My wife and I are looking to purchase our 1st adult bikes. I have about 1,500 budget. I've narrowed it down to three bikes; Trek Verve 3 Gen4 low-step (purple) @ $549, Trek Verve 3 disc Gen4 (blue) @ $549, or Trek Dualsport 2 Gen5 (grey) @ $599. I was tempted at the Verve2 Gen5 (yellow) as my wife loves the color but idk that this year's mid model is substantially a better value than last Gen higher tier model & at a lower price. I find myself leaning towards the Dualsport 2 Gen5 and Verve3 Gen4 combo, total cost $1,239.06 I'm the worst at making these kind of decisions and tend to get paralysis from analysis lol. Case & point have my eye on the Giant Cypress 2 $749. Please help
by Chubbs8a
3 Comments
I can’t speak to the Verve, I haven’t ridden one, but I can say that I just got a Dual Sport+2 and it’s fantastic. I’m loving it so far
I’ve had my DS3 for a couple years now and it’s a great bike, much more versatile than the verve imo.
The Verve and DS have fairly different riding positions (dedcribed below), so I would absolutely recommend taking both for a test ride! You are right to believe the higher spec/previous gen is a better buy. The Verve has not had a large change in spec or design, so if you’re ok with a previous model year go for it!
The verve is an old folks/family bike in the BEST way. It’s upright, stable at low speeds, it’s got wide tires and mounts for racks, cheap and highly replaceable components, and wiiiiide tires. It’s great for city riding, the upright position makes you very visible and gives you great peripheral vision. Those wide tires make it pretty plush on hard pack dirt or gravel paths, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it thrives there. It is not great if you’re looking to chase KOMs on Strava, explore the local mtb system, or do lots of steep climbs and descents. The bike also has a very low component cap, the drivetrain is a little clattery, etc.
The DS is more towards a fitness bike. When I worked for Trek the DS had a short little fork and I detested its very existence. Now, from appearance, it has wandered more towards a flat-handlebar road bike, with mid-size gravel tires to match. The riding position is more conducive to putting the power down, and not having those *freaky* drop handlebars and complicated shifters is a big plus for a new-ish rider. That lower riding position means your peripheral is obscured by your shoulder, giving you a slight blind spot in traffic. But in trade, that aggressive position makes you much more stable out of the seat, so you’d be much more confident poking around some gravel trails or light singletrack.
TLDR; the verve is comfy for plodding around for the love of being on a bike, the DS is great if you’re not really sure what kind of stuff you want to do on the bike, but you wanna sweat while you do it.
Honorable mention: I used to say frequently that the FX was the thneed of bicycles. It can be whatever you want, and no one DOESNT need an FX.
Happy trails!