hesco

looking for a new utility bike, the comfort style suits me fine, but would like to have full suspension for the smoother ride, so im thinking mtb, 700c and 29er tires are they worth the extra salt? can you pull a trailer with full suspension, also need some low gearing for the hills. any suggestion would be appreciated would like to spend 200 to 500 also need suggestion on fenders and racks, or a package deal with these items would be best. regards. hesco

another question i am 5,8 with 26 in tires i need a 19 inch frame would i need a smaller frame with the bigger tires.

badmother

You ask many questions and it is not easy to grasp what you are after. The "different size frame for different size wheels" theory does not amake sense. You can not ask for suggestions for fenders and stuff before you know what bike you are getting. Utility bikes often come with all you need.

I`d say avoid suspension bikes, lots of extra weight and you loose power. Go for FAT tires and a sprung seat if you want suspension.

Comfort bikes is not the best for hills, both riding position and gearing. You need to do a LOT of reading in the forum to see what others has done- and why, and then ask more spesific questions.

Artkansas 

I agree with the no suspension suggestion, especially if hills are a concern. A suspension can eat up your energy on a steep hill. I've had hills I could climb on a non-suspension bike that I could not climb on a bike with a suspension.

The bike frame sizing is more concerned with the distance between seat and bottom bracket. So the size may be spec'd out the same, but the geometry will be different for a bike with larger tires.

Fat Tire

A 700c tire fits on a 622mm rim, and a 26" tire (sized for a mountain bike) fits on a 559 rim. There are all sorts of 26" rims, but only one size commonly used for mountain bikes. So the height is about 1" taller, but the makers/designers of bikes usually change the bottom bracket height for the rim size. So you can't make a general rule like that. You just need to go try the bike. If you want a modern utility bike there is a Torker bike the Cargo T, but it only come with 559 rims x 28mm stock 2" tires. front and rear rack, fenders, a chain case. It weighs 45 pounds, costs $600, delivered to your local bike shop.

If you want fatter tires, how about the Surly Pugsley, with 102mm/4" tires?

A utility bike is aimed fairly directly at carrying loads, and making it easy to do so, and the suspension sounds good, but doesn't work out all that well. Each time you peddle it bobs up and down on the springs. if you are toting 400 pounds of baled newsprint, lifting 400 pounds up 4 inches and letting it back down get's real wearing after a while. So find the bike you'd like to try, make sure it fits, then figure out if you can afford it. If you are fairly big, or heavy you WANT a 26" tire, its about 10% stronger and the load limits for bicycle rims are fairly low. You NEED that strength.

Why? Because you carry every gram, by your own sweat, so it should not be a gram heavier than it needs to be. So they have refined the design, for 100 years. Every gram removed makes it weaker. Less weight = less strength.) You want a downhill bike or a free style bike for strength, And the rims are designed for pounding over rocks and logs, or down a halfpipe, or to jump 20 feet in the air and come down still rolling. Road tires are mounted on road rims, and will not hold up to the constant thrashing. Go to the various makers sites, and see which ones they talk about for utility cycling. But the $600 for the Cargo-T is as reasonable as they come, for a factory bike, and you will have to invest a bit more money to upgrade components. (The Batavus Personal Delivery bike is $1200 with a three speed and a headlight and taillight, and $1400 with an eight speed, and it's the same basic bike).

So you have to ask, what did they cut back on? Can i ride it a while, without that, so I can wait and pay for it later?