Quote Originally Posted by emily_in_nc View Post
Thanks for all the good info, SheFly! Wish I *were* tall enough for a 29er as those seem more common than 26" MTBs nowadays.

I can see where hardtail would work fine on gnarly single-track, because you're out of the saddle a LOT, right? Here, it's dead flat, but the unpaved roads are riddled with rocks and potholes, and the paved roads are mostly cobblestone, so I wouldn't want to be out of the saddle all that much -- with conditions here, I'd have to ride out of the saddle nearly *all* the time to avoid all the bumps, so that is why I was thinking full-suspension. I am not looking to ride aggressively here, just upright and comfortably. My current beach cruiser is a peach on flat, packed sand and flat pavement, but we don't have much of that.

Since a SS fullie is an impossible dream, a suspension seatpost would be my best option, I think, so I could stay seated and have more comfort than on my current beach cruiser.

I may just end up adding a suspension seatpost to my beach cruiser and call it done, as a cheap fix. But it's fun to look at new bikes and dream a little, even if I never do anything about it.
Yup - I think the idea of a Thudbuster is a good one. I've used one on our tandem (many moons ago), and it worked really well. Pairing that with a front suspension fork should smooth out even the cobblestones/pot holes where you are.

My 26er SS was from Soul Cycles, and I LOVED it. Try some of the lesser brands for a SS - Motobecane makes a SS-specific frame, kona makes one, etc.).

I'm sure whatever you decide will work well. SS'ing is addictive though

SheFly