Quote Originally Posted by Irulan View Post
Here's this to think about. When you ride a SS, you are out of the saddle a lot. I have a SS with an old rockshock fork on it, and I can attest to that. So you get to work on your "body english" suspension.
Yes, this is definitely true in the actual mountain biking world. I have a friend I used to ride trails with occasionally -- me on my fullie, him on his SS, and he was out of the saddle a LOT turning that big gear! But my needs are much simpler since it's flat here on Ambergris Caye. As I've mentioned, though, the roads leave a lot to be desired in places. I just want to be more comfortable on the gravely, rocky parts, going over the potholes, and on the cobblestone "paved" roads. Not to say that I'll never be out of the saddle, I will; but not a lot -- I ride much more leisurely here; these are slower utility rides to town to buy groceries, to visit friends, to go to restaurants, not technical trail rides. My beach cruiser bike is my vehicle here since we are car-free, so it needs to be comfortable. And oftentimes I'm doing this riding after a 4-5 mile morning run, so my quads aren't really up for a ton of out-of-saddle riding at that point. Riding is VERY relaxing compared to running here!

So, after considering all the myriad of options offered up here (thanks to all who contributed!), doing a bunch of research online, and considering the logistics and cost of getting a new bike here, I've decided for now to pursue the suspension seatpost only. In time, a new bike may be in my future, but for now, it makes sense for me to work with what I've got and save a bunch of money. It's not like I'm out doing 50 or 100-milers or anything close to it. My bike is just my transportation here, and the more comfy I can get it, the better. I've already changed out the big cushy, cruiser saddle that came on it for one with a cutout, and the original super wide handlebars for some that are less swept back (the super swept-back ones were giving me elbow pain), and that has helped a lot.