ColonelSanders

I'm actually surprised how much I like that colour and the black lettering looks great against the green background.

Sunset_Va

This is just from very recent personal experience. I think? Lol I am a better than average home bike mechanic, but this puzzled me. On my just recently purchased Trek 7.2 FX Disc, the brakes did not stop like I thought they should stop the bike and compared to other mechanical brakes on other bikes I have owned. I checked and rechecked all the factory adjustments, and fine tuned the F/R levers and adjusters. Then I thought of this...

Cleaned the rotors with rubbing alcohol, and now the brakes are quite crisp and the pull does what I think it should do.

Even on a new bike, do clean the rotors asap, perhaps the LBS doesnt do that for sales prep or a preservative has been applied at the Trek factory of storage.

Country23141

Thanks Colonel! I call it Safety Green. I figured if you might get out on the road, which I plan on doing, you might as well be as visible as possible. The only other choice on the 8.3 was the black with blue lettering.

shakyfromwakey

8.5DS still great after almost 2000 miles except for a slight notchy feel while pedalling. Pic at Emley Moor transmitting station in Kirklees, West Yorkshire, England 1,084-foot (330.4 m) tall.

kgilby

UPDATE:
It turns out the fork was not part of the recall, according to a person at Suntour that I spoke with this morning. The forks that are subject to recall have only one bolt internally that holds components together. My fork has two bolts - a different, better fork. As I did realize, the 'serial number' indicated a production date. What I didn't do was think about the fact that there are MANY forks with that same number, as Suntour makes more than 1 fork a day. Duh. The lbs manger thought the same as I did, which makes me feel a LITTLE better... The Suntour rep I spoke with earlier said there was a very small (less than 1%) occurence of bolts that have shown up to be 'brittle'. The bike shop was contacted and they checked the bolts in the fork anyways, to be sure there was not an issue with strength.

So, everything's just fine with the bike. I'll pick it up later this afternoon, and be able to put some miles on it this week.

kgilby

Can anyone recommend a set of bar ends for the 2015/2016 8.3 DS?

Sunset_Va

Try some Origin8 bar ends, I have them on my hybrid and like them.

These:
https://www.origin8.bike/product-desc...model_uid=5316

kgilby

Thanks. That link takes me to a set of Ergo-Sport Bar ends - are those what you're using? Do they require me to remove/replace the existing stock grips?

Sunset_Va

Yes, those are the Bar Ends I purchased, I like them because they are smaller, and rubber coated. You will need to either cut the closed end off your existing grips, or remove them and buy open ended grips.

i prefer buying new grips, as I like to save comfortable closed end grips should I decide to change grips or remove the bar ends. If you purchase those Bar Ends, when installing, gently tap them on the sides to fully seat the bar end on your handlebar end. Also, when removing old grips, hairspray applied to a non marring strip or rigid wood or plastic will help ease removal of the old grips.

Many on the Hybrid forum like the ergo shaped grips, some of these grips come with bar ends attached. Personally, I don't like them, and stick with larger round conventional grips.

kgilby

Thanks. I talked with Trek customer service today, and was told the O.D. of my bar is 28.6mm, a standard size according to Trek. Are most bar ends made to fit that size?
Any suggestion for new grips?
Also, can I expect a bit of trouble getting the existing grips off, or do they typically cooperate without much difficulty?
Thanks for your input.

Sunset_Va

The bar ends are pretty good in tolerences, to fit most bars.

I stick with basic black tubular grips, Oury makes some lock grips I like, but they are expensive,and I don't like the ergo style grips. It was one of the first things I changed on my Trek FX. Avoid any foam type grips, as they do not last long. Most all the component manufacturers offer several types of grips in their lines.

As far as removing the old grips, they can be stubborn at times , some can be removed in 5 minutes, some may take 30 minutes. Normally factory installed grips are pretty tight. Try to find a non marring small plastic lever to work under the grips, using hairspray as a lubricant. Many use a small screwdriver, but that can really scratch up the handlebars. If you don't care if they get scratched (hidden under grips), thats okay, but not for me.

kgilby

Thank. I'll look at the Oury grip, too. I'm taking some time to get a feel for the bike, and may do some adjusting to fine tune the fit. When the bike goes into the shop for its 30 day tune-up I will likely have them install whatever grips I decide on. I'm definitely enjoying the new ride.

bald

Very nice looking bike. I do agree, the green is a nice change of color. I just got my bike today and its the common black. Hope you enjoy that bike!! Let us know how it goes. I didn't get to ride my much today due to it was so humid. Enclosed is a picture.

bald

I know you already posted another post saying they gave you another bike or something. But anyway, the owner of my LBS told me disc breaks take a bit to break in, and hearing scrapes and not having perfect performance on disc breaks is normal when new. (or least something to that effect).

Sunset_Va

Glad you brought that up, (break in), I have owned 4 bikes (all new) with disc brakes and forget that every time. My last and most recent (Trek FX Disc), kinda dissapointed me in stopping, but improved after a couple of small things I did (clean rotors- new Avenir teflon coated brake cables). The brakes would stop the bike , but not lock down. Now, they do lock down, because they are broken in.

And I forget each time, each bike, about the break in period you mentioned.

I like all the Dual Sports shwn here.

ma1967

So, just got back from a quick 5mile ride in the forest. I must say I was very impressed with the capability of the 8.4DS. I rode 80% rocky fire roads and 20% technical single track. I expected the stock 700Cx38's to wash out in the rocks, but they actually held their own. Although I must say it is a big bike to throw around in the technical stuff. I may be looking for a 27.5 bike for the technical stuff.

exwhyzed

Hey All,

I can't seem to find the info online. Does anyone know how much the 2012 Trek 8.5 DS "Gary Fisher" weighs? There's one available at a local auction and i want to know how much lower this weighs than my 33lbs mountian bike. The current bid is around $450. Can anyone recommend up to what price point would still make this bike a good deal? Thanks!

EDIT: I was also thinking that I can reduce the bike weight by removing the front derailler, and connected shifter. and also the front brake and rotor, and connected shifter. I don't any type of agressive or rain riding, and i find myself only using my rear mtb V brake anyways. Can anyone comment if they've done similar mods. Or would taking these things off be just a waste of time?

kgilby

I've got the same bike - my fork actually was NOT recalled.

The brake issue turned out to be the wheel misaligned in the fork. I'll be cleaning the rotors with alcohol as someone posted here, to see if there's an improvement in braking power - can't hurt.

DualRyder

Greetings all!

New to the forums here. Like many posters here I've been away from bikes for 20+ years. Finally made the decision to buy a volt green 8.3 DS during the first week of August. It came down to a choice between the 8.3 and the 8.4. Decided on the 3 because of the colour, since components are easier to upgrade for me. So, speaking of components, I'm looking at switching out the stem but I'm not too sure about what's on the bike currently (for comparison, so I know what I will want to get). The Trek website says it's a 25.4mm, 25 degree stem, but what is the length? I'm guessing 90mm, but I'm not too sure even after I measure it.

Does anyone know the actual stem length or how to properly get a measurement?

since197three

I'm 5'11 and when I bought my 8.4 DS that shop fit me with a 19.5". When I bought my Farley 6 FatBike another shop, which is my goto LBS now, fit me on a 17.5" which feels great! Wish my DS was a 17.5".

intransit1217

If it is a good deal depends on what condition it's in. You can remove all you want. Once you buy it, it's yours. I don't know how much your mtb weighs, but the ds is around 30 lbs.

since197three

Couple pics from this morning. Put some Continental Contact 32's and Xpedo Spry pedals on my 8.4 DS. A lot smoother ride and love the pedals! Have a pair on my Farley also.

limbot

Rear wheel going to the LBS today. Making a funny ball bearing noise, hopefully just needs regreasing but don't have time to do myself. First issue I've had after about 3000 kms so that's not bad

ColonelSanders

Such a beautiful colour scheme and one that Trek has yet to match or exceed in the DS range in the years that have followed.

limbot

Yep, the matte pearl white really is nice (but it's a biatch to keep clean )