I had flip-flopped multiple times on the front vs rear debate before ultimately buying the front Yepp. We knew we wanted a bike mounted seat and a trailer was ruled out almost immediately for us mostly due to storage space constraints, as well the fact that most of our riding would be on local multiuse paths that get really dry and dusty (although turned out to not much of an issue during this rather wet NJ summer) so I also wanted to keep our son up off the ground as much as possible.
After considering all the different options I eventually concluded the Yepp Mini was for us... only to then be generously offered a free rear seat from our friends that they could not use on their particular bikes. Part of what helped push the front seat selection was that I also already had a rear luggage rack to install on the Clem and use for carrying stuff with our son up front. Then the rear seat was given and we were all set to stick with it for practical reasons, but I began to rethink front rack options as the Thule Ride Along rear does not install to a rear rack but instead clamps around the seat tube and suspends itself over the rear tire from there. The irony is that I already traded away my Surly front rack before all of this occurred so I was back to evaluating front racks again with the rear baby seat now in possession. As it turns out, the Thule Ride Along did not fit around the widely spaced seatstays of the 65cm Clem H but fits well on one of my Wife's bikes (and will fit a couple other frames of mine for future use as he outgrows the front seat.) So we went back to Plan A and bought a Yepp Mini for my Clem to complement the Ride Along rear that we plan to transition into. The greatest, if not only, downside is the high cost for a 2nd seat that will only get used maybe 2yrs max (front rated up to 33lbs/3yrs and you lose most of the 1st year anyway) but I'm finding it's been well worth it so far. Of course, that is considering I have not experienced any other fit issues. The long top tube and high backswept bars seem to be key! I do not hit my knees/chest/chin on the seat whatsoever but the front seat does not work with my 5'1" wife and her small framed bicycles. Either route you choose, have fun and enjoy! Best, Brian Cole Lawrenceville, NJ On Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 7:58:13 AM UTC-4, Peter H wrote: > Hi Eric, > > I had a great experience with my son on the rear mount "Co-Pilot" on my > Clem. > > It worked great for the first 1-2 years of riding with him, but as he got > older and heavier around 2.5-3 yrs (he's 4..5 now) the disproportion of > weight became a bit of a bother on hills heading back home, so I eventually > went with a hodgepodge of used parts for a kit Xtracycle MB-2 build that > I'm quite happy with for city riding. My son loves being on the back of it, > and scoots up towards me and we chat along the way home from school through > the park, and being a cargo bike it allows us to strap his push bike to it > and we will ride together for certain stretches on the way. > > My other son now a little over 1 year old has been using the Co-Pilot on > my wife's bike, and I think we may end up eventually going for a Yepp mount > on the Xtracycle so the boys can be together. > > I agree with Lynne, bike trailers are a great option too. We use a trailer > on weekends when exploring and not in the city which is great, reason being > (for me) I found after a short trip to the grocery store not feeling all > that comfortable having them being be so far behind the bike with the busy > traffic, and distracted driving, especially at intersections as the bike > lanes here in Boston are as inconsistent as the good drivers are. > > I do however love the idea of a front mount seat, seems like in that set > up they are more part of the experience and less of an observer! If we > didn't already have the rear mount Co-Pilot seat, we probably would have > gone that route for our youngest. > > However you go about it, riding with kids is a real hoot!!! > > -Peter in Boston > > On Tuesday, September 18, 2018 at 1:01:17 PM UTC-4, Eric Schoenfeld wrote: >> >> Hi everyone, >> >> I'm just starting to research baby bike seats for my soon-to-be one year >> old. Any recommendations? >> >> I have a Sam with choco-moose bars and a Nitto rear rack. >> >> I read that rear seats are somewhat safer and have higher weight limits, >> so have some preference for a rear seat. >> >> Thanks, >> --eric >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
