CYCLINGISMYLIFE

Hello all

If you own a trek 7.5 fx could you please leave a quick review because i am thinking of getting the bike but i am not entirely sure.

Thnks

sherilinn

I have a 2009 Trek 7.5. Very happy

I know thats quick but its late

Guilou

I have a 2010 I bought in China, that is now with me in Hong Kong.

It's a great bike in my opinion.

fairymuff

Cycling in Hong Kong. Now there's a challenge...

liam1

Recently bought a 2011 7.5fx. Very happy with bike however I also wanted to try a Jamis Allegro 2 and a Giant Rapid 2 but was unable to locate them in my area. Rode a giant Rapid 3 which was a lovely bike but not directly comparable to the 7.5. Would've loved to try the rapid 2 so if you can do so I would suggest you give it a try. They should both be around the same price but so far so good with the Trek, still getting used to it and trying to find the best riding position etc. If you do purchase you wont be disappointed.

Gravel_Rash

I have a 2011 Trek 7.5 and i love it, its fast it feels strong and it looks good. i would recommend it

OKIE_55

I just bought a 2012 model, now have 468 miles on it. I love this bike the more I ride it, but it is my first quality bike ever.
I got the bike to get in better shape, and I feel better already. If this is the type of bike you're looking for, you'll like it.

Guilou

I am in the New Territories now. When I was riding in China, I thought maybe death was going to be in my future from all the crazy happenings out on the road.

Here in Hong Kong, I am now thinking China wasn't so bad after all. Hahahaha.....

fairymuff

Yeah, I figured you'd likely be out in the New Territories. My wife used to live at Mid-levels a couple of years ago. You wouldn't want to ride a bike there, or in any part of Kowloon. Nathan Road should be interesting...

Cracking place though, Hong Kong.

tiger16

I have a 2011 black 7.5 fx. I am very happy with the bike. I'm thinking of going to 700 x 28's on my next set of tires compared to the stock 700 x 32's

Saber5

I have the 2012 FX 7.5 and love it. it too is my first "good" bike. but i also test rode the giant rapid and specialized sirrus. did not like the rapid at all. liked the sirrus alot.
went with the FX 7.5 for two reasons. I was going to get a bike anyway and liked the 7.5, my local bike shop carries trek, i whole heartedly support my local business. and it came in the color i wanted....no matter what ride you get in this price range you wont be disappointed, they will all be comparable. Fit-Fit-Fit...if you are properly fitted, and the ones you test ride feel good. get the one that looks good to you. You wont ride a bike that you think is ugly...

a1penguin

Picked up my 7.5 with disc yesterday. It's raining and I don't yet have fenders so I haven't taken it out for a ride. I did weigh the 17.5" bike at 23 lbs on my bathroom scale. That's with M520 clipless pedals which are about 400g (almost 1.0 lb). This bike is for rainy wet winter commuting. I wanted the disc brakes and no suspension that that left me with limited choices. I didn't want mountain bike gearing. The Trek 7.X line of bikes have frames and gearing that are more like road bikes than mountain bikes. I like my drop bar road bike, so the flat bar will be new to me. I might end up with the dorky end bars at some point to provide additional hand positions if my hands get fatigues from one position.

Looking at a comparison of the 7.X series, the 7.5 looks like a decent price point for adding better components for the price increase. My co-worker claims that 8 speed is not as common as 9 speed and the cost of repairing 8 speed will be higher. I'm not sure this is true; I've seen plenty of 8 speed bikes, but they are all in the lower price range. Perhaps it's older technology and harder to find. The 7.4 and above are equipped with 9 speed and a carbon fork which will offer much smoother ride. The 7.4 has lower gearing than than the 7.5. The tires on the 7.5 are 28mm vs 32mm; the narrower wheels will roll faster. I have a mountain bike and when riding on the road, I can run out of gears. On my road bike I can do 25 while still on the middle ring on the front.

I would say that the 7.5 would be a good entry level road bike. I don't mean to sound snotty like in the road forum, but if you can afford a decent road bike, it will pay off. A $100 visit to the bike shop almost gets you to the next level bike. Whatever bike you buy, the $900-1000 price point that should get you a bike with respectable component level that will perform well. And I really like the white with red! My road bike is that color and I like it. I hate drab colored bikes; I want to be seen.

PS. My LBS sells the Trek bikes slightly under the MSRP.

Initial ride report: I've had short trial rides on coworkers bikes, so I don't have any real miles on any bike but my road bike. My ride was only about 7 miles on paved city streets for coffee.

All I can say is wow. This bike rides better than I expected. It had a pretty nimble and light feeling to it. It handles well; I didn't need any time to adjust to a new bike. The seat seems OK to me, but I'm not particularly fussy. The shifting is smooth (my road bike is 105/Ultegra). The geometry is definitely different than my road bike. I don't have any shoe overlap with the front wheel on this bike. GO FOR THE CARBON FORK! I ride this route a lot. The non-carbon fork on the disc model has a rougher ride on the front. If you plan on doing anything more than 2-3 mile rides, get the carbon fork. You'll notice the difference in your arms/shoulders on longer rides. If I can tell the difference, anyone can. The 28mm tires (my road bike as 25s) didn't seem that different. But then again, it's was dry.

My initial impressions of non STI (brifters): My preferred hand position requires hand movement to downshift. Upshifting requires almost no hand repositioning. The brakes are easy to reach and in traffic it feels natural to ride with a couple of fingers on the brakes. Perhaps over time I'll adapt, but my personal preference is drop bars and brifters. YMMV.

Gear range: I wasn't riding fast. I spent the entire ride on the larger front ring. The gearing seems to have good range for road riding.

Disc breaks: Great stopping power! They aren't grabby, but if you squeeze hard, they stop fast. I have the 2012 model which has hydraulic brakes. The 2011 has mechanical disc brakes.

I have a short reach (my women's road bike required a shorter stem!) and so I think my riding position is not very upright. The bike shop said they could swap out the stem if I wanted. That and seat height are the only adjustments.

The road was a bit sandy and I could hear a lot of sand bits hitting the frame. Fenders are on my shopping list.

Overall, I think the 7.5 is a great bike! I would classify the 7.5 model as a flat bar road bike.

The day time pictures capture the color pretty well. Trek75FXDisc

I hope this initial report helps.

fairymuff

The only thing that would hold me back from trading in my 7.3 disc for a 7.5 disc model (when I can justify buying a new shiny toy) is the fact that the discs on the 7.5 are hydraulic. I tour on my bike and don't want to be caught in the middle of nowhere with parts that are difficult to replace. I love my disc brakes, but unfortunately hydraulic discs don't meet the touring requirement.

dpeters11

It's a great bike, though on 2011+, they aren't compatible with bar ends.

fairymuff

You can get bar end adaptors for them now. Or you can swap the handlebar.

aletank

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...11-Trek-7.5-FX

carta

I purchased the 7.5 on Black Friday. I'm coming from a bike history of a totally rigid Trek mtb from about 20 years ago, and then an Electra Townie comfort-cruiser 5 years ago. My goal was to get more speed and distance around town and out on county roads and paved bike trails. So my search started with Consumer Reports (the Fuji Absolute 3 was their top pick) and two LBSs. At the LBS in Huntsville, AL, I test rode the Trek 7300, Dual Sport 8.2, and FX 7.2. The FX was my favorite. It felt natural; I liked the agility at low speeds and the tight ride. Pavement imperfections were a concern. So back on these forums I read everything I could about the FX models. Then I decided to try the carbon-forked 7.5.

And that was all it took. I thought the 7.2 was acceptably light, until I took the 7.5 out. The LBS suggested a test ride through a nearby city park and surrounding streets. Fortunately, the streets were a mix of smooth and atrocious. There was a vacant lot covered in grass and weeds, with dips and bumps, ending in a hard-packed dirt and gravel driveway. Across the street was a big dirt parking lot. I got plenty of experience with uneven surfaces.

The carbon fork seems to dampen the terrain a bit. It's not going to compete with front suspension, but it seems to muffle some of the constant vibration of the road. Not sure if that's a concern for you; for me it was.

After two days on the 7.5, I'm happy with the performance, especially with the quickness and overall speed. Travelling the same neighborhood streets as my previous bikes, the 7.5 covered the ground faster and easier. Not that I was racing but the average leisurely pace made the ride go faster, which in turn invited a longer ride. And that's the benefit from coming to a bike like the 7.5 from something heavier and slower: you feel more open to increasing distance and tackling hills. In my case, my older, less road-worthy bikes were holding me back, giving me a good excuse to stay closer to home and level terrain. The FX 7.5 allows me to break out of my customary riding routes and routines.

If you have any specific questions about the bike, let 'em fly! I'm sure we owners can answer them.

jsdavis

I had a 7.5FX, one with triple rings rather than the double they have now, but I've since replaced it with a Marin Muirwoods 29er. I didn't like the 7.5FX mostly because the gearing was too high for me. Hills are a part of life in San Francisco and my Muirwoods gets much lower even if it's only 8 speed. For my commuting and errands, I wouldn't miss not having my 48T chainring. For my riding style, the double chainrings and high gearing would make me avoid the 7.5FX completely.

Without knowing your riding style and conditions, I'd say it's hard for us to decide for you. Try riding the bike first on good and bad roads as well as hills to see how it feels.

After riding the 7.5FX for a couple months, it only took a few minute on the Muirwoods to have me grinning from ear to ear...

fairymuff

I had my LBS swap the granny on my 7.3 FX triple from a 28 to a 22, so I'm now running a 22/38/48 triple. The reason for doing this was that I has serious knee problems on a short but hilly tour. Surprisingly, the combo works really well. A 16 tooth drop obviously is a challenge for the derailleurs, but the rear one wraps the slack chain beautifully. I set the front derailleur as low as possible, and I can use gears 1 through 6 out of 8 without the chain rubbing the bottom of the derailleur cage. It works well for me (and for my wife who has the same setup). Changing down from the middle ring to the granny means a massive change in gearing, so you have to upshift the rear a lot. Generally, this means your treading air for a second or so, but it works for me.

22/38/48 gives me a great range of gears. Coupled with a 11/34 megarange cassette it feels like you can climb walls. Unfortunately, we get some 25% inclines round here that prove you wrong.

jsdavis

My 7.5 has a 11-25 or 26 cassette, not 11-34. My Muirwoods has same size chainrings as the 7.5 but has 11-32 cassette which made a huge difference for me. If the 7.5 had 11-34 I would have kept it.

I'm not going to lie, the Muirwoods is definitely heavier and slower. It rides very different also.

fairymuff

It's very easy to swap the cassette. Cassettes aren't expensive either.

jsdavis

To be honest, had I known that at the time, I probably would have done so. Too late now though.

ReptilesBlade 

I have an 2006 Trek 7500 (non-FX, it has the front fork shock) that I love. It is by far the best bike I have ever owned and it is going to be a very cold day in hell before I ever get rid of it.

I have been following the model line for about a half a decade now since I bought mine and they are constantly being reviewed as some of the best bikes money can buy without spending thousands of $$$.

It is very comfortable to ride even for longer rides and easy to utilize for almost any type of cycling you need it to do. It has more gears to shift through than I could ever need and it can move as smooth as glass all the way up 30 mph. It can go even faster but I have never taken it faster than that.

Simply put the capabilities of the bike exceed my ability as a rider and I have been riding bikes for well over two decades now. It is my second car and fills that need admirably.

If you have the chance to buy one do it and you will be very grateful you did.

Plutonix

I have a 2011 7.5, carbon fork and I love it. Rides great, light weight and looks great. I had a 2007 7.5 Disc before that and although I loved the bike, the brakes were a nightmare. They use a different make/model disc now, so it might be better, but they dont seem worth the bucks at the low end.

On the 2012s, you might want to check the type of handlebars - some (all?) are an odd proprietary style (sorta flat at the ends) which limits after market bar ends and grips.

Plutonix

Huh. I didnt even notice that they did that. I am not sure I would LIKE it, but I'm not sure it would bother me except from muscle memory/shifting habits; I've noticed I use the big ring much more on it than on my ATB.