Originally Posted by
ROB DS
Hey Steve, thanks so much for starting this Trek DS thread/forum, it has lots of informative postings..... especially for this newbie.
...
I look forward to hearing solutions/suggestions from the posters, thanks again Steve.
Your welcome! Glad to see this thread taking off!
And I see everybody is still debating frame fit vs body size 
Being a dual sport, you get suspension, wider wheels and tires, more aggressive tire tread, and something closer to a mountain bike geometry!
See below the geometry differences (and similarities) between the FX, DS, and a Mountain Bike.
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
DS[/TD]
[TD]
X-caliber[/TD]
[TD]
FX[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
[/TD]
[TD]
(Dual sport)[/TD]
[TD]
(Mountain)[/TD]
[TD]
(Road Hybrid)[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
Actual Frame Size[/TD]
[TD]
17.5"[/TD]
[TD]
17.5"[/TD]
[TD]
17.5"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
B Seat tube angle[/TD]
[TD]
74.0 °[/TD]
[TD]
72.5 °[/TD]
[TD]
74.0 °[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
C Head tube length[/TD]
[TD]
4.72"[/TD]
[TD]
3.94"[/TD]
[TD]
5.12"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
D Head angle[/TD]
[TD]
71.0 °[/TD]
[TD]
69.3 °[/TD]
[TD]
70.5 °[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
E Effective top tube[/TD]
[TD]
23.23"[/TD]
[TD]
23.70"[/TD]
[TD]
21.57"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
F Bottom bracket height[/TD]
[TD]
11.30"[/TD]
[TD]
12.44"[/TD]
[TD]
11.22"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
H Chainstay length[/TD]
[TD]
17.91"[/TD]
[TD]
17.52"[/TD]
[TD]
17.52"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
I Offset[/TD]
[TD]
1.50"[/TD]
[TD]
2.01"[/TD]
[TD]
1.97"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
J Trail[/TD]
[TD]
3.11"[/TD]
[TD]
3.35"[/TD]
[TD]
2.76"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
K Wheelbase[/TD]
[TD]
43.11"[/TD]
[TD]
43.94"[/TD]
[TD]
41.61"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
L Standover[/TD]
[TD]
28.11"[/TD]
[TD]
30.12"[/TD]
[TD]
28.94"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
M Frame reach[/TD]
[TD]
16.38"[/TD]
[TD]
16.26"[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
N Frame stack[/TD]
[TD]
23.86"[/TD]
[TD]
23.62"[/TD]
[TD]
[/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
Notice the DS compared to FX has longer effective top tube, wider wheelbase, and longer trail (all closer to the mountain bike) … which should provide a more stable and comfortable ride. Also notice the shorter head tube for more aggressive positioning.
So this more stretched out, and lower stance, will give it a different feel than an equivalent "typical" hybrid of the same size ... and therefore milage may vary on what frame size gives the perfect fit, vs say an FX frame!
Last edited by steve_cay; 06-24-14 at 09:17 PM.