Dual Suspension Commuter Bike

I've been hoping to find time to post a couple of new stories this week. I spent two weeks on a boat on the Gulf, which is worth mentioning (carefully) here. And there is a story somewhere in our mountain biking trip that took place during a thunderstorm last weekend. So far I have not found time to tell these tales, so this is just interim drivel.

The Ute is in the basement awaiting a summer cleanup. It has passed the 2000 mile mark and needs a new chain and a little brake maintenance. In the mean time, I've been riding the Soma Double Cross to and from work. However, last night I did a second round of cleanup on the mountain bike fleet, following last weeks thunderstorm ride, so I wanted to get my RZ out for a spin. Except for the lack of rack and fenders, the RZ may be a better tool for my daily ride.

Right now, my normal bicycle commuting route is closed. Dobie Road is getting a new bridge. In the mean time, I'm taking Hamilton Road, which has a very wide road bed, with wide rough dirt (and broken asphalt, glass, rocks, etc.) shoulders, but a very narrow strip of pavement between the white lines. In addition to being narrow, Hamilton is crumbling. In many places it's rough enough that attempting to ride it on a typical road bike would certainly result in pinch flats and bent rims. To make matters worse, "rush hour" usage of Hamilton by automobiles has increased noticeably with Dobie closed.

Riding Hamilton on the RZ was an improvement. Those fat 2.25 inch tires at 35 psi in combination with the front and rear suspension, made it easier to hold my line on the white line. At one point, however, I allowed a car that cut too close to push me onto the rough shoulder, which was not a good idea because then all the following cars expected me to stay on the shoulder, which, due to the aforementioned obstacles, as well as driveways and mailboxes, was not a continuous option. The plush 5 inches of front and rear travel on the RZ allowed me to comfortably float through those nasty cracks, ruts, and potholes, while easily maintaining control of the bike.

So, I guess my conclusion for all this drivel would be that in some conditions, a plush dual suspension bike might be the safest and most appropriate commuter bike. Therefore, someone might want to consider building a dual suspension cargo bike. Something that looks like a Ute, but has a decent suspension fork up front. Up front, this could be accomplished by simply adding a suspension fork to the Ute. To keep the geometry right, the 29" wheel might need to be traded for a 26" wheel to compensate for travel. The challenge (maybe?) would be to build a rear suspension that could handle the varying loads of a cargo bike, ideally without having to inflate or deflate the shock. It would need to function acceptably with my 150 pound weight when empty, but also work at 250 pounds when heavily loaded with groceries or books.