Thanks for the input - great info on mountain bike drawback - you folks are great for a getting me up to speed on my education (all puns intended) - caliper and not drum - interesting - why? As for tires, am i correct in thinking fat tires might ad to a comfy ride? And am i also correct that a 24" tire is going to produce a bike that has a lower standover height but is less efficient to move? BTW, can you switch out tire sizes or are the frames made for only one or the other? And is there such a think as an aluminum frame than can survive a pounding?
As for a cruiser - I guess i could ad suspension forks on the front - also to smooth out some of the bumps, correct? And I am a nut, like you, trust me on that one ;-)
As with designing a boat, I am thinking frame decisions first much like hull decisions first: but i need to understand all the factors in a big picture kind of way before settling on the frame choice.
Let me ad a few details of how i see this bike being used: 14mi round trip to work on Highway one, along the mendo coast: so plenty of hills, dry for six months, wet for six months, and wet includes leaves, mud, pine needles and road kill avoidance maneuvers: The long driveway is gravel, most friends driveways are dirt. Remember ...I'm SHORT.
What do we think about a hybrid gas/electric - using the electric to occasionally kick in some extra torque ( i know, the weight might mitigate some of the benefit). Now I am not a "survivalist" but a very tiny tiny tiny corner of my brains says that having three forms of power: pedal/gas/electric, might have some benefit when the end of the world comes, and besides I love the image of me as a stealthy (quiet) ninja jane bond as well :::sly smile:::....but i digress, and if i tell you too much about me, I'd have to kill you - and there a a lot of "you's" on this forum!
