Your child is essential to your life, and you want to share the world with them. Living near the California coast, I found that beach cruising was a great way to do this. Not only can our whole family get a breath of fresh air, but our kids (ages 7, 2, and 1) can also learn to love the feel of the bike underneath them. The MyiBert Child Safe-T-Seat is the perfect bike seat for my 14-month-old.
Just a quick look at the iBert Child Bike Seat. I have found that many child bike seats are made to mount on the rider’s back. Of course, the rear bike seats are mounted behind you, so interaction is complicated. Here are the reasons I went with a bike seat that mounts to the front of the bike:
The iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat is mounted on the front of your bike:
There is no braking on the bike with the iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat. The seat becomes part of the bike, making it easier to climb hills. (compared to a bike trailer, yes, I have one. No, I don’t use it anymore)
You can ride on bike paths that are inaccessible to others. I’m not that advanced of a rider, so it wasn’t a problem for me, but I still wanted to add it here).
• The iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat on the front of the bike near the handlebars allows for easy interaction with your child. However, the seat doesn’t get in the way and doesn’t cause any restrictions on your knees (not even for tall people! I’m 5’7″)
• The iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat is safe and durable. Your child sits comfortably and sees more than just your back while still being completely protected. This seat lasts for years and can even be left outside during the rainy season. Not that Southern California has dramatic weather. But the material used to make this particular bike seat is durable.
• The iBert Mount bicycle seat is made with you and your child in mind. The seat attaches to the front of the bike, leaving plenty of room for your knees and comfortably fitting your child. Just a few weeks ago, my family and I went for a 2-hour bike ride, and baby Maverick (now 14 months old) didn’t seem to complain about the comfort.
• Installation of the iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat is rapid and easy. This seat can be installed in less than 5 minutes. ANYONE can do it! It means no need to search for tools to remove the seat and no time to rebuild the bike. Although I didn’t install the seat on my bike myself (that’s what husbands are for, right?), my husband was done installing the seat in minutes.
Installation step:
Step 1
Cut the old crotch strap and remove it from the seat.
Step 2
Insert the new strap into the seat slot, ensuring that the T-stitch goes through the seat slot and cannot be pulled back through the space. It was easy; I never knew it was a t-stitch before. Notice that there is a lot of extra strapping here – enough to make me think I was doing it wrong. Have faith. It’s alright.
Step 3:
Please remove one of the safety lever buckles from the shoulder straps and insert it through the hole in the seat back.
Note:
Note that the tapes below are the wrong side up – the black side is supposed to be on top. However, it does not change the functionality of the seat. Also, and this is important: check the buckles before putting on the straps. There is a left and right strap, and they are not marked – so double-check before putting them on.
Step 4:
Using the second buckle of the clamping lever as a guide, thread the strap through the buckle and push the lever down to secure the strap.
Step 5:
Pull the strap through the flat part to thread the buckle, remove the top of the first slot, and then back down into the second slot. Adjust and tighten. Easy peasy.
Okay, on to the tricky part
iBert safe-T-seat steering assembly:
Installation took me about half an hour. As I said, I’m not mechanically inclined. But it goes.
1. Take a 3/4″ bolt and push it through the front of the steering wheel.
Then put the steering wheel on the base and add the fender washer and nylock nut. The metal part of the nut will screw onto the bolt, and the nylon part of the bolt will face out. Look closely at the photo below – see how the nut has a funny-looking whitish spot on top. That’s what the “nylock” screw does. It must be on top, facing you.
Using a wrench and screwdriver, tighten the nut enough that the steering wheel turns with little friction but not so tight that a child can’t turn the steering wheel. The steering wheel should not depend on its own. The screw must be screwed into the nylock part of the nut. Otherwise, the nut will not lock onto the screw.
2. Peel off the paper from the steering wheel pad and attach it to the center of the steering wheel.
3. Attach the steering wheel base to the belly bar and align the three holes.
Okay, let’s talk about “connection” first. It means aligning the little tabs on the steering wheel assembly to the bottom of the belly bar.
Two of these clip over the bottom of the gusset rod. Now you can move it back and forth a bit. Look at the center hole on the underside of the belly bar and slide the steering assembly until you can see the light through the hole like this:
4. Screw the (3) 1/2″ screws until the ends are closely aligned with the steering base holes.
This part will be tricky if you have big fingers – it’s tight. Here is the first screw:
Now, there’s a reason the instructions only say to screw the bolts in until the ends are flush (meaning straight) with the steering base holes: there’s no room for the wing nuts to move.
5. Hold the wing nuts over the ends of the bolts and continue to tighten their bolts until they are tight.
So you must carefully align the wing nuts over the bolts and then hold them in place as you screw the bolt in to tighten them. I took at least ten minutes to do this part because the nuts kept slipping off. It was tricky. But!
Where to buy the iBert Child Bicycle Safe-T-Seat:
I found this item to be a bit pricey, but I was lucky enough to find a used item on Craigslist nearby. I recommend you search your area before buying a new one online or in stores. Amazon has iBert bike seats listed for around $80-$100, and you may be able to find them at sporting goods or bike stores.
Conclusion:
The Ibet bike seat is essential for a child. Your ibet seat installation confusion is undoubtedly gone. Thank you for reading the article.
