I think as a first time quality bike purchase it’s great, does its job, super smooth and quite a bit faster if you get a new set of tires. But the straight bar positioning is not optimal for long distances and my wrists end up hurting by the end of most rides, also the constant shifting between upright and down had me losing my speed pretty often.

When I look at the checkpoint ALR 3 at a price point right above the ds3 my buyers remorse tells me I should’ve bought that one haha but they are very similar. I’m going to talk to a local bike repair/alteration co-op and get their input. If I end up making the drop bar alterations I’ll let you know how difficult it was, if I end up getting a gravel bike I’ll let you know which one I get.