Thanks everyone for the help! The more I looked and the more answers I got from Trek and the depressing "1 left in stock 300 miles away" routine and the "November 2020 earliest timeframes", I was like the time is now! It's hot. It's summer. And November 2020 really means March or April 2020 because there is no way I'm going to be riding a bike in the cold weather on a regular basis. So I tried calling the shop today. Line was busy. I was getting mad. Looked at some Specialized options. All sold out. Had a Giant before. Wanted something new. So I drove to the shop today. Had low expectations because who really keeps their website updated these days when it comes to inventory? Here is a big tip to new bike owners: Standover Height matters.
I looked at this for hours the past few days. For me it's super important. I know you see threads on here saying "well 0.01% of the time you are in that position". Well that is important to me. I've had mountain bikes in the past and it was never an issue. I had a Kawasaki Ninja and even at stop lights, I could keep my feet on the ground. Balancing 400lbs on 1 leg gets to get annoying after awhile. Anyways, long story short, I disagreed with the 56cm size I was given by the guy last week on their remaining ALR5 in a color I didn't want. I started to wonder. Yes all the website and even Trek has guidance that 56cm is for someone 6'0". And yes I got on that bike last week and could stand on a flat showroom floor super straight up and had maybe 1" of clearance. That ain't much room for margin on actual land. So I was looking at 54cm bikes. Maybe I got short legs or maybe I am right and everyone else is wrong LOL.
So I went in today looking for either an FX3 or ALR4. I know the price difference but I know that the FX3 will require several upgrades for me like the handlebars and I'd always wonder a year from now if I should have just gone ahead and gotten a gravel bike. I took the 54cm ALR4 around the block. It fit great. I have no idea how to shift and I need to get used to the seat LOL. But it rides awesome. Anyways, just so you all don't think I was wasting ya'll's time - and the guy was like "you want to get it today or want to think about it?" At this point in 95F heat with humidity and dripping in sweat looking suspicious as hell, I said "no I'm taking it". Barely fit in my car. I guess that's what bike racks are for... anyways:
Trek Checkpoint ALR4!!!