urbanOrange

Glad to hear it!

CarloM

Before I forget I wanted to thank you for the advice and recommendation! I did keep the original seat in case I ever get "super serious" about riding and start wearing padded cycling shorts. The LBS rep said to me (he wasn't the one who helped me with the purchase), when I informed him of my discomfort "yeah, that saddle really is meant to be used with cycling shorts. It's a great saddle but not for standard shorts".

Which got me to thinking (and again, be gentle as I have just picked up cycling after a near 30 year absence), do people generally have more than one saddle? I know they can get expensive, but the Sport only cost me $35, and if I decide in the future to try the Commuter Comp (or a Serfas) for more cushion, it's only $45 or so more. I'm thinking that with the relative ease of switching saddles, it might be worth it to keep a few saddles around for various reasons. Or am I totally in wacko-land for contemplating this?

csrpenfab

I hear you on the Bontrager Montrose. I tried to like it on my FXS6, but even though I wear cycling shorts 100% of the time, it was still a major PITA. I tried a Brooks Cambium, and it got a bit better, then I settled on a Selle Italia with some gel padding. I think you need to find one that works/fits and stick with that.

CarloM

Sound advice, thank you! After a couple of days now of riding the new saddle for about six 30-minute stretches (my usual ride length until I get my cardio up) I am experiencing none of the pain from the Montrose Comp saddle. This actually ended up saving me major money on padded cycling shorts/liners. I understand that when I do get my endurance up and go on longer bike rides, I may have to invest, but for right now, just getting back into shape by commuting to/from work and going around town (all of which take 30 minutes or less) the Sport saddle is the final piece in making my new FX S6 a pleasure and a comfort to ride.

csrpenfab

Excellent! Glad the new saddle is working out for you. Once you burn through those stock tires on the FXS6, I can't recommend going to tubeless enough! It's the best single upgrade I've done to my bike. I'm nearly 1,000 miles in on the tubeless set up now on my FXS6 with zero flats or issues. My tubed stock tires lasted about 1500 miles before it was time to convert.

CarloM

Definitely my next upgrade. In fact, I was afraid it might have had to happen sooner rather than later. On a ride last night I was flying down a local street and suddenly was faced with about 10'x30' of shattered glass...clearly a car accident had happened earlier and was never cleaned up. I was going to fast to be able to swerve (plus I didn't want to go too far into the lane of traffic and maybe get clipped) so I gritted my teeth and barreled straight through it, anticipating the pop and hiss. None came. When I got to my destination I inspected the tires and no cuts, no embedded glass. When I got home I put it up on the stand and re-checked. No damage whatsoever. I got very lucky.

May I ask what tubeless tires you decided to go with?

csrpenfab

The stock Bontrager Hardcase tires on your FXS6 do a pretty good job at preventing flats. In 1500 miles on the stock tires, I only had one rear flat, and that was due to a small shard of glass I picked up. I stayed with the Bontrager TLR system when going tubeless. The conversion required TLR rim strips and tubless presta valves, and Bontrager AW2 Tubeless tires in 700x32. You can get all of this from your local Trek dealer. I bought mine during one of their sales when everything is 20% off. I read disappointing reviews about the Bontrager brand sealant, so I elected to use Orange Seal Endurance (Amazon), and it's holding up great. If you decide to install the tires yourself, I highly recommend the pictured Kool-Stop "Tire Jack" tool (Amazon). Those tubeless tires are a very tight fit and you'll never get them on without considerable effort using just tire levers. The Tire Jack and some soapy water made the install easy.

urbanOrange

Very nice. Did you upgrade to the Bontrager Affinity TLR wheelset or did your FX S 5 just come with them? If you upgraded, what advantages did you feel made it worth it compared to the standard wheelset?

CarloM

Thanks for all the info! I decided to tell my LBS I'd be going tubeless. Every day, because L.A. / O.C. is a concrete jungle, there's no shortage of glass, debris, and other assorted things on the road that made me really want to upgrade.

My LBS recommended the same tire you went with (they're a Trek shop, so not surprising). However he recommended 28c. Do you have any specific reason you went with 32c? Any benefits to that size that I'm not aware of? Thanks!

csrpenfab

32mm was the stock tire size and I like that profile. I do a bit of dirt and gravel riding, so I definitely would not do 28’s. Is he telling you 28mm because that’s what he has in stock? On my Giant Gravel bike I run 37mm tubeless Vitorria tires and they roll just as good as 32mm.

CarloM

I asked and yes it seems like the 32s won't be in "until the end of the month" - I assume he means July since the end of June is tomorrow. I went ahead and asked to change to the 32s and that I'm willing to wait. As I've mentioned the roads here aren't maintained very well, so having a bit wider tire provides a little more comfort.

urbanOrange

Very stealthy, csrpenfab. Beautiful bike.

Do you happen to know the advantages of the Bontrager Affinity TLR wheelset over the wheels that currently come standard on the 2019 FX S 5 and 2020 FX S 4?

I'm researching buying a 5 (or 4), and I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile upgrade (assuming my LBS can order them).

Thanks for any information you can provide.

CarloM

Honestly I don't know that there's a commercially available answer for you. I've seen this question before and used my Google-Fu and nothing definitive has come up. It's like it's their "super secret" OEM line that has no publicly available specs. You might just want to go to Trek's site and hit the Chat button. Both times I've had to do that (pre-purchase) someone answered within a minute or two and was very helpful with my questions. This was about a month ago.

urbanOrange

Thanks, CarloM. Yeah, it's crazy they don't provide enough specs on the OE wheels for the type of detailed pro/con comparison I'm looking for. Via Google search results, I see they used to sell a full line-up of aftermarket Affinity wheels (Comp, Elite, etc..). It seems those were at some point superseded (?) possibly by the Paradigm line. Also, the 2020 FX 1-2 bikes come with Bontrager Connection wheels. I have no clue as to the differences between those and the OE ones on the FX S 4 and 5. I guess I'll try your suggestion and ask at the source. Thanks again.

p.s. How's the new FX Sport 6 treating you?

csrpenfab

Thanks, I really like the bike! As for the wheel upgrade from the 5 to the 6, your guess is as good as mine. My LBS did say that they were lighter and had better hubs, but who knows. Originally I was going to get the FXS5 since they had those in stock, but when I looked at the specs for the 6, the extra $200 was worth it for the Shimano 105 group upgrade along with the wheels.... My LBS got a 6 from the nearby warehouse in 48 hours and they gave me a $200 discount on the purchase so I was happy. Both are great bikes. Good luck in your decision.

CarloM

The price difference for the 105 groupset (which is the new/current R7000) is IMO absolutely worth it. I got lucky purchasing my S6 during the Memorial Day sale which knocked $200 off the S6 (vs. $100 for the S5, so the difference became $100) and no tax during the sale. Even without the Affinity tires, the Shimano shifting performance and improvement more than make up for the price difference. I think there's a more noticeable jump from the Tiagra to the 105 than there is from the 105 to the Ultegra that I test-rode while down in Carlsbad visiting Canyon Bicycles two weekends ago. The 105 performance is that good.

csrpenfab

Agreed. I’ve owned road bikes with Ultegra and Mtn Bikes with XTR, and the new 105 is just a smooth and slick.

skoog84

Did you change your kickstand or how did you solve this? I have same issue with thules ezhitch where i cant mount the bike trailer into the ezhitch because of the kickstand,.

hokiefyd 

In what way does the kickstand interfere with the hitch? Does the receiver and tow bar hang down so far that the kickstand conflicts when raised? Or does the kickstand mounting position conflict? I ask because most trailer receivers mount to the axle area, and there are few kickstands that mount to the same area. Here's a grainy close-up of the trailer hitch on my Roam for comparison (I see you don't yet have enough posts to be able to post pictures). The kickstand mounts about 3" ahead of the axle area and then the raised kickstand sits nicely below the lever of the receive and tow bar.

CarloM

FX S6 was lonely. So I got her company. Courtesy of my LBS’s 4th of July sale.

CarloM

Just made an interesting observation. Some may remember due to pain I swapped out the Montrose Comp saddle with a Fitness Comp saddle. Been loving that ever since.

Now with my new Cannondale Supersix Evo, I decided to try out the Montrose on that bike. Turns out, it’s way more comfortable due to the position change. I just rode for an hour with no discomfort whatsoever. And I couldn’t ride for 20m on the FX with it.

Now I know saddle comfort is highly variable per person. But I kind of wished they put a cheaper saddle like the Fitness on it, and apply that cost to better brakes like the Shimano (vs the Tektro). Admittedly the Shimano brakes on my Cannondale are Ultegra family, but they feel and perform so much better than the Tektros on my FX. And yes I realize that could be due to a few reasons outside of a head to head quality comparison.

skoog84

There is no issue mounting the ezhitch into the bike/frame. But when trying to attach the bike trailer the kickstand is in the way.

csrpenfab

I know how your FX feels! My FX6S was feeling lonely, so I scored a sweet deal on a used Giant TCX SLR gravel bike on Facebook marketplace. The problem now is I'm having so much fun riding this drop bar gravel bike with tubeless 700x37's, the Trek is not getting as many miles! It is nice to have a back-up bike though!

CarloM

Nice ride! Yeah I'm doing the same as you. I've put 100 miles on my Cannondale that's 3 days old (which for me is a ton). I'm going to try and give the FX some love this weekend.

Drdiaboloco

Question for FX owners... I presumed that if I were to buy a rear rack for my FX3 Disc I would need a "disc compatible" rack. But upon really looking at things it occurs to me that the disc compatible racks are meant to clear brake calipers that are behind the seatstays, and since the current models have the caliper between the seatstay and the chainstay a standard rack will do.

Please advise if I'm seeing this wrong.