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.

2024After 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.

From 3-7 July 2024, we unveiled the vabsRider on the global stage for the first time at Eurobike, Germany. Thousands from the bicycle industry and passionate members of the public to the opportunity to see the vabsRider on display, with hundreds taking to the test track to try out the demo units.

Watch our Eurobike YouTube video here.

June 2025Thanks to everyone who's backed the vabsRider during our Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign!

With your help, we raised over $250,583 AUD to fund the first production of the vabsRider, thank you for backing the project.

While we're closing Kickstarter, we're giving anyone who's missed out the opportunity to get your own vabsRider via BackerKit.

BackerKit is the platform we're using to accept late pledges (pre-orders) which means Kickstarter backers can get another vabsRider and anyone who missed out can get their hands – and cheeks – on one too.

Make sure you click the button below to place your order: