Trek Dual Sport vs FX Series! What’s The Difference?

Hello everyone and welcome back to the channel. My name is Lollipop and today I'm going to do a full comparison between

dual

-

sport

and FX track bikes, since both bikes are hybrids. I feel like it can be a bit confusing to determine which one is best for your specific driving style. They have some comparable prices and a lot of similar parts too and just like the Dual Sport and Marlin

series

comparison I did in my last video, the Dual Sport and FX bikes seemed similar at first glance. I mentioned this in my previous video, which I'll link in the description below, but I actually saw the 2021 Dual Sport Three at my local bike shop recently and I'll show a short video of that. now, but anyway in my videos I usually try to go deeper into various components of each bike, like the drivetrains and suspension forks, but since both lineups have four bikes or more, that would become too complicated and end up being too long.

As a result of a video, I'm going to make this a simpler video that can quickly and easily help you understand

what

the main

difference

s are between these bikes and

what

they are designed for, but with that said, I will include a table at the end. from this video going over all the major

difference

s between the

dual

sport

disc 1 and the FX 1 as an example of the changes between the two lineups now before we get started I want to make a few notes about the bikes I'm covering so in the same page I'm only going to focus on the men's versions of all of these bikes and only the ones offered in the United States.

I will note that there are women's versions of almost all of these bikes, but not all are the only differences. In each line there is a more comfortable women's seat and a few different colors. There are also international versions of some of these bikes, but generally the only differences they have are the color options available. Additionally, the FX line has several different versions of each of their bikes, but the differences are usually self-explanatory, such as normal ethics. There is also an FX one stager version that just has a different stepped frame design that makes it easier to get on and off the bike.

There is also an FX one disc bike that uses disc. brakes instead of rim brakes for better stopping power, then there's the FX1 staggered disc which, unsurprisingly, is just the FX1 stagger with disc brakes. These variations of the same bike are available on some of the other FX models, but not the six without it. By the way, I'm going to give a little overview of the Dual Sport and FX lines to help you better understand what they are supposed to be used for in both lines. They are actually Trek's hybrid bike lines, meaning they have wider bikes. tires than road bikes and narrower tires and mountain bikes, so there is a middle ground: they are made to perform as well on pavement as they do on gravel and can therefore be used as your only commuting bike. or fitness purposes;

Both also have dual sport compatibility which allows you to place a separate device on your bike that connects to your phone and tracks your physical progress on the bike, but the difference between these two bikes is that the dual sport has a front suspension fork. and wider tires and a frame geometry that is closer to a mountain bike, while the FX has no suspension, has thinner tires and a frame geometry that is closer to a road bike, so I would say the Dual sport bike is best suited for the rider who wants to ride 50 percent on the road and 50 percent on the trail.

Well, the FX is better for riders who prefer road riding more, so it's more of a 75% road and 25% trail split. That being said, both bikes are not designed to go anything harder than a beginner or lightweight. trails, as their tires, suspension forks and other components aren't as suited for those big bumps on rougher terrain, in my opinion, you can think of these bikes in two different ways, with a glass half full mentality or a glass half empty, on the one hand they combined the best parts of a road bike and a mountain bike are a perfect middle ground and on the other hand they are not as good as mountain bikes or road bikes in their respective categories, Overall, I think they can be great for commuting or fitness. bikes as they have wider tires than conventional road bikes on both and have the ability to do some light trail riding if needed, so that's the general gist of what each of these bikes should be used for now. a real comparison between the dual sport and the FX one disc, as these bikes are the exact same price at $550 and it can be hard to notice their differences right away, but if you're not interested in that, the most important thing to remember about of these bikes is that the dual sport is for someone who wants to ride slightly tougher trails or ride trails more frequently, while the FX is for someone who wants something more rugged than a road bike but still prefers the road for their bikes. rides or maybe not I want to sacrifice the higher speed on the road since the FX bikes are lighter and have thinner tires.

One very important thing to note about these bikes is that they mostly use the exact same components between the bikes, aside from the suspension forks and tires. I'll show this in my comparison right now, but FX and dual sport bikes that have the same numbers like the dual sport 2 and FX 2 disc usually have the exact same drive wheel sets and other shared parts, so it's somewhat to consider. When purchasing them but in the comparison I will also quickly mention that I am comparing the 2020 FX to the 2021 dual sport as only the dual sport had an updated model for 2021 but the only difference from the 2020 for the dual sport that affects The ride quality of the bike is the tires which have been changed slightly from 38c to 40 C tires so they are a bit wider but first let's talk about the frames.

Both frames have internal cable routing and use Trek's gold alpha aluminum for construction, which simply means they are light, strong, and have smooth designs. Both frames have the aforementioned duo trap S compatibility and the only difference between them is their geometry. I'll show the specs on the frame so you can see them all here, but basically the Dual Sport is sportier and more geared for trail riding, while the FX is closer to a road bike frame for speed, the Suspension are definitely different between these bikes with the dual sport using a real suspension fork which is the SR sunt or NEX coil fork with 63 millimeters. of travel, while the FX has no suspension and therefore uses the FX steel fork.

Having a suspension fork is a big plus if you're riding on a trail, as it helps absorb shock better to give you a smoother, more comfortable ride, and also to prevent potential damage to the bike if you hit much larger bumps, however , you should keep in mind that the suspension fork on the dual sport is not rated for really bumpy terrain and if you want something that can handle the trails better, a real mountain bike line like the Marlin

series

would be more suitable, but the dual sport bike will definitely handle those bumps better than the FX bike.

The wheels on these bikes are actually exactly the same, but they just use different tires. The FX bike uses Bontrager 700 by 35 C tires, which are 30 TPI, while the dual sport uses Bontrager 700 by 4 D C tires, which are 60 TPI, going from 35 C to 40 C, there is a difference noticeable in the tire width of about 0.3 inches, which allows the dual mount to have better traction on trails and provides a smoother ride when facing more bumps on the road or trail, consequently, the ethical tires will be faster on the road or on flatter areas as they are thinner, the TPI only tells you how many threads were used to build the tire with a higher TPI meaning more threads and a lighter tire for better flexibility, while a lower TPI means the tire is more durable.

Aside from those differences, these bikes actually have the exact same drivetrain and almost all other parts, with the exception of a slight difference in brakes between them. Although both brakes are techno-mechanical disc brakes and should perform similarly now, the weight of these bikes is also slightly different, but the FX bikes will generally be lighter since they don't have suspension forks and use thinner tires overall. I would say that the main difference between these bikes is the frame suspension fork and tires, but in summary, choose the dual sport if you want a good commuter or fitness bike that is more durable and comfortable and if you want to ride trails with more frequently or walk more. tough trails, but get the FX if you want the same fitness or commuter bike, but prefer to stay on the road longer and want a faster, lighter bike.

This concludes this video. I hope you all enjoy it and I hope this helped you. understand which bike serves what purpose and if it helped please like the video and subscribe to know and leave a comment if you have anything else to add but other than that thank you all so much for watching and keep riding your bike.