I just recently purchased the Safe-T-Seat toddler bicycle seat by iBert. Its website promises that it was designed by parents who were unsatisfied with traditional toddler cycling carriers and thus worked out the problems that plague its competitors. But would it live up to all the hype? Thankfully, I can emphatically say “yes.” The iBert Safe-T-Seat toddler cycling carrier has impressed me and here is why.
First off, my wife and I have fallen out of any sort of exercise routine since the birth of our son. We always worked out together to keep each other motivated and now that we have a baby, someone is always watching him. So for a year now, we’ve been looking for some type of exercise we could do together with the baby. Now that he has turned one year old, we decided to give cycling a try. We looked at our options for toddler cycling carriers: pull-behind trailers, back-of-the-bike mounted carriers, and front-mounted carriers. In short, we decided to go with a front-mount because I did not feel comfortable pulling such a long trailer behind me as busy as our town’s streets are and the back-of-the-bike mounted carriers throw off the balance of the bike considerably. Not to mention, the poor baby would just be looking at the back of my head the entire ride. Our baby absolutely loves going cycling now and the iBert Safe-T-Seat has given my wife and I a wonderful option for exercise that included the whole family.
Beyond deciding on a front-mount though, I did my research visiting several bike stores and showrooms to pick which one. After this research, the iBert Safe-T-Seat won in almost every category.
Installation — Many of the other front-mount carriers were extremely difficult to install. There were brackets, bolts, special wrenches and a 20 page manual. I had the iBert Safe-T-Seat installed and ready to go in 5 minutes. The seat installs on the handlebar column using only 2 bolts and a cotter pin and rod connector. The installation was so simple its instructions were printed on one sheet of paper.
Handling — The front-mount iBert Safe-T-Seat is very easy to handle while driving. It is a slim design that allows me to easily reach around it to get to my gear shifts and breaks. Also, its placement on the handlebars instead of the main frame gives me more control in corners. When you turn the handlebars for a corner, the seat turns as well. This keeps the extra weight going with the momentum of the bike as opposed to frame-mount seats where the inertia of the extra weight wants to continue moving forward, requiring extra effort to stay balanced.
Comfort for driver — I am relatively tall at 6’1″. A major problem I had with other front-mount toddler bicycle carriers was that my knees would hit the seat every pump of the pedals. I had to throw my legs out to the side and butterfly pedal just to avoid knocking the skin off of my knees. With the iBert Safe-T-Seat being mounted higher, to the handlebars, I no longer have that problem. My knees are free to move and only contact the seat in tight corners. Also, the bottom of the iBert Safe-T-Seat is contoured so when I do hit my knees in tight corners, they just slide off. Several others I tried had sharp edges or hardware under the seat which killed my knees.
Price — The iBert Safe-T-Seat costs right at $100. That is on the high end of most other front-mount seats which I priced anywhere from $48 – $125. However, the good points of iBert Safe-T-Seat are well worth the extra 50 bucks.
Styling — Lastly, the iBert Safe-T-Seat did fail in one category. Its styling has left something to be desired. The iBert Safe-T-Seat is neon green molded plastic. Although it is a small price to pay for such a great seat, I do wish it wasn’t such an offensive, bright color. Mounted atop my navy blue bicycle, you can see the neon green iBert Safe-T-Seat coming for miles. I think I can get over that though.
Overall, I am extremely satisfied with my purchase of the iBert Safe-T-Seat. I would highly recommend it to any parent looking for a front-mounted toddler carrier for their bicycle, especially if you are tall. One word of caution though, only toddlers one year or older should ever be a passenger on a bicycle and always wear a helmet!
