I accidentally started working for the bike shop down the street part-time back in December. They're a Trek dealer, and after completing enough of their online training modules we're able to order a bike for 30% off wholesale. So I ordered an FX Sport 6, which is basically a hybrid flat-bar gravel/fitness bike.
I'm not specifically looking to do either type of riding, but I'd like to up my average speed around town from the sub-13mph I max out at on my MTB. That should allow me to do a few of the faster rides, and also some longer ones too. Pic for reference:
The FX Sport comes with a carbon fiber frame & fork, while the level-6 adds carbon fiber rims. Black is the only color choice for the 6, which kinda sucks because the level-4 is available in a really cool turquoise. The weight is published as 20.88lbs, so it'll be the lightest bike I own.
I was at a bike store 25 years ago and I challenged the guy why would a $5000 road bike be better than a $1000 one? He told me pick it up - I was instantly convinced.
In reply to Datsun240ZGuy :
We have a special ordered $5400 gravel bike on the floor. It sure looks nice & has better parts, but it's 19lbs. We also got in a special ordered $10k road/race bike that's 16lbs.
Going by weight alone my new bike is a real bargain.
I bought one last year (OBED direct-to-consumer) and had a blast with it. My friends and I had a bunch of dark-o-thirty morning rides with lights, stringing together different parks and even finding new bits of trails we were not aware of because we'd never take a MTB to those parks. We did some light duty MTB trails too.
In reply to mfennell :
That's great to hear. I'll probably take it out to try a few of our local trails at some point.
How do carbon wheels hold up on mountain bike trails/gravel? At least around here there are always some rocky sections,l even on easy trails, and at least in my head I'm even scared of the idea of carbon for the frame. Clearly they're okay on some level since the factory is offering them, I just have zero experience with carbon wheels.
In reply to gearheadE30 :
I'd say they hold up as well as an aluminum rim and just like an aluminum rim you can get them as super light and delicate or heavier to take some more abuse. I think its fair to say if you damage carbon rim a similar duty aluminum rim would suffer similar damage. A failure on a carbon rim tends to be localized too so you'll roll to a stop. Of course the carbon rim will be lighter for the same strength/usage, for the roadies the profiles are a much more aerodynamic shape which does make a difference.
I picked it up this afternoon. Of course that was right before it started storming, so I've only ridden it ~30' across the parking lot so far. I'll probably do the tubeless conversion fairly soon, but for now I'll put some miles on it first.
I couldn't tell it from the pics online, but it has some bronze accents that break up all the matte black.
It's definitely the lightest bike I've owned, but I couldn't find the Parke scales at the shop this afternoon to actually weigh it, so that'll wait for another day.
Hopefully it'll be dry enough in the morning to take it for a ride, after I get the saddle & controls adjusted.
Gravel bikes are the crossovers of the bike world :) But crossovers are popular for a reason. I've been moving away from my road bike as well, I'm tired of being beaten up. Even if you're only on pavement, you're just a bit more comfortable on a gravel bike. I like a set of drops for a few more options for hand position but that's a personal thing.
Trek makes some gorgeous stuff at the top end. And IIRC, those wheels have a pretty solid warranty behind them. My Supercaliber runs carbon wheels as well.
Maybe I should ask my Trek store if they need some part time help :)
In reply to Keith Tanner :
That depends on whether you want any money left in your bank account.
I'm really impressed with the R&D Trek puts into their products. The aero CFD work they put into their road bikes supposedly saves 1-minute/hour with their team riders.
Their European team has designed some crazy city bikes too. Need an e-bike to haul you & your 5-kids around? They build a bike for that.
I went out this morning to get the controls adjusted & discovered something interesting. The grips are transparent, while the handlebars are creased underneath. There's padding in the crease, underneath the grips.
I took it for about a 12-mile ride afterwards - unfortunately Strava decided to pause the ride & not restart it before I left home, so I don't have any data.
The bike is definitely smooth & fast, and surprisingly was really comfortable. I'm in a slightly more tucked position than on the MTB, but not as much as on a drop-bar bike.
84FSP
UberDork
3/10/24 10:29 a.m.
Nice! I snagged a Canyon Saris carbon gravel bike last year and just love it.
Mndsm
MegaDork
3/10/24 11:09 a.m.
A- i'm very jealous of your pricing seeing what retail is.
B- that turquoise is MINT
C- I don't need another bike...do I?
ShawnG
MegaDork
3/10/24 6:40 p.m.
In reply to Keith Tanner :
When I started mountain biking, bikes like this were called "hybrid bikes" and you wouldn't be caught dead riding one.
That said mountain bikes these days are nothing like my old Brodie Expresso.
ShawnG said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
When I started mountain biking, they were called "hybrid bikes" and you wouldn't be caught dead riding one.
That said mountain bikes these days are nothing like my old Brodie Expresso.
I remember the 90's hybrids well. They didn't have any sporting pretentions, they were just city bikes with a little more beef and a very upright riding position. If you rode mountain bikes, of course they weren't hard-core enough, so we sneered at them. Amusingly, Datsun540Guy's Schwinn Collegiate is now a hybrid.
Most gravel bikes I've seen tend to be more like a slightly beefed up road bike with drop bars. A little more emphasis on comfort and fatter tires than a pure road bike, but without the upright seating position of a hybrid. They never seem to have shocks. But naturally, like any categorization, the lines are blurry. Pete's bike is aimed at a performance hybrid, for someone who wants the MTB handlebar style and a bit of tire for all-surface riding, but wants something quick. Think of it as a Rivan R3X or a Mazda 323 GTX :)
Just got home from a decent ride. There was an 11mph wind out of the north, so that turned into a slight headwind both directions at times. I am a bit faster on the Trek than my MTB, unsurprisingly, but what the stats don't show is that I was far less fatigued.
It'a far more comfortable that my MTB over longer distances, and it doesn't really ride any worse than the MTB with the suspension locked out.
Although riding along the beach I discovered it doesn't like sand at all - it's not bad to ride through it, but it gets between the crank arms & BB, and sounds like it's going to grind everything into oblivion. I stopped & wiped out as much as I could by hand, but I tossed my Parke cleaning brush in my pack when I got home.
Overall this is absolutely the right bike for 80% of my riding, with the Haro & MTB making up another ~16%. I still think I'd like another trials bike, but I'm doubtful I'd ride it enough to be worth the money.
Mndsm said:
A- i'm very jealous of your pricing seeing what retail is.
B- that turquoise is MINT
C- I don't need another bike...do I?
Find a p/t job at a bike shop!
The cool thing is Trek has a wide variety of similar models. Want something similar, but less expensive? Check out the non-Sport FX models. Want something a bit more hard-core gravel? Check out the Checkpoint line. Want something a little more cruiser/comfort oriented, but with some speed potential? Look at Verve.
Keith Tanner said:
ShawnG said:
In reply to Keith Tanner :
When I started mountain biking, they were called "hybrid bikes" and you wouldn't be caught dead riding one.
That said mountain bikes these days are nothing like my old Brodie Expresso.
I remember the 90's hybrids well. They didn't have any sporting pretentions, they were just city bikes with a little more beef and a very upright riding position. If you rode mountain bikes, of course they weren't hard-core enough, so we sneered at them. Amusingly, Datsun540Guy's Schwinn Collegiate is now a hybrid.
Most gravel bikes I've seen tend to be more like a slightly beefed up road bike with drop bars. A little more emphasis on comfort and fatter tires than a pure road bike, but without the upright seating position of a hybrid. They never seem to have shocks. But naturally, like any categorization, the lines are blurry. Pete's bike is aimed at a performance hybrid, for someone who wants the MTB handlebar style and a bit of tire for all-surface riding, but wants something quick. Think of it as a Rivan R3X or a Mazda 323 GTX :)
That's a good comparison Keith. Trek also pushes their Checkpoint line as gravel/adventure bikes, although the CF race models are less adventure oriented.
In reply to mojotor :
Thanks! I've put a couple hundred miles on it so far & still love it.
I hit 1000-miles for the year on Sunday. I didn't track exactly how many were on the Trek, but I'm pretty sure I was still under 400 for the year when I got it, and I've only done one ~20mi ride on the Haro since then, so probably somewhere close to 600 on the Trek so far.
Needless to say I still love it.
I took the Trek out to our local MTB trails yesterday. I probably should have aired down a bit from 40psi, but oh well. I only wiped out once coming around a corner when I hit some pine needles on sand, so at least it was a soft landing.
The tree roots were unsurprisingly horrible to ride over on this bike, but its light weight makes climbs a breeze.
Now I just need to sell a kidney so I can afford a ~20lb full-suspension MTB.
I was talking about gravel bikes and how they've changed when I was at a shop over the weekend. My 2016 GT Grade was marketed as a gravel or all-road bike when new, but today the tire clearance is far too limited to be a gravel bike. I pretty much only do road rides with it, so I just replaced the 4 year old Schwalbe G-One tires with new Continental GP 5000 road tires in 35 x 700c, which should ride nicely. Of course, as soon as I did this, the weather looks like it'll be crap for the entire week.
I still plan to get a new modern road bike, but I'm having decision paralysis about what I want.
In reply to Ian F (Forum Supporter) :
I'm not a roadie, but I'm really impressed with the amount of R&D they put into their road bikes especially. Their Kammtail Virtual Foil & Isoflex are pretty cool. Of course they're not cheap.
