There are just so many options and it’s difficult to decide! I really don’t want to take the advice of just what a bike shop says, as maybe their advice is in my best interest, maybe it’s not — and more likely I’m just not describing what I actually want as I might not know. I’m now leaning towards the Trek FX 2 over the Trek Dual Sport 2.
A few days back I was all about the Trek Dual Sport 2 over the FX 2. Not because I was a fan of the suspension — I really wasn’t, as it’s just something to break and lower-cost bicycles with suspensions are crap that wear out relatively quickly. Indeed, that’s the major issue with my 2004 Gary Fisher Nirvana and why the shop tells me it’s not worth rebuilding. But I really liked how I could run wider tires on Dual Sport 2, and it has more aggressive traction on the default tires then FX 2.
But maybe that’s not really needed, as it’s rare the roads I ride aren’t asphalt or hard-packed dirt. Do think I’ll have bad traction? My real concern is that I will get flat tires on the dirt roads I will sometimes ride. The FX 2 has TPI 30 tires vs 60 TPI tires which with half the threads does mean they’re more prone to punctures. But by how much? And it’s not like I can’t upgrade to more puncture resistant higher TPI tires and tubes later on if it’s a problem.
And, big heavier tires are no guarantee you won’t get flats. Trust me I know, I put a nail through the 35 inch tires on my big jacked up truck. Those BFGs are crap tires even if they look super cool. And you run over a pallet nail you are going to have a flat regardless. The differences in tire size are relatively small – FX 2 runs 700c x 35 while the Dual Sport 2 runs 700c x 44 and my old Gary Fisher Nirvana runs 700c x 42.
I’ve already decided I am not looking to do mountain bike trail riding, I am quite happy to park my bicycle at the trail head and walk back. Most of the places I go are covered with plenty of automobile roads, and my purpose for having a bicycle is to traverse boring automobile roads or rail trails quicker than a walk. At some point I may want to get a mountain bike, but a mountain bike is going to be a complete slow, heavy pig anywhere on road. A good bicycle shouldn’t kill you to move it down the road.
I need to remind myself – hunting rabbits with a 30-06 might be fun but you won’t have much meat if any left to eat. The 35s on my big jacked up truck might be fun, but I also have a V-8 to turn them. And I’ve come to the conclusion that my next truck will likely not he full sized or jacked up most likely. Full size trucks are a bitch on the trail, especially if you have to back up or are trying to get into a tiny campsite. Plus with the lift kit, I’m always afraid to abuse the truck too much in fear I’ll break shit.
The truth is that I’m thinking the FX 2 bike is the way to go. It’s the much more efficient to ride and doesn’t have the problematic front suspension that I don’t want. If I want to run a somewhat wider tire in the future, it can run 700c x 38 with a more aggressive tread. But that might not fix my fear of flats, if it becomes a problem they also make bicycle tubes that resist puncture. Tubes and tires aren’t real expensive for bicycles to replace or upgrade, they’re not like the 35 inch tires on my truck. Both bikes run the same size and type of wheels though the FX 2 has limited tube clearance. Both bikes use the same wheels, so spoke breakage risk the is same, but as long as I run the tires hard and don’t abuse the bike too much I should be good. The bicycle is rated 300 lb rider and gear.
The dual sport cycle as they say is the worse of both worlds. My fear is that it also would encourage me to abuse it with its roll confusion. A dual sport cycle is not a mountain bike. I’m sure that’s part of the reason I trashed the wheel on my Gary Fisher hybrid in college. It seemed like too much of a mountain bike but really shouldn’t have been allowed to stray too far from public roads made of dirt, packed gravel or asphalt. I feel that with the FX 2, without the suspension, more aggressive wider tires and tread pattern I’m much less likely to abuse.
