Originally Posted by fat2fit

I have a 5 mile (10 mile round trip) river channel in my town that I ride each day. The path starts off with normal, flat pavement. Around the halfway mark it turns into broken pavement, dirt road/gravel, potholes, bumps and small hills of broken pavement. I own a Trek Dual Sport 2. I choose the Dual Sport 2 because of the front suspension. The FX bikes you listed
will be fine for what you described but I would suggest
looking at the Dual Sports if you plan to go over rough terrain. I really LOVE the ability to dampen my front suspension on that river channel I ride, it makes my ride much less bumpy in my arms and hands once I turn the knob on the forks. As soon as I want to get some better speed and am back on flat ground, I can turn it into the lock-out (while riding). I was on the fence about buying the Dual Sport 2 and was going to purchase an FX3 instead, I'm very happy I went with the Dual Sport for my type of riding. If I were just looking to commute around town and riding normal pavement 100% of the time, I'd go with the FX over the Dual Sport. Even if my riding is like 10-15% off road, having the option of front suspension vs not having the option is worth it for me.

There are quite a few haters on this board and will say the front suspension is useless and is just more weight...I really disagree. It makes the ride so much more comfortable over rougher terrain, it's unreal to even try to compare. There is about a 3-4lb difference in bikes due to the front suspension but in reality, that's like nothing. I could see if you plan to race and want to go fast, you'd be looking at a full-carbon road bike anyways so I don't understand people care so much about weight of the bikes when it comes to modern hybrids. they're all around 30lbs.

I suggest riding all the bikes you can and then make your decision. I rode the FX but picked the Dual Sport instead because it was more comfortable and up-right for me.