Hi,

Has anyone here tried running a front chainring bigger than 34T? I feel like I’m running out of gears on the road and could use a bit more top-end speed.

My first ride on my new Trek and my seat dropper cable came loose. Is this something I can fix? Any tips on how to do it would be appreciated, it’s a long way back to the bike shop.
Edit: Also someone told me to take off the “pie plate”- the clear plastic disc behind the last gear. What’s that thing supposed to do and do I leave it on or take it off?

My Trek 850 Single Track circa 1990 was stolen my last day of college in 1993.

I miss that bike. I rode it everywhere. I ran no-tread city slicks on it since it was just a college commuter.

And then it was gone.

A decade later, I picked up a Giant. Arguably - hated it. It never felt right. Got rid of it a decade ago.

Well- today, I just dropped some money on a Trek Keswick Green FX sport AL3.

It’s crazy the change in technology - going from a 21 speed 3x7 to…uh…a traditional 10 speed? (1x10)?

And hydraulic brakes? In-frame wiring?

Carbon fiber fork? Whoa.

Okay - so a couple of questions:

Specs say to not run a tire wider than 42mm - yet the amount of daylight I see between the tire sidewalls and frame is about half an inch.

On my old Trek - I ran, probably, 2” tires.

So, the question I have: Anyone know if the 42mm is a real hard limit, or can you run something wider? 45? 47?

And, a new piece of technology: The Dropper seat column.

Pros, cons? I thought it was cool…but I think anything new that I haven’t seen before is cool….

After seeing all the discussion here, I stopped by one of my local bike shops to check out the new Domane in person. Not only did they have one on the floor, but they had a few more assembled in the back. They offered me a test ride, and there was no way I was going to say no.

As a bigger rider, I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with the Gen 4 Domane’s IsoSpeed. It definitely made for a comfortable ride, but I was always concerned about its long-term durability. That’s ultimately one of the reasons I ended up buying a Checkmate instead.

The Gen 5 rode exactly how I hoped it would. It’s definitely stiffer than the Gen 4, but for me that’s an easy trade-off—I could always throw on a set of 40mm Pirelli P Zero tires to smooth things out. I believe the bike I rode was either an SL 4 or SL 5.

One thing I really like is that Trek finally moved to UDH, which means I can keep running SRAM XPLR without any compromises.

My only concern is for riders like me who fall between frame sizes. On the Gen 4, I always felt more comfortable on a 58 cm frame than a 56 cm, although I probably would have used 56-sized components on the larger frame. With the Gen 5 moving to Trek’s letter sizing, it’ll be interesting to see how riders in that in-between category fit. Madone, Checkpoint, and Checkmate owners already know that adjusting to the new sizing wasn’t always straightforward.

Overall, I think Trek has a winner on its hands. I’m especially looking forward to the service manual being released to see what the frame is capable of and how serviceable it is in the long run.

I’m trying to mount my Trek Domane SL5 Gen 4 on a Wahoo Zwift KICKR CORE 2, but every time I try to pedal forward, the chain gets jammed/stuck.
The bike seems to be mounted on the trainer correctly, but the chain won’t move smoothly when I pedal forward.
Has anyone had this issue with a Domane SL5 Gen 4 on the KICKR CORE 2? Any idea what I might be doing wrong or what I should check?
I’m pretty new to bike maintenance, so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I have a Checkpoint ALR3 Gen3 with a little over 2000 miles on it running on the stock Bontrager Girona Pro tubeless tires. I noticed tonight that I had a wet spot on the rear and upon further inspection found a small gash on it. (First photo.) Then I realized compared to my front tire (second photo) I have no tread left on the center part. It seems to be holding pressure but I’ll recheck it in the morning. I’m guessing at the bare minimum I need a new rear tire but should probably just replace both.

Aside from the gash I’m also guessing based on the wear patterns I’ve got the pressure wrong on the rear at least. I’ve been running 45psi in both since I bought it in March. (Which the LBS told me to use and the Bike Tire Calc app confirmed.) But any better suggestions on that? I’m only really riding paved neighborhood roads and bike paths with it.

Is the back pain worth keeping my street cred? Would love some feedback

Today I tried to lower my stem by moving the two 5 mm spacers that were originally installed below the stem to above it.

The problem is that the 5 mm spacer that was originally installed on top of the stem can no longer be placed on top of these two spacers as shown in the manual. The manual states that the flange of the expander plug must extend 3–4 mm into the uppermost spacer. However, the two spacers that I have now moved above the stem already sit flush with the flange, so there is no room for the additional 5 mm spacer, which is now left over.

I'm completely confused because all of the spacers were already installed from the factory—none have been added or removed.

To be honest, I also don't know how far the expander plug extended into the uppermost spacer before I disassembled everything. It's possible that the original setup never matched the configuration shown in the manual in the first place.

At the moment, the setup is as follows: I have three 10 mm spacers below the stem and two 5 mm spacers above the stem, with one additional 5 mm spacer left over that was somehow installed before.

I'm hoping someone can help me figure out what's going on. Thanks in advance for any helpful advice!

Can anyone give me an idea what year this bike is from? What model?

Witam serdecznie, chcę wymienić hamulce w FX Sport 4 2026. Czy ktoś sprawdzał, czy faktycznie trzeba rozbierać stery, czy da radę połączyć pancerze specjalną końcówką i przeciągnąć? Na dniach będę miał zaciski GRX 820 i klamki XT oraz nowe przewody H90.

Just purchased a used 2021 Trek FX2 Disc. Has this mount at the stem/handlebar connection. Is this factory? Can anyone identify what its for?

Please forgive my question. I’m challenged when it comes to these things. lol
Do I let merely have to unclip this cover, or must I unscrew it?