Robin's Story

2016As a casual bike rider who enjoys riding but not the pain of it, I questioned "why hasn’t someone invented a comfortable bicycle seat?". There has to be a better way and the conviction to make it a reality was born. The concept was brought to life with my first prototype and I quickly realised I needed help!

2019 The Inventors Association of Australia (IAA) have meetings in each state, so I decided to go and exhibit my prototype to the feasibility committee for advice. A strong thumbs up from all the committee members gave me the confidence to pursue the project.

At the same time Philippe Guichard from D2 Design and Development was speaking from an Industrial Designers perspective with a breadth of successful projects and a beautiful and sustainable design philosophy. He was someone I wanted to work with!

2020Over the next 2 years Philippe and I worked on numerous designs, prototypes, test runs and failures (we call them learning experiences).

Another real breakthrough came in the design using a virtual axis accompanying the original split seat design. Re-vamped designs, more prototyping and yet more learning experiences made the COVID-19 world bearable. We knew we were onto something big!

2021 Our area of expertise needed to be expanded. We needed practical solutions, which required different perspectives, so it was the team at Whistle Design Group that were commissioned to the project.

The design was critiqued, analysed and scoped for a range of human factors and then finally streamlined to the model we are all proud of today.

2024-2025After going viral in June 2024, the response has been overwhelming, and we’ve seen tremendous demand for our product. Our small but dedicated team has been working tirelessly to ensure a successful launch.

We’re now aiming to launch our Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign in March 2025. Launching on Kickstarter gives you the opportunity to back our groundbreaking project and be part of our journey. With a range of backer tiers and exclusive rewards, you’ll have the chance to support us in bringing the vabsRider to market and receive unique perks in return.