Whenever I see other parents out riding with their kids and my son is on a front-mounted seat, without fail, they say something to the effect of, “Man, I wish we would have done that; the rear-mounted seats are so boring.”
There are several different options for front-mounted seats, like the Kids Ride Shotgun and MacRide. However, those require your little shredder to have a bit of core and upper body strength to hold themselves up as you’re riding along — especially if you leave the bike path.
The Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini is a front mounted kids seat that would serve as the ideal stepping stone for a little one, that way you can get them out on the bike with you early.
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An overview of the Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini
Using a foam cocoon with a five-point harness and a quick-release mounting bracket, the Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini is a front-mounted kids seat for children from one to three years old, weighing a maximum of 15kg. The key is that they can sit up and support themselves unaided for extended periods.
Inside the non-porous foam exterior, there is a bit of padding to prevent little bumps from being uncomfortable, and there is an integrated handlebar, which can also serve as a support should your passenger fall asleep on their chauffeured tours of the bike paths around town. The clipping mechanics for the straps is magnetic, and the release is difficulty for me to undue, much less tiny little wandering hands.
Everything is adjustable, from the straps to the foot harness, so the Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini can grow along with your mini shredder.
Installing the Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini
The seat itself is assembled with a couple of turns of an Allen and Torx key—which are included if you don’t have the correct sizes in your toolbox.
The bracket which the seat clips into will need to be mounted onto your steerer tube. According to Thule the bracket is compatible with both threaded steerers and threadless (or a-head steerer as Thule says.)
You’ll need to remove your stem and a couple of spacers and attach the bracket directly to your steerer tube. The instructions in the box are for a threaded steerer, which is significantly smaller in diameter than the tapered one on your fork. With the inserts installed, the diameter does not sit nicely flush with the steerer. Given that you’re trusting your child’s health and wellbeing to this seat, we reached out to Thule for clarification.
Apparently, this question is so common. Thule tells us it will be updating the included documentation and says, “The small half-moon parts need to be removed for this newer bracket to attach directly to the a-head steerer.”
The bracket itself clamps down onto the steerer with a pair of bolts that need to be tightened to 8Nm. However, before you do this, put the remaining spacers and stem back on to set the headset bearing preload. You’ll also need to ensure your stem is not touching the front end of the clamp, and you may need to move some spacers around.
With that, you’ll also need to consider the length of your steerer. On my Norco Optic, there is 70mm of steer that sticks out above the top bearing cap. With the bracket installed and requisite spacers under the stem, if my steerer was any shorter I would not be comfortable using this seat.
Once the bracket is mounted, it’s a matter of clipping the seat in, loading your shredder up and rolling out. While Thule only includes one bracket, extras can be purchased separately should you want to shuffle the seat between multiple bikes.
Riding with the Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini
My son is two-years-old and he is a BIG two-year-old. For perspective, he weighs in at 14.8kg, and he’s been wearing toddler clothes sized for three-year-olds since his second birthday.
He fits comfortably in the seat, and there is plenty of room to adjust the stirrups. I have had him on the Kids Ride Shotgun for some time, so he is well-trained to grab my handlebars, and I could not get him to grab the bar on the Yepp seat. The big difference is that he wouldn’t need to hang on as he securely fastened to the seat. Even after weeks of ripping around in the Yepp, he still grabs onto my bars and will not even entertain the thought of using the integrated bar — welcome to the mind of a two-year-old.
For me, riding the bike, the Yepp seat positions kiddo in a more comfortable spot, forward and higher than the Kids Ride Shotgun Pro. With my son on the Kids Ride Shotgun, my knees graze his bum as I pedal.
With the seat itself mounted to your bars, it turns when you do, which limits your turning circle as the footrests hit your top tube. There is plenty of radius to get around corners on your local bike path or reserve track, but you’d hit the limit quickly on the first singletrack switchback.
Kids Ride Shotgun vs Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini
The question we were most often asked while mobbing around in the Yepp 2 Next Mini was how it compares to the Kids Ride Shotgun Pro.
Put simply, it’s a different experience for your child, and where they are developmentally will largely decide as to which seat is right for your family.
The Yepp seat places your child as more of a passenger, whereas the Kids Ride Shotgun makes them a part of the experience, and they can help you steer and lean into corners.
Frankly, I put my son on the Kids Ride Shotgun a little bit too early, and while he loved it from the start, there were times when I could tell he didn’t quite have the strength to hold on comfortably to counteract some of the humps and bumps we were riding over. Even still, from day one, it’s been damn near impossible to get him off the seat when the ride is over, as he always wants to keep going.
Looking back, the Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini would have been the ideal stepping stone to something like the Kids Ride Shotgun or MacRide, where they can experience how much fun it is to roll down a hill or explore the world around them on a bike, but be a bit less gripped trying to hang on.
When it comes to setup and living with the seat and mounting interface, I’d say the Thule system would be on par with the original Kids Ride Shotgun. The Thule Mounting bracket is something that could live on your bike permanently, but it’s pretty big and blocky, and I suspect most folks wouldn’t leave it on for their weekly group ride or a shuttle day.
It’s only a five-minute job, provided your mini-shredder doesn’t want to “help,” which, in my experience, adds about 15 minutes to the process.
Flow’s Verdict
Front-mounted kids’ seats are rad. They allow you to spend time with your child outside, having fun, and they don’t have to stare at your sweaty back. They are in among the action, watching the world go by just like you!
The Thule Yepp Nexxt 2 Mini is a seat you can mount on your mountain bike — or beach cruiser, commuter, townie, etc. — to introduce your little one to riding early on. However, while you can mount it to your mountain bike, mountain biking with it would be a stretch.
While your child is supported by a cocoon of foam, the stirrups hitting your top tube when you turn the bars too far will be a major limiting factor, even on mellow bits of singletrack. With that, every bump you hit gets transmitted to the seat as they can’t stand up.
With that said, it’s more than sufficient to cut laps of your local bike path, ride to the shops and explore your neighbourhood.
You’ll need to tick a few boxes for the fitment, namely having enough length in the steerer tube. If you can check that box, I can’t think of many better options to introduce your children to bikes and enjoying the outdoors.
