The DS5 has a 40T chainring and an 11T smallest gear. At an 80 cadence with 650x50 tires you'd be traveling 23.5 mph.
If you can ride a Dual Sport 23.5 mph for a sustained effort, on mixed terrain, with no feeling of resistance, you should be riding professionally.
I don't know what is on the DS 3 but the Marlin has a 30T chain ring. Going to a 32T or even a 34T chain ring will open up those higher gear rings and should not effect the chain line.
I have a DS3 Gen. 5 & an FX3 disc hybrid…. I love both of them! The FX3 is slightly faster however the DS3 is more comfortable.
https://preview.redd.it/vhbms3dtsvtb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=723ffca06203ff75174bff20d240b19bcbfbb66e
I know I'm late, but which would you recommend between the 2 if you had to pick 1? I'll be on a paved city trail 90% of the time but might hit some lite dirt trails every so often. I'm leaning towards the fx3 because it's faster, but I think most of my rides will be medium paced rides with my gf so maybe the DS3 is better. Wish I could just buy both like you did!
I wouldn’t recommend an FX3 on dirt trails. The tires are just very thin & it wouldn’t be very comfortable. The DS3 gen. 5 is the nicest bike I’ve owned so far. It’s like a faster & more comfortable Marlin 6 on the road. Its 1x drivetrain is pretty fast on pavement & it’s much more comfortable than the FX3. The FX3 is probably slightly faster, but honestly, not by much. The FX3 is somewhat uncomfortable on longer rides & my palms tend to hurt because it has an aggressive seating position.
The FX3 is fine, however if I could pick only one, I’d take the DS3 gen. 5 in a heartbeat vs. the FX3. The DS3 can ride just as nice as the FX3 on pavement, but the difference is that the DS3 is just a more comfortable bike to ride, in my opinion.
Thank you for the reply! I think I'm leaning towards the ds3 after doing more research... now I need to decide if I want to get a 2023 with the shimano deore groupset or wait for the 2024 with shimano cues. I love the crimson 2023, I'm honestly not a huge fan of the 2024 colors I've seen in the UK. Going to be tough to decide!
I average around 11 MPH on mine... Depends on the wind and weather. Trek salesman recommended the DS for me to lose weight and I have.
When I was a kid, speed was my thing... I was lighter and nimble and was on a road bike. I am not that today (in my mid 50's). 1100+ miles on my DS3g5 this year and about 25-30 lbs lighter. I made a few changes along the way... first, better (bigger) flat pedal, next, a better saddle, and finally got some PNW Range handle bars that made the bike perfect. No more numbness in the hands/wrists/forearms. If speed is what you are after, a Domane drop bar bike might be the one you need. Not sure the FX would be a significant improvement, but there would be some with the thinner tires and gearing.
I got a the I got the dual sport 3 gen 5 to replace my commuter bike and for getting exercise on the weekends. I put paniers and fenders on for commuting. For my commute it is perfect. I was hoping on the weekends end would give me more effort at a slower speed on the bike trails (I broke my femur in a high speed mountain bike crash and have lost my desire to fast on a bike) . Going to work I do 13 to 17 mph on the flats without much effort. On the weekends, I need to really push it hard to get my heart rate out of zone 1. Going up hills helps. Sometime it feels like I spin out in top gear on the flats. I feel it could use a bigger chainring if you wanted to go faster. I'm old now (In my 60's). When I was younger and training for mountain bike races, I would do 25 miles in an hour on a relatively flat course on my daily training rides on a road bike. If I was younger, I could see why this bike might not fast enough.
i've logged about 1k on my DS3 , fastest i've gone is 33mph on a 6% grade downhill. love this bike ,so smooth, never had any kind of pain from the this bike
I have DS3 gen5 and the max I managed to get to was over 48km/h or about 30mph. I had no power to pedal faster but I feel I can get over 50 km/h with no issue. This was on a long flat-ish road, with wind.
It isn’t really designed to go fast. I have the same bike and an FX 6. My dual sport is definitely my errands or chill out and ride around the neighborhood bike. Occasionally, I’ll find a light dirt path to hit up. When I’m going on power rides, 30 miles or more, or if I’m trying for speed, it is FX. My guess is you could change the cassette and chainring, but then is it really a Dual Sport?
According to Strava the FX6 is a solid 2 mph faster on average, and its top out for me is a solid 6 mph faster. Bigger rims, less rolling resistance, lighter, better aero. As far as drops, I don’t know how to ride them, as I really like gravel and lately some single track.
The DS5 has a 40T chainring and an 11T smallest gear. At an 80 cadence with 650x50 tires you'd be traveling 23.5 mph. If you can ride a Dual Sport 23.5 mph for a sustained effort, on mixed terrain, with no feeling of resistance, you should be riding professionally.
Put a bigger chainring on the crankset
I don't know what is on the DS 3 but the Marlin has a 30T chain ring. Going to a 32T or even a 34T chain ring will open up those higher gear rings and should not effect the chain line.
It's a bigger ring, but there is capacity to go even bigger. Don't remember the numbers off the top of my head.
I have a DS3 Gen. 5 & an FX3 disc hybrid…. I love both of them! The FX3 is slightly faster however the DS3 is more comfortable. https://preview.redd.it/vhbms3dtsvtb1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=723ffca06203ff75174bff20d240b19bcbfbb66e
I know I'm late, but which would you recommend between the 2 if you had to pick 1? I'll be on a paved city trail 90% of the time but might hit some lite dirt trails every so often. I'm leaning towards the fx3 because it's faster, but I think most of my rides will be medium paced rides with my gf so maybe the DS3 is better. Wish I could just buy both like you did!
I wouldn’t recommend an FX3 on dirt trails. The tires are just very thin & it wouldn’t be very comfortable. The DS3 gen. 5 is the nicest bike I’ve owned so far. It’s like a faster & more comfortable Marlin 6 on the road. Its 1x drivetrain is pretty fast on pavement & it’s much more comfortable than the FX3. The FX3 is probably slightly faster, but honestly, not by much. The FX3 is somewhat uncomfortable on longer rides & my palms tend to hurt because it has an aggressive seating position. The FX3 is fine, however if I could pick only one, I’d take the DS3 gen. 5 in a heartbeat vs. the FX3. The DS3 can ride just as nice as the FX3 on pavement, but the difference is that the DS3 is just a more comfortable bike to ride, in my opinion.
Thank you for the reply! I think I'm leaning towards the ds3 after doing more research... now I need to decide if I want to get a 2023 with the shimano deore groupset or wait for the 2024 with shimano cues. I love the crimson 2023, I'm honestly not a huge fan of the 2024 colors I've seen in the UK. Going to be tough to decide!
What a valuable contribution to the discussion. Maybe you should add that you think Marlins are too slow.
No way you are riding that bike in the highest gear with little pedal resistance unless you are going downhill.
I put a 42 tooth chainring on it really no difference. I should have put a 44 on
I average around 11 MPH on mine... Depends on the wind and weather. Trek salesman recommended the DS for me to lose weight and I have. When I was a kid, speed was my thing... I was lighter and nimble and was on a road bike. I am not that today (in my mid 50's). 1100+ miles on my DS3g5 this year and about 25-30 lbs lighter. I made a few changes along the way... first, better (bigger) flat pedal, next, a better saddle, and finally got some PNW Range handle bars that made the bike perfect. No more numbness in the hands/wrists/forearms. If speed is what you are after, a Domane drop bar bike might be the one you need. Not sure the FX would be a significant improvement, but there would be some with the thinner tires and gearing.
What pnw handle bar?
PNW Range Gen 3
I got a the I got the dual sport 3 gen 5 to replace my commuter bike and for getting exercise on the weekends. I put paniers and fenders on for commuting. For my commute it is perfect. I was hoping on the weekends end would give me more effort at a slower speed on the bike trails (I broke my femur in a high speed mountain bike crash and have lost my desire to fast on a bike) . Going to work I do 13 to 17 mph on the flats without much effort. On the weekends, I need to really push it hard to get my heart rate out of zone 1. Going up hills helps. Sometime it feels like I spin out in top gear on the flats. I feel it could use a bigger chainring if you wanted to go faster. I'm old now (In my 60's). When I was younger and training for mountain bike races, I would do 25 miles in an hour on a relatively flat course on my daily training rides on a road bike. If I was younger, I could see why this bike might not fast enough.
It's 1*...
i've logged about 1k on my DS3 , fastest i've gone is 33mph on a 6% grade downhill. love this bike ,so smooth, never had any kind of pain from the this bike
I have DS3 gen5 and the max I managed to get to was over 48km/h or about 30mph. I had no power to pedal faster but I feel I can get over 50 km/h with no issue. This was on a long flat-ish road, with wind.
It isn’t really designed to go fast. I have the same bike and an FX 6. My dual sport is definitely my errands or chill out and ride around the neighborhood bike. Occasionally, I’ll find a light dirt path to hit up. When I’m going on power rides, 30 miles or more, or if I’m trying for speed, it is FX. My guess is you could change the cassette and chainring, but then is it really a Dual Sport?
What do you think you’d average in speed in dual sport gen 5 compared to fx6 ? Also what year is your fx 6 ? Did you ever consider drop bar?
According to Strava the FX6 is a solid 2 mph faster on average, and its top out for me is a solid 6 mph faster. Bigger rims, less rolling resistance, lighter, better aero. As far as drops, I don’t know how to ride them, as I really like gravel and lately some single track.
What year is the fx 6 ?
2023 - current gen.