alfhasian

I'm new to the forums and new to "real" biking, looking for some advice on my first purchase.

Up until now I've had cheap $100 bikes from Walmart, so I'm sure whatever I end up with will blow me away. I just started doing research and based on my wants/budget I have narrowed it down to 3 bikes available locally:

• Giant Escape 2 Disc
• Trek FX2 Disc
• Trek DS2

99% of my biking will likely be on paved paths. Mostly recreational biking and the occasional commute to work. The Escape 2 and FX2 are nearly the same as far as I can tell, but the Trek bikes come with the Blendr stem and DuoTrap S compatible frame while only costing $20 more. All three bikes have hydraulic disc brakes. I'm only considering the DS2 because of the added feature of front suspension. I thought this may make riding more comfortable, however if the suspension is pointless on paved paths it may not be worth the extra cost and weight.

Can anyone provide any insight on the three bikes above?

Thanks!!!

hokiefyd 

I think Trek really have a winner with their 2019 FX 2 Disc. It's priced competitively and offers the features you noted above. Giant's Escape 2 Disc is also a great value -- both of these bikes being available for well under $600 is great for the consumer. They both sport decent 3x8 drivetrains and hydraulic disc brakes. I suspect you'll love them.

The DS 2 (and Giant's Roam series) do offer the front suspension. If all your riding is on paved paths, then the suspension probably isn't going to offer you much benefit, but I would absolutely still ride them. You may find that you like the geometry of those bikes better (because of the taller suspension fork, they have taller head tubes, which puts you a little more upright). There's no wrong answer, and only one right one -- the best bike for you is the one that is most comfortable to you. You may like the suspension and you may not. You may like the feel of the Trek better or you may like the Giant better. Each brand will have a slightly different feel, and only after riding both will you have a good feel for what that difference is. You may not be able to tell a difference at all -- if so, that's great -- buy based on bike shop, price, color choices, etc. If one of them feels better to you, though, then that's probably the best one for you.

Cheers!

pjthomas

For your use you don't need a suspension fork or disk brakes. Might also consider the trek fx3 (non disk). It has a carbon fork which cuts down on vibrations. An alloy fork, especially a disk fork, transmits road noise. Fx 3 is also a step up in components.

alfhasian

Thanks for the great input! I didn't think about the fact that the DS2 and FX2 may fit differently because of the different geometry. I plan to test ride the three of them this weekend so hopefully I'll be able to narrow down those choices into at least two.

If the Giant Escape and Trek FX ride similarly, the only differences on paper that I see is that Trek comes with a Blendr stem and DuoTrap S frame compatibility. Would any of these features tilt the scales or are they just gimmicks? I don't know much about the Duo Trap compared to other systems out there.

alfhasian

Thanks for the input! I haven't considered the FX3 yet due to price, but wouldn't mind spending some extra money for a better deal.

I just did a bit of research on the FX3 and saw it has the IsoZone grips. If I were to eventually swap the grips out (I've been eyeing the Ergon GP5), would this limit my ability to replace them?

hokiefyd 

Only anecdotally, I rode a Roam and an Escape back-to-back earlier this year deciding between the two. I was far more comfortable on the Roam. Something about the Escape just felt "off" to me. Both are excellent bikes, and both made by the same brand. But they rode quite differently. I wager you'll like one type or the other (FX/Escape or DS/Roam) and you can then go from there.

pjthomas

Grips are fairly interchangeable.

hokiefyd 

Trek uses a lot of proprietary components, including the IsoZone, Blendr, etc. I understand that you need to buy an adapter to be able to add clamp-on bar ends. There is more information about IsoZone here in this thread. I think you may have to replace the handlebar if you want to replace the entire grip, as the IsoZone handlebar is not a standard 22.2mm circle in profile. You asked about the value of Blendr, and I know a lot of people like it. I'm personally not one to get into proprietary systems -- I like standard components that can be swapped around without fear of too much incompatibility. As with everything in life, there are pros and cons to everything, so you just need to think about what you desire most.

sail

hokiefyd provided the IsoZone's info that you need. When you put bar ends on you change the white pad to the shorter one (comes with the plug) and slide the grip inboard as well as the brakes/shifters enough to make room for the bar end. The plug goes on the end to fill the notch for the white pad and make the bars round. I think another grip like Ergon would work although I changed to different bars for around $25.

When I look at a bike it's frame, fork, wheels, tires, drivetrain, bars and saddle in that order. It's the frame and how it fits along with it's wheels and tires that determines how the bike is going to perform. Test rides will show the differences in geometry between brands.

alfhasian

Thanks everyone for all your input so far. It's really helping to make this process easier.

I think moving forward I'll stick to looking at the Escape/FX2 and the Roam/DS2. It looks like the FX2 does not come with the IsoZone grips so I shouldn't have a problem with compatible replacements in the future. After looking around I found another local bike store that sells Specialized. From what I'm currently looking at it looks like I would either go with the Sirrus Alloy or the Crosstrail, but I don't know much about the Specialized brand. Would these basically be equivalents to the four bikes I'm already considering test riding?

finch204

Yes.

If you're going to get a bike with front suspension, at least get one with a hydraulic lockout option. The Giant Roam has hydraulic lockout on all models, not sure about the Trek DS/Specialized Crosstrail.

Btw, I'm a big fan of the Isozone grips that come on the FX 3 and above. Yes you're restricted to using the isozone grips with that handlebar, but it is so comfy that in my case, there would be no reason to change out the grips. A test ride will quickly tell you if like the grips or not.

puma1552

I have a nice road bike, yet I still LOVE my Sirrus. I would definitely consider one.

ucfdad

I just went through a similar journey. New to biking as well and narrowed it down to the Trek FX3 and the Trek Verve 3. The FX is a great bike, but I went with the Verve because of the more upright position which I felt would help me get started. I did tell my wife that if I stick with riding, which I will because I am enjoying it, I might want to buy the FX in 6 months and use it when I ride by myself and want to go a little faster than I do when I am with her on the Verve.

hokiefyd 

Yes, the Specialized Sirrus is their entry into the FX/Escape game and the Crosstrail is their entry into the DS/Roam game. One thing separating the Crosstrail from the DS and Roam is Specialized's "Brain Technology" in the fork, which actually does use hydraulic damping. The DS and Roam, though they have a hydraulic lockout, don't use the same type of hydraulic damping that Specialized uses. On the flip side, Specialized's fork does not offer a lockout, so you have to really like how they've tuned the damping because you can't adjust it or lock it out. At least not on the model I tried earlier this year.

AbsoluteMike

My first hybrid had a suspension fork (Fuji traverse) but I swapped it for a fuji absolute (Ridgid fork) after a month. I wasn't riding nearly as much off road as I thought

CrewFan

The Fuji and Breezer line of hybrids at Performance Bikes are also very good bikes and their prices are wallet friendly.

Korina

Ride them all. Buy the one that you don't want to take back, the one that wants to keep going.

Also, don't just ride around the parking lot; put a couple of miles on each one. Remember that the fit can be fine tuned, and that you'll likely have to replace the saddle.

alfhasian

I've visited one last bike shop this week to take a look at the Specialized bikes. They talked about some features on their higher end bikes that I hadn't considered yet, and was curious to know other's opinions. I plan on test riding the Treks, Giants, and Specialized bikes tomorrow.

• The sales person at the Specialized store also suggested I stay away from the Crosstrail line unless I'm specifically looking at going on trails. He suggested that any minor improvements in comfort may not be worth the increase in weight. This matches a lot of what I've read so far, so I'll probably only consider buying a bike with front suspension if the ride quality is significantly better or if the bike just feels like a much better fit.
• This left me at the Specialized Sirrus. Between the Sirrus Alloy Disc and the Sirrus Sport, he really recommended the Sport line because of the carbon fork and the 2x9 gearing vs the 3x8 gearing. But I'm having a hard time justifying the extra $200 for these two features. I'll try to compare these two back to back during a test ride, but does anyone have any thoughts on how much better the gearing would be on the Sport? There's quite a few hills where I live, but I would be curious how noticeable the difference would be.

alfhasian

They also had a 2018 Sirrus Elite Carbon marked down from $1400 to $1100. The sales person actually put quite a bit of effort into talking about all the benefits of the carbon frame, but I really don't think I can stretch my budget that high unless the carbon frame is really a night and day difference.

puma1552

I would pay the extra $200 for the Sport, it's just a much nicer bike overall. $200 in the grand scheme is what, a few tanks of gas in your car? That $200 in gas will be gone and forgotten long before the Sirrus is gone - that $200 has longevity when put into a Sirrus vs. any other crap you could let $200 circle the drain on.

alfhasian

I test rode the Sirrus Sport, Escape 2, Fastroad SL3, and the FX2 and FX3 today. I was actually surprised by how much of a difference the front fork made! For minor bumps I didn't feel much of a difference, but when hitting small ruts in the road I definitely bounced off my seat quite a bit more on the alloy fork bikes. I think with this considering, this limits me to the Giant Fastroad SL3, the FX3 Disc, and the Sirrus Sport. I'm reading up on these to see if any of these stand out on paper.

wheelzbat

I've tested the FX3 Disc, Giant Escape 1 Disc, Cannondale Quick 4 and Fastroad SLR 1 (shop didn't have SL 3). I've narrowed it down to the Quick 3 Disc (road gear set) and the Fastroad SL 3 (also road set up) I liked the Trek, but I just liked Giant and Cannondale better. To me, they all had similar rides (all carbon forks) Didn't like that cables weren't internally routed on the Trek. The GIants and Cannondales had this. I'm leanng towards the SL 3, but I'm going to test out the Quick 4 on more time. (they don't have a Quick 3 Disc) I had considered the SL 1, but that is over $1,000. Good luck on your search.

alfhasian

Ended up buying the Specialized Sirrus Sport today. I liked the ride improvement of the carbon front fork, so that limited me (at least in my search) to the FX3, the Fastroad SL3, and the Sirrus Sport. I didn't like the idea of the proprietary grips and handlebars of the IsoZone system especially since I'm sure I'll be upgrading the grips to Ergons in the coming weeks. Between the SL3 and Sirrus Sport I actually preferred the ride quality on the Fastroad (maybe because of their D-Fuse seat?), but loved the feel of the shifting on the Sirrus Sport. The Sirrus also runs a 2x9 instead of the Fastroad's 2x8, and personally I love the look of the Sirrus over the Fastroad as well. Hope there's no buyer's remorse moving forward, but I'm pretty sure I've considered all alternatives!

puma1552

hokiefyd 

Congratulations!