I've been riding my bike to work for years, but my bike is really crappy and falling apart and now I have a baby to tote along to daycare as well. So I want to: 1) buy a new, nicer, reasonably lightweight commuting bike. The commute isn't too intense -- a couple of flat miles each way; 2) I'll be attaching some sort of little-person transportation system to this bike as well. So I'm curious about how folks weigh in on the great trailer v. rear seat debate, specifically for commuting in-town. I'll be riding on reasonably busy and relatively narrow streets. So there are two questions: what kind of bike do people recommend for commuting (something under $1000) and do folks recommend lugging the kid in a trailer or a seat?
Thanks for any and all advise!
P.S. I'm in the Chicago area if that helps to know.