Our youngest son is 21mths old. We all now have bicycles and neighborhood recently put in greenbelt. As soon as it gets warm we want to take advantage of it. The question is what do we get for our youngest to ride along. With our oldest we had a rear seat which seemed to work great. I have recently seen seats that mount on the bar that runs from your seat to the handle bars. It looks great but how is it when you are pedaling or holding onto the bars. Does your child get in your way or not? He would definitely have a better view but looking for pros and cons.
I always had mine on the back... front sounds interesting tho but when they get BIGGER they probably wouldnt fit there. Also I think they are more vulnerable in the front if you happened to wreck, jmo.
i have ridden with both as I live in a country now where we bike everywhere. I think that your son may be getting a bit old to make the front seat worthwhile for much longer, a back bike seat will probably last longer in the long run. Once they are past 2, the front tends to get heavy. Also, the front seats are awkward for an american style mountain bike---you need a different bike I think for the front seats to make it really comofortable. We live in holland, so the Dutch bikes here are suited more for travelling with kids like that.
Trailer is also really good too!! that way one person can always take more than one kid if needed!
I like the front-loaders... they just seem safer to me. I have seen people riding with them, and it didn't look like the kids were in the way at all. I like the idea of being able to see what is going on with my baby. Plus, if you do crash, I also like the idea of being able to 'shield' the baby from impact more. The only thing that seems bad about them is that if you actually run into something, you would fall forward onto baby. I want to buy a front loader for myself...
OH! The kids I have seen ranged in ages from about 8 months to around 3 years (??? Just a guess, since I didn't know the people...) Another idea for you though might be to buy one of the buggies that are pulled by the bike. That will keep your baby out of the sun, and it will fit for years to come. :)
My husband and I both have the Wee Ride Kanagroo carriers for our 17 month old and almost 3 year old. They are the front loader ones. Both my hubby and I, and the kids love them! They are much easier to ride with then the back loader ones. They mount differently then the back loaders and keep your center of balance perfectly when riding. They are also safer then the back loaders. I have ridden with both my kids on them and their height and weight differences make it no different when riding. I love having them right in front of me, and I can talk to them the whole time and point things out to them. I have no problems seeing over them, I'm average height 5'5". The only thing I had to change when riding with them on is my knees now have to bend out slightly. This wasn't a problem for me at all and since I have gotten used to it I don't even notice a difference anymore.
I had the front one and loved it. Actually still use it once in awhile with my 5 year old. I feel so in control and we can talk while riding. I point out things to her unlike the back where they can't hear a word your saying. Never had a problem peddling or top heavy.
I used one with my second child. He hated the trailer so we looked for an alternative. He absolutely loved the front mounted one. I didn't find that he was in my way. However, I am 5'10" so I have a longer reach than most women. I felt he was more secure in front of me and that I could protect him better in case of a fall.
Addition:
I used a mountain bike and it worked fine. My son is tall for his age and we used it until around his 4th birthday, since then we have switched to a trailer bike that he sits on and can peddal. I agree with another post, it isn't easy to switch bikes.
Have you checked into a Burley trailer? We had one and both my kids LOVED it! I always thought the trailer was much safer than a seat.
We have the Wee Ride Kangaroo that rides in the front also. I love that we were able to talk to our son while he was in it. I don't know that they actually are safer than the rear ones, but I was more comfortable being able to see him. (I think the safest are actually those trailers.) As CJ said, I did have to pedal kind of bow-legged, but that wasn't that big a deal. Also, I don't know how easy other bike seats are to move, but this one really isn't. So my husband had to use my bike if he wanted to ride with our son.
