About Us
Our purpose
Based in the North Island of New Zealand, we’re a close-knit team of mountain bike parents with a global vision – to raise the next generation of mountain bikers.
We believe:
- In getting kids off devices and onto mountain bike trails
- In parents spending quality time with their kids
- In fostering a love of nature and the outdoors
We believe that riding, and everything it offers, helps positively develop kids, and leaves a lasting impression on both parent and child. And we believe that this is genuinely good for the world.
About Kids Ride Shotgun
Founded by Tom Hayward and Dan Necklen in May 2017, we are an independently owned business, and our shred-quarters is located in Tauranga, New Zealand.
We design, manufacture and sell a range of mountain bike products and accessories for families with children up to 5 years of age – and our products are available globally through bicycle retailers and also online via our Kids Ride Shotgun website.
For more company news, follow Kids Ride Shotgun on Linkedin.
What makes us different
Designed in New Zealand
Because we're from the outdoor mecca of New Zealand, a passion for nature and the outdoors flows through everything we do – especially our products.
Everything we produce is designed to handle the rugged New Zealand conditions. And to protect the environment we love, we strive to make our packaging from 100% recycled materials wherever possible.
As hat-tip to our kiwi roots, you'll find the official fernmark symbol on all of our products, the registered mark of our New Zealand origins.
From book to bike
We see our business as a vehicle for raising the next generation of mountain bikers, and we re-invest all profits into product development.
Since first launching the shotgun seat in 2017, we’ve developed a bunch of new products for mountain bike families. From our 'Shred Til Bed' Alphabet book, to our mountain bike tow rope, we're keen to get more families stoked about riding bikes together. And we're only just getting started – we have plenty more exciting products on the horizon which we can't wait to create.
When you spend your hard-earned cash on one of our products, you're not only buying special time with your little one, you’re also raising future mountain bikers into the sport we love – and new riders are being born everyday!
To suggest a product idea, please contact us.
World-class safety
Long before our products hit the market, they go through rigorous safety testing and quality control – both in the factory, and at accredited third party testing laboratories.
For all of our products, we test to international safety standards where they apply. We also test for hazardous substances across all our products, to make sure that all materials and coatings used are safe for little ones.
In recent times, a number of low-quality counterfeit Shotgun products have emerged. We can't speak for the safety of any copy-cat products on the market. Please contact us to report a counterfeit listing.
Our team
We have an amazing New Zealand based team, however most of our customers are in the Northern Hemisphere. For this reason, we’re excited to be growing our international team, with key team members currently based in the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
We are often recruiting, and communicate all available roles and vacancies via our Kids Ride Shotgun Linkedin page. Furthermore, as a fast growing company, we’re keen to connect with individuals who see themselves in senior positions within our business, and align with our mission. If this sounds like you, please contact us.
Our beginnings
Our journey began in the New Zealand summer of 2017, when mountain biking was splitting up the family for Kids Ride Shotgun co-founder Dan Necklen.
“Our kids were 3, 7 and 9 years old, and we’d literally have to split up to go riding. We would head to the trails in nearby Rotorua, and I’d ride the longer trails with our older boys, whilst my wife would stay near the carpark with our youngest son on his balance bike. We all loved mountain biking, but we hated having to split up to do it – we had to find a better way.”
Dan knew that a rear mounted seat wouldn’t work on his full suspension bike, so he started looking at front mounted child seats – and he found two options suitable for mountain biking. But unfortunately, the first wouldn’t fit his bike, and the second was a permanent attachment which also risked scratching his pride and joy.
And that’s when co-founder, product designer and MTB Dad Tom Hayward stepped in. The brief was simple. To design a child bike seat for parents who have high end full-suspension bikes, and want to take their kids mountain biking with them.
Pictured above: Early production and testing of the first generation shotgun seat.
“After several prototypes, and plenty of feedback from MTB families and bike retailers, we had a design that was working really well – and most importantly, parents and kids were loving it”
Fast forward a few months, and the first version of the shotgun seat was born, and a pre-order campaign helped launch the brand in New Zealand. In March 2018, our shotgun handlebar accessory was released, before investment was raised in February 2019, and our focus shifted to North America and Europe, and USA and UK distribution was secured.
In 2020, covid-19 fuelled a global bike boom, and our tow rope and ‘shred til bed’ kids book products launched. This was supported by strong growth in Europe, with distribution secured in a number of key markets. We also picked up the design and innovation award, and grew our team from 4 to 14 staff, including a number of off-shore team members.
In 2021, we shifted across town into our new 'shred-quarters', and released the shotgun pro, our e-bike compatible child seat with zero frame contact.
From our origins as a single-product business, we’re now stoked to be a leading brand in the emerging mountain biking with kids category, and we’re excited about raising the next generation of mountain bikers.
For more about the company and our milestones, check out our blog.
