sh00k

Picked up my new FX yesterday as a bday gift to myself. 22.5" frame. Took it around the block and it's silky smooth thanks to the carbon fork! The color is "paramount grey" as per the Trek site.

Mods so far, the usual stuff I do to my bikes:
installed cheapo avenair toe clips+straps
removed water bottle holder
removed all the stickers/decals/made in china sticker
removed all reflectors bc i dont ride at night
adjusted the seat height and position

1st picture is right before i brought it home. 2nd picture is the stock picture which is what the bike looks like now after the above listed changes

I will put 28c tires on it in around 1500 miles or so... i put bontrager hard case aw1's on my 7.3 fix and that thing flies now. the 7.4 with 28c tires on it should be fun

Loving this thing so far. Doing a 40 mile ride this upcoming weekend and i can't wait!

njt07

This is the bike I'm looking at along with a DS 8.4. If you dont mind me asking, how tall are you, actual inseam and arm length? I'm going to have to special order anything larger than a 17.5" due to being in Korea and being taller than the average I guess (5'10").

Also do you like it? any issues?

sh00k

I am 6'1", about 190 pounds. 33" inseam. sorry i dont have other measurements but people say i have long arms haha. i recommend you going to the store and sitting on ANY 20" FX model if you can (even a used older model if you have a friend that has one). if you turn the handle bars and they come too close to your knees when your knees are up, go up to the larger size, 22.5". At 5'10", you would be either a 20" or 22.5" frame but i am sure this is what your current debate/question is.

The bike literally has 1 mile on it so far so i have not come across any issues yet I have owned 3 other FX bikes and i have loved all of them. no issues at all with the other models and i have put maybe 1500 miles on each of them.

Grey.

Why remove the bottle cage?

msr13

Looks sweet! I love the FX series. Enjoy.

sh00k

Thanks msr13! This is my 4th FX so, yeah, I love the FX series too

Grey - I removed it to put on my 2011 white fx which my wife is currently using. I'll get one for my bike when I start using it in a few days.

Edit: Had the time yesterday to go to my local bike shop and picked up another bontrager bottle cage. installed it last night

yashinon

Congratulations! I got the 2014 7.4 FX in early March. Love the bike! Also a previous FX owner.

godeacs

Enjoy the new ride! Was looking enviously at the 7.4FX last week at my LBS.....

gpburdell

Congrats.

sh00k

installed an older bike headlight that i had laying around yesterday -- cateye el135. pics with all mods to follow in a couple of days



Thank you guys for your comments. Now it's time to watch the weight come flying off I have maybe 20-30lbs to lose and I know I can do it in the next couple of months 8)

steve_cay

I am 5'10, and have a Trek DS 8.4. The bike store recommended a 17.5", and I have seen many DS owners on this forum who are also 5'10 and ride 17.5" DS frames, but I think it is at the border of 19", so that could work as well.

Of course frame size is not just about "height", need to take inseam, arm length, and leg/torso proportion into account as well. I have also heard it said that Asians have shorter legs compared to torso than average "Europeans", who most of these generic height/frame calculators are based on. (my wife is Asian)

As for the DS 8.4, I love it, no issues! As for deciding between DS/FX, if you will be doing a mix of trails and roads, the DS is a great choice. If just (or mostly) roads, consider the FX as it is lighter with thinner slicker tires for better road efficiency ... although the DS will be more comfortable on bad roads with the possibility of unlocking the suspension fork.

gpburdell

Just remember it's incredibly easy to "eat back" far more calories than you burnt while working out. Bike (or run) for fitness, eat less to lose weight.


(and be careful targetting anything more than 2lb/wk - remember it didn't go on overnight and trying to take it off too fast usually isn't wise)

sh00k

Thank you for the words of advice. I had lost weight, got to my ideal weight of 170-ish but then ate it all back and now i'm at 200! I have been victim to the slippery slope of weight gain a few times already....

I used the treadmill earlier this year to lose a ton of weight but now that the weather is nicer, i'll do the same on a bike

sh00k

My wife and I rode in the 5boro bike tour in nyc yesterday and had a blast! in total, covered 45 miles which was 40 for the tour and riding another 5 miles back home. both bikes performed very well throughout the entire ride. the 7.4 is quick and riding it up very long hills is very effortless. i wasn't sweaty after the 45 mile ride but my legs were super sore! we each probably burned 3,000 calories yesterday if not more

it was great to see 40k other riders all with different bikes, riding for different reasons (sport/fun/etc) and it was a gorgeous day to share such an experience with everyone!

Wanderer

Don't get much better than that!

sh00k

some better pics. bar bag is just a fanny pack that i rigged to the front of the bike for the time being until i get a top tube bag or something like that.

knightblaze

Just returned my FX 7.1 (after a week and a half, I needed a little bit more bike). Of course when I go back to the LBS to return it, lo and behold Firebrand FX 7.4 out on display (sadly wrong size frame). Can't wait to pick it up!

sh00k

very nice! congrats on the new ride! what are you planning to do to the bike in terms of mods/bags/fenders/lights...?

When I first got back into biking around 2010, i sold my almost new 7.2 and went immediately to the 7.7 and then down to a 7.3 . Now my wife uses that 7.3 and i am loving the 2015 7.4 she got me.

I actually installed delta pro stem risers on both of these bikes bc my wife and i are both 6'1" and super leggy/army. the stem risers lifted the handle bars 4.5 inches in total. I took a 10 mile ride the other day with the rider installed and it felt amazing to be so upright. i rode around and had 100% visibility of everything around me. I think im going to keep the bike like this. i ride for fun/fitness (not time trials) so it's fine that i cant go as fast bc im upright but the bike still feels very quick to me. this is going to be my setup for the next few years

when i get some time, i'll take pics and post them.

travbikeman

Nice! That looks like it will be a lot of fun to ride fast.

spdracr39

Nice !

highrpm

sh00k, do you mind telling your story about why you sold the 7.7 and went to the 7.3?

sh00k

Absolutely - i've explained it on here a few times i went from the 7.2 that was the wrong size to a 7.7 because i wanted the 'ultimate' bike. i dont race but i use my bikes for exercise. because the 7.7 was so light, because the entire drive train was so light and the wheels were so light, i recall taking 40-60 mile rides and i barely felt that i had worked out. This is great if you are doing 100 mile rides all the time but for me, i wanted to sweat and exhaust myself 100% on maybe 30-40 mile rides. with the 7.7, i was no where near exhaustion. i remember stepping off the 7.7 after a long ~60 mile ride and my legs barely felt worked out. with the 7.2, i finished a 60 mile ride and my legs felt like noodles - that's the feeling that i want to get!

as an example, i'd have the 7.7 on the hardest gear on a flat path and i could get the bike FLYING within a few seconds of hard peddling. with the heavier, lower-line fx models, this is not the case. you have to put a lot more effort into the pedals to get the bike moving. this in turn gives a far better workout.

the above is just my experience. there are people with 7.7s and 7.9s that love them which is great and i feel that each model in the fx line has a specific and niche target audience. for me, i just wanted a harder workout. so i sold the 7.7 and got myself a 7.3 which i loved. then this year my wife surprised me for my bday and got me the 7.4 so now the 7.3 is her bike and im loving my new 2015 7.4.

I did a 45 mile ride back in may on my new 7.4, and at the end of the ride, i was absolutely SPENT. i got off the bike very very tired and i know i probably burned north of 3,000 calories during that ride if that's even possible haha

i added a stem riser to my 7.4 for a more upright ride and now it's literally the perfect bike for me. i dont forsee going to any other fx models because this is the sweet spot for me.

hope this answers your q.