Brown3dr

Hey everyone, first post, anyways...the guy at my LBS was surprised to see a 2021 fx4 disc in-stock for $1079 when i inquired about 2022 fitness bikes. On a whim I put some money down to reserve it (refundable), but I can't seem to figure out if a 2022 fx3 @ $999 or 2021 fx4 @ $1079 is the better buy. Any thoughts? Upgrading from an older entry level fitness bike circa 2013 with 3 x7. Rarely use the front detailer and stay almost exclusively in the middle cog, so 1x seems like a nice option for me.

Chickenwings

Hey Brown welcome to the forums! I'm new here too but I'm ALMOST a year old! Guessing by your post cycling is new for you (too) and though you might THINK you don't need more gears or use the front chainring (that's what them there cogs are called) I will bet you will! FWIW, my advice is to get the best bike you can afford but with that said, once you start riding a bit more remember that you got parts and accessories to buy. For example the previous pedal posts...apparently stock pedals are gauche! Huh, who knew? but seriously, you'll need padded shorts...I say NEED....you'll want a new saddle, some biking clothes - I had to buy epileptic yellow for riding on roads - a helmet, water bottles and other stuff....

With all that said, you CAN'T make a bad decision between those two. Good luck and let us know what you decide!

Brown3dr

Thanks Chickenwings. I've been riding casually for quite a few years but looking for an upgrade. My current bike has seen better days and I've always wanted a Trek FX because of the durable builds and the flat bar style (I'm a mountain biker at heart). Looking at the spec sheet the biggest difference seems to be the 2021 trek fx4 has the 1x11 whereas the 2022 trek fx3 has the 1x10. I see most of the other components are the same. I noticed the Fx4 has a different rim but not sure if its an improvement or not (Bontrager Affinity vs Bontrager Tubeless Ready). I'm just looking to maximize my dollars at the end of the day. I don't mind paying the extra $80+ dollars for the FX4 but It's hard for me to tell if its really an upgrade or not since its already replaced with newer 2022 models. Does that make sense?

Chickenwings

Makes perfect sense! FWIW, I'd get the FX3. As I said I'm new but I ended up with an FX2 AND a 7.4. The 7.4 is an older bike but it has a little better groupset and I sure notice it when I'm riding. The FX3 looks like it's a bit better fit out and for the few dollars, I'd go that way.

I'll break eye contact now and slowly back away to wait for someone with more knowledge and expertise!

ColonelSanders

I think the FX4 overall is better specc'd but not by so much that I would get it over the FX3, if the FX3 has a much better colour scheme.

If they were both the same colour, the FX4 for sure.

Brown3dr

The 2021 Fx4 is Dnister Black to Radioactive Red Fade. The Fx3's is either Dnister Black or Light/Dark Blue Fade. They all seem pretty alright, but nothing fantastic color wise.

Jim J

I'd go with the FX3. I have it and love it. I know another rider that got the FX4....only because it was the only choice he had during the Virus shortages...and he is not a fan. His FX 4 is probably a 2020 or maybe a 2021....but it is more of a gravel bike than my FX3. His has the one small front ring with the larger cluster on the back while my FX3 is more conventional with two rings up front and 9 on the back. Just my 2 cents.

Brown3dr

well, the new 2022 Fx3's are also 1 chainring up front. It's a little smaller at 40T versus 42T on the Fx4 though. It seems bikes are going to 1x more and more.

Brown3dr

What is the general consensus on the two tone color schemes? I havent seen any in person but they have the black/red for 2021 and dark blue/light blue for 2022. I generally like single color bikes but trying to keep an open mind.

Jonavin

As superficial as it seems, I bought my FX 2 because availability and the Satin Lithium Grey made subdued the branding.

And yes, the first thing I knew I had to replace are the pedals. It just looks too slippery for me. One ride on RF Chester and I knew I made the right decision. Can I also gush over how awesome the sqlab grips and innerbarends are? They give me a new hold position that still has full access to brakes and part of the gear shift.

These upgrades are thanks to the posts on bikeforum.

And those two tones do look very interesting. I almost bought a black/blue FX 3 but waited too long and there was no availability.

Jonavin

1x seems to be the trend and some of them even have gear ranges covering the full range of 2x or 3x. You could go to 99spokes and compare geometry and gearing. There doesn’t seem to be that much difference between a 2021 FX4 and a 2022 FX3.

raymellott

I get that Trek is doing what it's doing, but frankly, for me a 1x anything is a nogo. And the simple reason is that it means the jump from one gear to another can be too much, one way or the other. In fact, there are any number of situations where a two tooth change is one tooth too many for me.

There are a number of bike oriented sites out there where you can calculate the differences in gear spreads and ranges with different setups.

I think it's a big time mistake. Enough, for me, anyway, that IF I were to be buying another bike, if that's all Trek had, I'd go to another brand.

msalvetti

I did the gear inch calc when I was debating how to replace my 3x7 Mongoose. The FX 3 had just gone to 1x10. On my Mongoose, I mostly used the top 7 gears. I calculated the 1x10 only gave me 5 gears in the same range. But the 1x11 FX Sport 4 gave me 6 gears in that range.

I decided I wouldn’t like the 1x10 gaps. I’m finding the 1x11 just fine. Glad I don’t have to deal with a 2X and the duplicate gearing.

Mark

Jonavin

That’s the problem of a 1x. Either the gear spacing jumps are too large between gears, or the gearing does not have a low enough gear for climbing or high enough for faster road speeds. I’m actually liking the 2x9 setup on the FX2 for my type of riding.

Brown3dr

I've had 2x on a Trek mountain bike and didn't really like it. I found that the gap between the lower and upper chainring was prime for chain drops or skipping. I ended up just keeping it in my preferred chainring for the trail i was on and just adjusted the rear gears up/down. It seems like whether its 1x, 2x, or even 3x they all have their pros and cons and their isn't one that is the clear winner in all categories.

raymellott

My first FX was a 3x7. I never used the smallest chainring; and I soon replaced the freewheel with that useless 34tooth (?!) cog with a 13x26 (28?) freewheel. Worked well for me, although I was still wanting in some cases, a 1 tooth jump instead of two. That was a key reason why I wanted a new bike. Since I never ever went off road.... had a slammed stem.... cutdown bars, and other changes, it made no sense to keep up with an FX. My 2x10 Domane is about perfect, although, that notion that a road bike is naturally 'faster' than a hybrid is, for me, a falsehood. It's not. If I had to do it again - buying a different bike for the gearing - it'd be a hybrid. As long as the trannie wasn't that stupid 1x.

hokiefyd 

I tried a couple of 1x drivetrains on some of my bikes, but eventually converted nearly all of them back to 3x gearing. The only bike that remains a 1x is the '70 Peugeot mixte that's sort of a townie/cruiser bike for us. For the type of riding that I do, 2x and 3x just work better. Russ at Path Less Pedaled recently did a video on why he's going back to 2x drivetrains, and I'd say that I went back to multiple chain rings for the same reasons he did.


About half of my 3x bikes have indexed front shifting, and I've found it pretty easy to tune them to get good shifting and minimal chain rub. The other half of my 3x bikes use thumb shifters...friction on the front and indexed on the rear. I think this is generally my favorite configuration -- friction/indexed with thumbies.

Jonavin

I rode 3x for many years, probably not on a great gearing, but found there to be too many gears for my style. 1x is interesting and simplifies things but doesn’t have the range I want. This 2x9 I have on the FX seems just right. I stay on one cog most of the time but when it gets hilly I can easily switch over. Not complicated but also flexible.

I guess it depends on what you need. If you don’t need that wide of a range, a 1x will do.

Brown3dr

I still haven't decided if im buying the 2021 fx4 or not. I plan on taking it for a test ride either today or tomorrow and really getting a feel for it before any decision is made. I'm planning on being very picky since this is a big purchase for me. Part of me thinks i'd be totally fine with a 3x7 (or 8) but the higher spec'd bikes just don't use those anymore.

raymellott

What you say is probably true.... IF you are sticking with Trek; and IF you are limiting yourself to only their hybrids. On the other hand, Trek isn't (yet) the only game in town, either; and depending on your riding habits and style an FX isn't the only option around. Seems to me that Trek moved to 1x transmissions simply as a cost saving measure and tries then to justify it by claiming how simple shifting is. Frankly, I think that's a bogus argument that is gonna make riders look at and buy other bikes. Take a look at Cannondale hybrids, for instance. Good ones, too. Decent price points. 2x trannies.

Brown3dr

Test ride went alright. I tested the '21 FX4 and a '22 FX2. I wasn't a huge fan of the 1x drivetrain on the fx4. It had a lot of gears I wasn't going to be using on the climbing end. It also had this weird sensation when i would get up to speed, stop pedaling, and the rear derailleur would buckle and you could feel it move. Probably not a big deal but found it sort of odd. The '22 FX2 was smooth and rode similarly to the FX4, but maybe a little less comfortable (seat was nicer on the 4). I couldn't really tell much difference between the carbon fork and aluminum when going over rough roads either. Long story short, I didn't end up getting the Fx4 or Fx2 at this point, and plan on testing more bikes.

Jonavin

the stock saddle on the FX2 is a bit rough for me taste too but I fixed that with a Salle Royal saddle. I am surprised you didn’t noticed a difference with between the carbon and alloy forks. When I first road my ‘22 Fx2 in stick form, I found the vibrations very jarring on uneven pavement. After putting some sqlab grips on it’s tamed it quite a bit. Seems Ok now for at least a 20 mile ride, but we’ll see what happens on longer rides. Next option is a Redshift stem if it still bothers me.

Brown3dr

Yeah maybe i wasn't paying close enough attention, needing to pay attention to my surroundings and all that fun stuff, but both seemed fairly good over bumps. Certainly better than my current bike. I'm not ruling out an FX but didn't feel so convinced that I was willing to drop $1000+ on the spot either. Its crazy because I inquired about the FX3 and the shop guy said he didn't show any coming in until like August. I'm guessing I could shop around and find one but bike availability still seems like an issue in some cases.

Jonavin

Yeah, like I said earlier, I was looking at an Fx3 but didn’t buy it because of availability. Also wasn’t sure about the 1x. I don’t regret buying the FX2 and I quite like the 2x9 drivetrain. The only thing I may wish I had was a carbon fork for less vibrations, but the new grips are helping.

raymellott

One thing you CAN do with a bike is change individual cogs out with others in the cassette. For example... you might find that the jump between 5th and 6th is too much; and you need one in between there; while you never use that 11 tooth cog. (But otherwise, it's good) You can toss the 11 tooth; and then insert a cog between 5th and 6th with the right number of teeth. IF you can't find an individual cog, you can buy a cassette (same brand) with that specific cog in it; disassemble it; and thereby get that cog. You CAN mix and match. Just make sure it's same brand; and same number of cogs in the two cassettes. I know more than one person who has done that; and are happy with the results. I know of nobody, though, who did that on a 1x setup. There ought, though, to be nothing stopping you from that - even on a 1x.

On the other hand, there are a number of different whole cassettes out there with different cogs for different riders. You ought to be able to source one with better ratios for the kind of riding you do.

My point: The cogs in the cassette; shouldn't be the defining criteria for the bike. [same with the seat, too ;-)) ]