Jeremy,
Prior to the Freerider my townie/shopping bike was a Trek Soho.
That was a nice bike - aluminum frame, 8 spd internal gear hub and carbon belt drive but I found the Freerider to just be so much more fun (gotta love swooping through turns with those wide ape hanger bars) plus it was faster and more comfortable so I sold the Soho.
Really, the only drawback to the Freerider I found was the weight & clunkiness of the suspension.
I don't know why early Cruzbike decided to lard up a simple casual bike by adding dual suspension.
It might make some sense on a mountain bike but a Cruzbike would be the last bike anyone would want for steep dirt trails due to the inherent front wheel slippage of FWD.
But, I'll admit, it does take a slight edge off the potholes on north 11th St
I look forward to meeting you sometime.
You & I are now this town's Cruzbike Tribe