zurcenegue

Hello
Please check this one out.

Bontrager MIK Utility Trunk Bag

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/e...xoCoggQAvD_BwE

Gangplank

My goal is to turn the bike into a good all round do it all bike.

I picked up a Cloud-9 Kush Plus. I know it’s not a name brand fancy brand but I saw it at my LBS in the wide version and thought it might be worth a try. I have problems with numbness in my “soft tissue” With the stock seat on even a 5 mile ride w/ padded shorts so that’s a no-go.

I found a C9 Kush medium online and figure at $35 it’s worth a try. They don’t size like other seats. It’s listed as medium “160mm” wide but it’s about the same width at the stock seat. My sit bones are 120 and their seat comes in narrow-sport (141), medium (160) and wide-comfort (192) models. It has a bonded waterproof cover & memory foam. Plus a unique design w/ a channel groove down the middle and cut outs on the underside which gives it flexibility. Looks comfortable. I’m planning to mount it & test it out today if it doesn’t rain (again!) We’re soaked here in FL now).

I haven’t ridden for a few years but wanted to get back into biking. I used to ride in my 20’s & early 30’s.

My plans are to build & replace parts as I get stronger. The entry level fork is ok for road but heavy and coil spring. I’m going to ride it a while and test it on some trails but weight wise the upgrade is in the future.

Next items up are probably tires, clipless pedals and shoes. Fit wise the bike seems ok but I might also need to find a wider handle bar. We’ll see...

Nicktrek8.4

I bought my bike second hand and when it was a couple of years old so don’t know what the fork was like new but, the difference when I changed it out was night and day! Best and most noticeable upgrade I’ve done! Smooth, responsive and easily adjustable. The weight was a big difference also but not like the difference in the smoothness. Could be that the coil fork was worn and no good.

Gangplank

Could be, but pretty much any air spring fork will be a big improvement over coil spring. The weight is also a big factor.

the Cloud-9 seat is much better. Only went for a 10 min ride but even without padded shorts it is better than the stock seat w/ bike shorts lol!!

if it wasn’t 84 degrees and 80% humidity (feels like 95!) I would have gone for a longer ride. Maybe later or tomorrow if it’s not raining.

zurcenegue

Rear

Side View

Inside Viww

Mounted on my backrack

Bottom. with MIK buil-in adapter

Nicktrek8.4

So back my backrack deluxe today any like it a lot. A few problems now tho. One is that my mud guards don’t fit on the mounts. Second my panniers don’t sit nicely on the rack and third my pannier on the drive side presses on my gear cable. Needs a few tweaks to get everything in sync but think it’ll be worth the effort.

rbevansjr

I bought a 2020 DS3 in March and have loved riding it. After a pretty miserable spring the weather has turned and I’ve been able to get out more often. Since I purchased the bike I’ve ridden about 500 miles with the majority of the miles being rail trails and some crushed gravel. The tires are the Bontrager GR1 Expert that have the little nubs all over the tire. I noticed that the “center” nubs on the rear are almost worn all the way down while the outside nubs and front tire nubs all look pretty good.

Is rotating bike tires front to back a thing in order to even out their wear? Also, what mileage should one expect on a tire? I assume rider size affects wear, I’m decent sized at 6’1 and 205 lbs. Thanks in advance. Really like this forum.

Nicktrek8.4

Nicktrek8.4

I did fit the anti theft cables to the panniers today which again I’m happy with, will stop a opportunist thief!

Nicktrek8.4

So after some crude modifications due to lack of available tools my mudguards and rack is on! Waiting on a couple of replacement mounts to finish the install off properly but it’s on and solid! Tidier too as I no longer have 2 stays supporting the rear guard



Front stay mounted to topeak universal mount. Universal mount being changed to sks mount once arrived. Already bought some but got the wrong size

But used as spacer

Will replace the rear mounting point with the same mounts as the front as it no longer has 2 stays going to it.

Screw mounting guard to rack

Hard to drill a hole using just a corded hand drill into a roll pole lol

hokiefyd 

The bike looks great! You sometimes have to get creative with mounting things like mudguards. Are those the 2.2" Race Kings? How do you like them? They look like they'd be fast-rollers on hard pack and pavement.

BiciMan

I replaced my original, still-good knobbier ones with these smoother-rolling Schwalbes, in 700 x 45c, back in 2015. May not be what you're looking for, and they may not be available in as-wide a width right now or any longer, but I've been very pleased with these nice-rolling Marathon Plus tires. Although my DS doesn't get a lot of miles, I do ride them in all sorts of terrain and have never had a flat nor any other problem. Mine look a lot like the Marathon GT Tours. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...TF8&psc=1&th=1

Nicktrek8.4

They are 29x2.0 race kings. The frame doesn’t have the clearance for 2.2 on the rear I don’t think, it’s close already. The hairy bits on new tyres has already worn the paint off the frame. My Schwalbe marathon e plus tyres are 28x2.1 but unfortunately have been delivered to someone else. Lucky enough I paid through PayPal and they are trying to get my money back.

I did order a few little bits to tidy up the mudguards tho!

Nicktrek8.4

The tyres I think do roll pretty fast for knobby tyres. Even on tarmac. But hard pack gravel I think they are great. On loose dirt conditions I swap out the front tyre for a 2.1 cross king and and this seems to work well.

stuman74

I see there are a number of 2021 DS models now showing on the Trek website. Are they all basically the same as the 2020 versions but with different colors? Looking at DS3 specs I don't see any mechanical differences.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...=%3Arelevance#

travbikeman

Looks like Trek is first to putting a one by system on the sport suspension hybrids. The Dual Sport 4 now has a 1x11. But a 42 tooth crank, seems to be interesting.....Not sure how easy that would be to pedal????

11-51 cassette, but cannot tell if the suspension is coil or air....If it's a coil, what a disappointment for a bike that costs $1150. Although Trek has the weight listed at 27lbs....I'm assuming it's an air suspension.

If it's true and and the Suntour NRX on this bike is air suspension, then wow....

although a bit confused why Trek listed a front derailleur in the specifications.......

Gangplank

Comparing the DS4 specs 20 vs 21 look identical except for the 1x11 11-51 drive train vs the 2x10 11x40 on the 2020 bike. Odd they still list a front derailleur. Probably an error they just forgot to remove it.

The fork looks to be the SR Suntour NRX RL, remote lockout w/ 63mm travel. That’s Suntours air fork competitor to the RS Paragon gold. I’ve been thinking about upgrading to one of those two. The Paragon gets good reviews but I can’t find much info on the sun tour. Suntour has an upgrade program but not sure the NRX is available. You can get the Raidon which is a well reviewed fork but heavier than the RS Paragon or RS 30 Gold

zurcenegue

Me too, I will be upgrading my two bikes(for me and for my wife) in the future either RS paragon gold or this SR Suntour NRX RL. I think this item https://www.srsuntour.us/products/nr...nt=27528268739 is a direct competition to RS paragon. I'm thinking if this will be worth to upgrade in NRX RL suspension because probably it is heavier than RS paragon. Also I don't see any review yet either on their site or in youtube.

qrtzoj

So I'm just a casual rider on dry trails and I try not to be out in the rain but got caught in yesterday's storm until I found refuge under a railroad bridge. If I use a dry lube and get caught once like that would I need to clean and re-lube the chain? Would it be better to use a wet lube and just clean it more often?

Franky10

New to this. What is the difference between a DS 8.4 and a DS 4?
thanks

qrtzoj

Had my DS3 in for service at Rohrerstown Trek and I ended up buying the pedal set in lime green because it matched the bike. Not that I had any issues with the OEM pedals, just thought they looked cool. I don't use a bike rack and instead I simply remove the front wheel, fold down the rear seats in my Sonata and slide her in. However, with the new pedals which are probably 20% bigger, I just couldn't get it to clear the space between the trunk and where the seat would be. So, back to the old ones!

zurcenegue

Hello Fellow DS Owner

May I know how are bike will perform in Gravel? I mean, what can Gravel Bike can do that our DS can't?

Relsek

I'm helping my GF upgrade her Dual Sport 2 in lots of similar ways as you and I think your build came out very nicely!
Any chance you'd be willing to list everything you needed to order for your upgrades? We'd really appreciate it.
Also I wasn't able to find the 2.1 tires you mentioned last. Are those 29x or 28x? If 28x are there any issues with mounting them up on the stock 700c rims?
Tires:
Guards:
Pannier Racks:
Pannier Bags:
Mounting Hardware:
Other:
Thanks a lot!

Nicktrek8.4

cheers buddy, it’s taken a while to get it how I like it. It’s now jack of all trades and master of none.
Tyres are Continental Race kings 29x2.0. The front can go bigger if you need
Guards are SKS Bluemels 75U long, the rear requires quite a lot of cutting to get it to fit bit I think it’s worth it.
Rack is the Bontrager MIK Deluxe
Panniers are Ortlieb classic back rollers and the trunk bag is the Bontrager MIK Utility trunk bag,
Mountings are going to vary depending on forks and if you have the rack. If you don’t have mounting points on your forks you will need clamps, here’s a link https://www.sks-germany.com/en/produ...ungs-schellen/
if you do get the rear rack you need to loose one of the stays (interferes with the rack) The rear mount can be adjusted but it looks odd, I replaced it with the mounting points from this kit
SKS U-Stays Kit Velo65 Mountain Spare Part, Black, One Size https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B008ZTLQ..._Nn4bFb8RYA297
Hope this helps

Nicktrek8.4

Also no issue fitting 29er tyres to 700c wheels, I’m still on standard Bontrager rims. Just a hint for fitting tyres tho, the crank brothers tyre tool is the nuts! Removing and fittings tyres has never been so easy! Strongly recommend! https://www.tredz.co.uk/.Crank-Broth...4aAtU7EALw_wcB