but he seemed scared about being so low to the ground and unable to see us when we rode with him, and I was also worried about having him in something that we didn't have much control over when we were on the road. I also realized that his main view from the trailer was of my husband's butt and legs pedaling the bike and while I happen to like that view :) I thought that it probably wasn't the most exciting or educational for our kiddo.
I got this over my husband's skepticism that it would actually work. Within 10 minutes we were both believers. The seat installs in no time and with minimal tools - unlike some ladies here I had my husband do the installing because I am a big chicken :) but I easily could have done it myself, with no trouble. 15 minutes after pulling the seat out of the box it was on the bike and we were on the road. My son LOVED being able to sit close to me and see everything as we pedaled down the road, he was pointing things out left and right (literally!). He got upset when we had to go back home and for the rest of the evening kept asking for "more ride bike? More ride bike?" So this product gets thumbs up from both the adults and the kid in our household!
I didn't think that the seat made the bike any more difficult to maneuver and my son (who is quite tall for his age, already over 36 inches at 21 months old) didn't impede my steering or braking at all, even with his bulky bike helmet on. He doesn't have much room to grow in the seat, and we do have to take his shoes off to get him in it, but once he's in, he fits fine and feels very secure and stable in the seat. It's more of a workout for me to have him on the bike but that's not a bad thing, I could use the exercise :) and it's well worth it to have so much interaction with him when we're riding. We were able to talk about everything we saw as we whizzed down the street.
I think this is a winner of a product and much better than those back-of-the-bike seats (we tried one and I think those DO make the bike feel more unstable) and the trailers. I love this and feel it was well worth the money. It's a simple idea but this product executes it well. If you're considering this item, don't hesitate, buy it! It makes getting out on the bike with your child a lot more fun. After using this I have come to the conclusion that those bike trailers are much better used for gear than they are for kids!
Customer Review: Simply the Best!!!
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
Before purchasing this seat, I had to carefuly do a deep research on the subject. I am a 6'2" guy, so, a was really concerned about having the seat hitting my knees. My neighbor has another model, which does not work at all for me, not even for him. He has to keep his legs kind of open in order to be able to ride the bike... Terrible!
Furtunately, I decided to go with the most expensive model. Sometimes the cheap become expenseive, isn't it? well... I did the right decision, instead of spending $48 dollars, I spent $89.00 on this safe-T-seat, and I cannot be happier.
The seat mechanism is really simple. It's just a little T-bar that you will be in contact with the bike. The seat plugs itself on this bar. The seat keeps in a perfect position. Even my long legs do not touch it when riding. I can ride my bike just like I was riding before the new passenger.
It took me less than 5 minutes to install the T-bar on my bike.
My daughter stays in a very comfortable position. By the way, she loved the new activity, and keeps asking me all the time for "MORE" when she sees the bike.
Well, if you want to have pleasure time and no headaches while in your bike, this is the seat you need to purchase.
CONS: The only thing I didn't like much about this product is that it only support kids up to 32 pouds. Well, nothing in the world is totally perfect! So there is no time to lose, I will ride my bike with my daughter as much as I can before she reachs her 38 pouds. :)
Hope you enjoy my review.
---- ---- ---- 3 Years and 3000 Miles Latter ---- ---- ----
Hi everyone... here I am again (Jan-08-2009) to give you an additional feedback about this product.
My daughter is now 42 pounds (4 years old), and 110cm tall - I am still riding the bike with her. Her legs now touch the bottom of the seat, giving her more support. Her heigth still does not bother me.
Since she is now havier than the suggested weight, I will no longer take her on the seat, I am thinking about one of those semi-bikes that we attach on the back. The good news is that my wife is pregnant, and my Safe-T seat is still like new after 3000 miles - I am positive I will soon enough use it with the new baby that is about to arrive.
Thank you all for the POSITIVE VOTES on this review.
Customer Review: The best!!! The greatest!!! Don't think any more, just click buy.
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
Without doubt, this is the greatest bike accessory for a small child ever made. It's design is almost flawless (the slightly annoying cotter pin is the biggest problem). The joy it will bring to you and your children is immense.
I used this with my older son for about a year and a half or so, but now he's 4 1/2 and 36 lbs, a bit over the limit. I still let him right it now and then, just because nothing approaches this for his age (I'm currently shopping for a one-wheel trailer). At that weight, you feel it if he leans way over the side. I used this all the time with him--taking him to and from preschool, to the playground, store, and for recreational rides.
We live in Philadelphia, in the city, and ride with this on the narrow city streets with cars. At first, I was afraid to ride with traffic, and only rode on sidewalks at low speeds (nobody cares about you riding on the sidewalks when you have a small child strapped to the front of your bike). Eventually, I became comfortable enough with it that I started riding on the streets (even the ones without bike lanes), because I found that I rode extremely cautiously and conservatively when he was with me--no running stop signs, often pulling over to let cars pass or going onto the sidewalk, going slow, etc.
Now my younger son is old enough to ride in it (he's 16 months). You can start at 12 months, but hey, that was December in Philadelphia. We took a really quick test ride two weeks ago, all went well. Then I put him in it to demonstrate for my father, who was visiting from out of town. After the brief demo ride with HUGE smiles, I went to take him out by raising the safety bar, and he IMMEDIATELY snapped that thing back down with all the force he could muster. Not getting the message right away, I tried again with the same results. Another more forceful attempt to evict him from the seat got me a "Nuh, Nuh, Nuh, Nuh!!!" (translation: No, no, no, no!). So I ask, "Do you want to ride the bike more?" "YAH!" with vigorous nods and emphatic signing of "more, more, more." It wasn't a very warm day, and we rode for over twenty minutes, until my fingers were red and starting to sting. Only then could I get him out. What higher recommendation could there be for a product?
Customer Review: The Little one loves it...
Sport shop rating: 5 Stars
I race BMX and wanted to get a carrier for my 18 month old to be able to ride with me while I train. I looked at the rear carriers and even a side car one. I didn't like the idea that my daughter would be either behind me sucking up dirt, or next to me (at a much lower level - still eating some dirt). I thought about the old school seats where she sits behind me, but then she is just forced to look either at my back or to the sides.
Along came iBert... wow- I thought, this would be really cool. I went to the manufacture's website and watched the demo vid and was sold. I got her one for Xmas and a little helmet as well. One Xmas day, while the family was sitting in the living room watching through windows, we took it out for a test drive around the back yard (east coast - its cold out..) SHE LOVED IT!. Squealing, laughing, and have a great time for the short time we were on the bike. Every time we went by the windows she would frantically wave at everyone as if to say, look at me, I am riding a bike with my daddy!
A couple of things to note: Some were concerned about the height, and length of the iBert and how it would effect their balance and ability to ride the bike (bending knees out to clear it while peddling, etc.) I do have to admit, I wanted to put this on my race bike, but there is simply no room for this. That bike is custom built for me alone. And be aware that you will need about 3/4 of an inch to raise the headset on the handle bars for this to fit onto the bike. My race bike wouldn't allow for that - so I had to get a new mountain bike! (which means we both got new "toys" for xmas!). Being only 5'4" tall, I simply don't have the issues with my knees hitting the iBert. Having said that - being this short, I find no issues with balance either. This could be due to the fact that I race bike too, but like the old adage - you never forget how to ride a bike...As for the safety, I think this is the best option on the market. She is right there, practically in my arms and we can talk, laugh, etc.
I really can't wait for warmer weather to take long bike ride with her. I would highly, strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a bike carrier.