Hi there,

This is my first post here - and looking for some advice from you DS owners

I currently cycle to and from work in Central London once a week (18 miles each way). I am extremely fortunate as 90% of the route is along a towpath. The surface ranges from paved to trail, with some sections being pretty rough. I currently ride my Trek Seattle that I brought back from the Netherlands when I moved back to London. This bike is more of a city bike but it is comfortable, if a bit heavy. My ride takes my about 1h20m.

I am looking to get a new bike and really like the look of the DS3. I am happy to stick with Trek and feel that this bike will meet my needs and be a good upgrade on my current bike. I know a lot of people seem to criticise the suspension on the DS3, but I feel it will be useful to have the option to unlock it on the rougher surfaces and then lock it on the smooth. I would like to get a bit quicker - but firstly I would like to commute more frequently and let the speed get better as I get stronger.

So I am curious of people's thoughts and advice. One particular question I had was with regard to the gears - my current bike has 3 gears and I have not owned a bike with more gears than that. So I don't even know how to change gears on bikes with more! Or what gears I should be looking at. My route is very flat, so it would be less about needing gears for climbs, but just so that I could be more efficient on the flat.

Thanks in advance for any thoughts or advice!