KRS - Bucket Seat
Designed a child seat system with Kids Ride Shotgun that brings toddlers into the mountain biking experience from the get-go.
Designing the world’s first convertible child seat built specifically for modern mountain bikes was the goal. Most child seats were never designed for modern mountain bikes, so we set out on this mission with Kids Ride Shotgun to do just that.
Project Information:
Client: Kids Ride Shotgun
Industry: Consumer Products, Soft Goods & Sporting Equipment
Services: New Product Development
Helped create the product vision
Defined the design language
Helped generate the product form and function
Prototyped and tested a range of mounting systems.
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Overview
Designing the world’s first convertible child seat built specifically for modern mountain bikes.
Most child seats were never designed for modern mountain bikes. Existing harnessed seats were primarily developed for city bikes, with bulky adaptors, poor fitment, restricted steering, and mounting systems that often interfered with the bike frame or cockpit. For many MTB families, the only solution was buying a second bike - or not riding together at all. The goal of the Shotgun Pro EVO project was to change that:
to create a purpose-built child seat system for mountain bikes that delivers world-class safety, seamless bike integration, and a premium riding experience for both parent and child.
Following the success of the original Kids Ride Shotgun seat, the next opportunity was clear: create a more supportive riding system for younger children - opening the mountain biking experience to families with babies as young as nine months old. Dan and Tom partnered with Virtuo to define the future vision, product language, and mechanical integration for what would become the Shotgun Pro EVO - a world-first convertible child mountain bike seat.
The project spanned product vision, safety and compliance exploration, industrial design, ergonomics, materials, and the development of a slimline mounting system that could integrate seamlessly with modern mountain bikes while remaining tool-free and quick to install.
Frame
The challenge was multidimensional: how do you create class-leading safety for infants, ensure compatibility across a wide range of modern mountain bikes, and maintain the distinctive Kids Ride Shotgun riding experience?
The system needed to support children from 9 months to 2 years old in a secure harnessed configuration, before later transforming into a more open riding setup for older children. It required a highly secure 5-point harness, childproof buckles, sternum straps, and an attachment system robust enough for real mountain biking use. Just as importantly, the seat needed to mount cleanly to the bike without touching the frame, preserve steering and cockpit performance, and allow rapid swapping between bikes in under 15 seconds.
The result would need to feel less like a traditional child carrier, and more like serious MTB equipment.
Our Approach
The project began by defining the future vision and design language for the EVO platform, alongside deep exploration into safety standards, compliance pathways, material systems, and ergonomic requirements for younger riders.
The Kids Ride Shotgun design language was distilled into three interconnected principles:
Geometrically Organic — lightweight yet protective forms that transition between precision geometry and fluid anatomical surfaces.
Technical Robustness — engineered detailing and structural expression that communicate strength, safety, and performance.
Minimalist Contemporary — a refined reduction of unnecessary elements, placing emphasis on materiality, clarity, and purposeful form.
Together, these principles formed the Freedom and Connection product language - a technically expressive yet contemporary aesthetic designed to communicate safety, capability, and adventure. From there, the process moved rapidly through sketching, ergonomic studies, foam mockups, and concept development. Iterative feedback loops helped refine silhouettes, proportions, rider positioning, and interaction points before transitioning into detailed 3D CAD development.
A major technical focus became the mounting and latching system. The seat needed to integrate with the Pro rail platform while enabling true tool-free installation, rapid quick-release functionality, and automatic latching during attachment — allowing parents to safely lift the seat on and off with both hands free.
This evolved into an intensive engineering process exploring rotational geometry, mounting datums, latching mechanics, and structural interfaces through CAD studies, proof-of-concept prototypes, and sectional test rigs.
Outcome
Kids Ride Shotgun launched the Shotgun Pro EVO globally in 2025 as the world’s first 2-in-1 convertible child seat designed specifically for mountain bikes. It begins as a harnessed seat for children aged 9–24 months, before transforming into the open-style Pro seat and handlebars setup for children aged 2 years and older.
The final system allows families to ride together from 9 months through to 5 years of age - all on the same mountain bike, without any contact against the bike frame.
More than a child seat, the Pro EVO extends the original vision of Kids Ride Shotgun: enabling parents and children to share the mountain biking experience from the very earliest years, without compromising the performance, handling, or aesthetic expectations of modern MTB culture.
“When we launched our original Shotgun seat, it opened up mountain biking for families with children aged two and up. But for families with younger kids, the options were still limited. The Pro EVO changes that - making it possible to ride from nine months through to five years, all on the same MTB.”
— Dan
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