I went the opposite direction from Soundtallica's Dad's Dean, putting drop bars on a 2013 Stumpy Marathon hardtail. The 90mm travel fork soaks up hits, and a Pave seatpost provides a little give in the back when seated. The BB is relatively high for ground clearance (63.5mm drop), but relatively slack 71.5° head angle and 435mm chain stays help with stability. Modern mtb top tubes are longish (615mm effective on my large frame), but a 60mm stem put everything in reach. I think of it as a hooligan's gravel grinder.
