It’s always going to depend on where you ride. I just bought and FX 3 and love it. I’m not doing any dirt trial riding with it.
The FX 3 will be lighter and faster. The Verve is more versatile for mountain bike hybrid cross, the FX 3 is a pure pavement fitness commuter.
The Verve can be used on the streets and ride dirt trails (light trail riding: not a replacement for a mountain bike) in a river valley. The rims on an FX 3 won’t fare well if you’re running over tree trunks all the time.
Saddles are cheaply and easily replaced. The comfort level of the stock saddle is pretty irrelevant. You replace it if your not happy.
What kind of riding are you doing? If you’re strictly riding pact gravel and pavement, the FX 3 would be a better choice. If you’re riding trails and doing some off road riding, the Verve is a much better choice.
Trek generally puts cheaper tires on their bike. You’ll always find yourself upgrading the tires at some point.
The H2 tires on the FX 3 are passable. The bike would perform better with a tire upgrade. Bontrager tires are very mediocre. Switching them to Schwalbe or Continental can improve the ride.
Fitness bikes have a break-in period. My first 3-4 rides on my new FX-3 were not comfortable. The FX3 is Getting more enjoyable to ride by the 7 ride. I had to get used to riding it; I had to break it in.
Last edited by sdowen; 05-08-20 at 08:37 PM.