Best in test – MacRide

The MacRide is a game changer for mountain biking with your child

Age range: 2-5 years or 27 kg
Weight: 2.4 kg
Price: €230
Fitting: Requires a minimum of 25 mm of free steerer to clear the bottom of the stem.

Rider owned, parent designed and a Kickstarter success story, MacRide’s lightweight and adjustable front MTB child seat is a unique option. The MacRide puts your child on the top tube so that their weight is distributed better on the bike but the difference is that it uses just a large and grippy silicon seat, like a horse saddle, rubber foot straps and your child’s sticky mits on your bars to keep junior on the bike. You can now control the bike more effectively as the weight moves as you corner plus you get more knee room to pedal as the saddle is slimmer than the other MTB child seats. This works brilliantly, especially off-road, as it encourages your child to lean into turns, stand up in the saddle and use their arms to absorb shocks, all bike riding basics. Obviously, this all means that your kid will tire quicker at the beginning, especially on rougher terrain but they soon adapt.

The telescopic design will fit pretty much any bike with 25 mm of free steerer: slot on the 9 gram, ‘fit and forget’, special headset spacer, the MacRide can be put on the bike in seconds with no tools. We had spacers on two bikes which meant that you could swap the MTB child seat between you mid-ride and share parenting duties, making everyone’s ride more fun! There is little protection with the MacRide design but they argue that it is better for the child to be free of the bike in the event of a crash, rather be strapped in to a seat. Once on, our kids loved it and we never felt that they were about to fall off, even when they took their hands off the bars. The only negative with the design is that if your kid has a melt down and doesn’t want to be in the MTB child seat, there is no way of keeping them in there. Not MacRides fault but it happened to us and it could happen to you, so keep ‘em happy! Regardless of that, the MacRide is a game changer for mountain biking with your child.

Strenghts

– Super quick to take on and off
– Fitting spacer is cheap and barely noticable
– Teaches your child how to ride a bike

Weaknesses

– Can’t use it until 2 years old
– No defense against tantrums


For more information head to mac-ride.com

About the author

Thomas Corfield

After nearly 30 years of riding and coming from a career in cycle sales, UK Editor Tom is still passionate about everything mountain biking. Based in the Scottish Borders, he enjoys riding everything from solo adventures in the mountains to big social night rides.