Price: € 349 | Duration: 6 Months | Manufacturer’s Website
Got kids? Perfect – keep reading, buy a Shotgun. In a relationship but no kids yet? Easy: make a baby, keep reading, buy a Shotgun. Single? No problem: find a partner, make a baby, keep reading, buy a Shotgun. Honestly, we could end the article here. But the editor-in-chief insists we need a bit more substance. Fair enough!
Front-mounted child seats are booming for good reason: they offer safety, closeness, and a whole lot of shared fun on the trail. While classic rear-mounted seats turn your child into more of a passenger, the Shotgun places your kid right in front of you – between your arms – actively immersed in the ride. That’s exactly why the original Shotgun Pro became one of the most popular products in the MTB family world.
With the new Shotgun Pro Evo, Kids Ride Shotgun deliver an update that’s better and more versatile in all the right places. But before we get into the upgrades, let’s cover the basics: how does the system actually work?
How Does the Shotgun Pro Evo Work?
A front-mounted seat like the Shotgun Pro Evo is installed between the stem and the seatpost – more precisely between the steerer tube spacers at the front and the seatpost at the rear. Up front, you replace one spacer under the stem with a special mounting spacer included with the seat. At the back, you clamp a quick-release mount onto the seatpost. Between these two points runs a rail on which the sliding seat carriage can be positioned.
Your child sits not behind you, but directly in front of you, between your arms, looking down the trail with you. Compared to rear-mounted seats, this concept not only creates closeness and better communication, but also the stability needed for mellow trail adventures. Yes, trails. Maybe don’t tell mom every detail afterwards!
The Shotgun Pro Evo expands this basic concept with a proper seat shell for smaller children. That means kids as young as around nine months can ride safely and with good support. Later, once they’re stable enough, you can remove the shell and use the open Pro-style setup. This allows the Evo to cover the entire co-pilot age spectrum, from tiny passengers to kids who are ready to “co-ride” the trail.
Kids Ride Shotgun Pro Evo Review: What’s new?
Even though the core idea remains the same, the Evo brings several well-executed upgrades.
1. New seat shell for the youngest riders
The previous Shotgun Pro had no seat shell and was rated for kids from around two years old, because younger children usually can’t sit steadily. The Evo introduces a robust shell with softly rubberized grab bars and a Fidlock harness. This allows children as young as nine months to ride safely.
2. Redesigned rail and carriage mounting system
The old seat carriage was fixed to the rail with four bolts from underneath – fiddly, hard to reach when mounted, and prone to wear because people usually loosened only one side. The Evo now uses just two M4 bolts accessible from the rear. It’s easier to use, more durable, and allows quick adjustments for different-sized kids.
3. Improved front mount
The redesigned quick-release clamp under the stem requires a lower spacer height and offers more steering clearance. The compact shape increases compatibility with bikes that have short cockpits or bulky stems.
4. Adapter for internally-routed cables
New in the box is an adapter kit for bikes with cables routed through the headset – a very common setup on modern trail bikes and especially eMTBs. But heads up: there are so many different internal cable routing concepts out now that you should always double-check with the manufacturer to ensure compatibility.
Who Should Take A Closer Look At The Shotgun Pro Evo?
The Pro Evo is ideal for:
- Families who want to start riding together early – from around nine months
- Parents looking for a long-lasting solution for multiple years
- Bikes with integrated cable routing (check for compatibility!)
- Riders who switch between multiple bikes (Pro and Pro Evo share the same mounting spacer)
For installation, you need at least 14 mm of seatpost outside the travel range – meaning the part of the post that does not move. You also need at least 10 mm of spacers under the stem, which are replaced by the Shotgun mounting spacer. Drop-bar and urban bikes are still incompatible with the system – the Evo is clearly designed for mountain bikes and eMTBs.
The modular concept is another important point: while the seat shell can be removed, switching between shell and open setup takes about 10 –15 minutes. For families with two children of different ages, the most practical, albeit rather expensive, solution is an Evo for the younger child and a classic Shotgun Pro for the older one. That keeps day-to-day routines smooth and prevents constant reconfiguration.
The Bottom Line on the Kids Ride Shotgun Pro Evo
Having kids is a big decision. But the Kids Ride Shotgun Pro Evo makes the idea pretty damn tempting. Compared to its predecessor, it works with far more bikes, makes shared rides possible with very young children, and smooths out several of the small quirks of the old model. At the same time, it preserves the essence of the concept: direct, intuitive riding fun where kids genuinely become part of the experience. We like it a lot!
Tops
- Trail adventures with kids from around 9 months
- One system for the entire co-pilot era
- High-quality materials and construction
- Smart improvements over the previous model
Flops
- For multiple kids: swapping the seat shell isn’t practical in day-to-day use
For more information, visit Kids Ride Shotgun
Did you enjoy this article? If so, we would be stoked if you decide to support us with a monthly contribution. By becoming a supporter of ENDURO, you will help secure a sustainable future for high-quality mountain bike journalism. Click here to learn more.
Words: Jonny Grapentin Photos: Robin Ulbrich, Jan Richter