mitchb

My wife and I are shopping for new bikes. I originally had my mind set on something like the Trek Dual Sport or the Specialized Crosstrail. When I visited my local Trek dealer, I told him I was looking for something to ride mostly on pavement, but I didn't want to be scared to hit a gravel road if I wanted to. He suggested the Trek FX 3. So now I'm looking at that, the Sirrus 3.0 and the Giant Escape 1. Any quick thoughts or comparisons on these bikes? Looking at price and components, I think I'm leaning towards the FX 3. Or should I not eliminate the Dual Sport or Crosstrail?

hokiefyd 

Hi, and welcome. Have you ridden both styles? If your bike shop sells all three brands, even better -- you may find the Sirrus and FX and Escape all ride slightly differently, and you may find the Crosstrail and DS and Roam (Giant's version of the dual sport style) all ride slightly differently. Small differences in geometry sometimes add up to big changes in how the bike feels.

The biggest difference you'll probably feel between the two styles of bike (fitness hybrid vs. dual sport) is probably in the riding position. By their nature, the dual sport bikes will typically have a slightly higher handlebar height in relation to the cranks and the saddle. They have a 63mm travel suspension fork and that suspension travel and larger fork crown area raise the head tube area up. You may or may not find that more comfortable -- you just need to ride it to see what you like. If you like that riding position (slightly higher handlebar), but don't want the suspension fork, you can also achieve that with a fitness hybrid with a taller stem and/or steer tube extension. Another possibility is looking at a comfort hybrid, like a Verve (Trek), Roll (Specialized) or Cypress (Giant). These will have a higher riding position without the suspension fork. (Note the Giant website for the Cypress describes it as having a suspension fork, but the 2020 photo and specs show it to be a rigid fork; I think this model was updated to a rigid fork for 2020.)

The best scenario is one bike shop that sells multiple brands -- you can ride them back to back and see which ones speak to you.

AU Tiger

The rigid fork bikes will have no problem at all on gravel roads, and they'll be a little lighter as well. As hokiefyd said, you may find you like the geometry of the suspension fork bikes better. But your Trek dealer is correct in saying that you don't need a suspension fork for riding on light gravel roads.

mitchb

So we went shopping, and looked at the Trek FX 3.0, the Giant Escape, and the Specialized Sirrus 3.0....Then they showed us the Sirrus X 3.0. I Wasn't sure what to think about the Microshift components, but loved everything else about it. So we are now the new owners of two new Sirrus X 3.0s. Did 20 miles on pavement today, and a small foray into a gravel trail. So far... Perfect! I think I like the Microshift Advent components better than the Shimano Deore components on my MTB.... But those are about 12-15 years old and could use a tune-up.

InvertedMP 

Congrats!!

AU Tiger

Congrats on the new bikes!

I see they have 1x9 gearing with a 40T chain ring and 11-42 cassette. That's very close to what I have, but mine is an 11-speed SRAM instead of the 9-speed microSHIFT. Quite honestly, I think I'd prefer the 9-speed, as I usually find myself shifting two gears at a time (lots of hills around here!). But I most definitely love the 1x drive train. Removing the front derailleur from the mix does a world of good for eliminating shifting problems.

mitchb

So far really digging the 1x drive train, especially for my wife, who is new to bikes. For the riding we have done so far I haven't needed the lowest gear, and only used the highest gear once, so I think we'll be good to go with the 9-speed.

We did have to run my bike back by the shop yesterday after a 20 mile ride. It developed "click" for lack of better words every time my left peddle passed the 9 o'clock position while under a load. I could hear and feel it. Bike shop fixed it in about 5 minutes. Said something was out of torque. Seems good to go now.

hokiefyd 

It was probably something in the bottom bracket. It's not uncommon for bikes to need adjustment here. My local bike shop had to re-torque the bottom bracket cartridge in my Giant Roam and he said he should just take off the cranks and do that as a matter of course on all bikes, because it seems at least half come back with similar symptoms.

Good luck with your new bikes!

iLLb

Im looking to pick up a Cannondale Alpine series.

Hybrid Cannon

while you're checking out Cannondale look at the adventure one for 2020. Just picked one up very pleased.