Originally Posted by DuyGG

Lol oh gosh, I just realized I post in the wrong Trek thread. I thought the DS thread was the FX thread. Anywho, hello everyone, first post. I obviously have nothing to contribute yet, but I'm looking forward to learning more about cycling in general. I bought my first "real" bike earlier today at my LBS and I'm still pretty stoked about it. It was between the Giant Escape 2 and Fx 2, both fit and rode equally to me, it literally came down to the color I like more.

So I ended up with the 2017 Fx 2 in Matte Black.

Almost three days in and I'm still loving it...

Originally Posted by Pedmom

Hi all, first time poster here. I took about a three-year hiatus from cycling and I'm back on track and decided I need to retire my ancient hybrid (25ish year old Timberlin!)My local bike shop has recommended either the FX or the DS for me. I have pretty much decided on the FX, but would appreciate any input on the difference between the 2 and a 3, other than $180. I am not very educated on the difference between brake systems and shifting systems etc. and a friend of mine that cycles a lot said that is the main difference without more explanation. Help?

Originally Posted by Tommy1955

Pedmom, I did replace the 700x32 AW 1 tires (stock tires on 2017 FX 3) with the AW 2 tires after a month. After around a month, I had a flat on the rear tire but the front tire wasn't so good either. The AW 2 tire is lighter and doesn't have a steel belt like the AW 1. I have put around 1500 or so miles on the AW 2 tires and no flats and the tires still look great. I could feel the difference with these tires and really think it's a much better tire. I don't do any off road or gravel rides.

Originally Posted by Tommy1955

I have the 2017 FX3 and love it. It's lightweight is a fairly fast bike. It has the real lightweight aluminum frame and carbon fork (that is if it's the 2017 FX3). The FX2 doesn't have a carbon fork I believe. I would obviously recommend the FX3.

Originally Posted by tbo

Re: Tire wear.

I have had a 7.2FX for 9 years. Tire wear, especially on the rear tire, has always been an issue. Maybe not to the extent mentioned here (one month and replace), but I always have at least one tire in reserve for this bike.

For around town use, I happen to like the Continental Touring Plus in 700c x 32.

Originally Posted by sh00k

Do you think this is just an issue with all fx's or hybrids? I am not a high mileage rider and don't know much about tire wear but this sounds like a problem that would happen on most bikes, no? because that is where most of the weight is... idk, just an educated guess from my side.

Originally Posted by tbo

My impression is that this is a problem for most bikes, once you start riding them at speed - 15 miles per hour or so. If you only go 5 to 10 miles an hour on a cruiser tire that has a huge amount of rubber on it, then it is going to last forever (all things being equal.) You don't put any strain on tire when accelerating and how fast can you slow down from 5 to 10 miles an hour before you are already stopped or at the speed you need?


The way that I ride, the rear tire wears out twice as fast as the front. That's where the power comes from and that's where I brake more. It's just an is. I don't rotate tires; I just get a new one for the back when it needs it.

Originally Posted by sh00k

Do you think this is just an issue with all fx's or hybrids? I am not a high mileage rider and don't know much about tire wear but this sounds like a problem that would happen on most bikes, no? because that is where most of the weight is... idk, just an educated guess from my side.

Originally Posted by Tommy1955

I have a new 2017 FX3 and yes I wore out the tires within 2 months. Actually not worn out but had cuts in the tires from running over things (both tires). The new FX3 stock tires are AW1 700cx32 which have steel belts for the puncture protection. I replaced them with the AW2 tires and have put close to 2,000 miles with no flats or cuts in the tires riding the same paths and roads. The AW2 tires do not have steel belts but some other kind of puncture protection (can't remember what it is now) that's lighter and in my opinion MUCH better. I'm fixing to take the bike in to the LBS and have them look at the tires because of the mileage I have on them but they still look great.

Originally Posted by sh00k

very nice. I too put AW2's on my 7.3 fx (25c) and i absolutely love how the bike feels now. i dont ride a ton of miles but when i ride the fx, it puts a smile on my face every time

Originally Posted by DayBob

Sore butt, sore legs, sore wrists.

Originally Posted by Dcwrider

Hello forum! Nice to be here and thank you for your expertise.
I purchased a new 19" FX 7.4 WSD in White in 2012. I've ridden the heck out of it, daily 6 mile (each way) commute to work during wam weather and many long 20+ mile rides on weekends. I added a more comfortable seat, a pannier rack, put faster road tires on it and upgraded the handlebars. But it rides hard and I often feel like, for being an experienced city/trail rider, I can't get enough power out of the bike. It's currently in the shop with a broken rear wheel spoke spoke, a rear wheel out of true and sticking brakes (second time rear wheel brakes have been sticking/wheel out of true.). I may end up having to replace the rear wheel, waiting to hear - I did a hard 38 mile ride this weekend w/o knowing the spoke was broken. The first shop I took it to said this bike was not built to be ridden as much as I do.
My main issue with the bike is the frame is heavy (to me.) as I get older, especially with my back, I feel the weight of the bike when I am lifting it onto my house rack or car rack, etc.
I have chronic lower back pain due to a minor, long-tolerated stress fracture in a lower vertebrae. so I'm wary of transitioning to a road bike - I like upright handlebars. What I want is a lighter, higher-performing version of this bike. I've looked for comparison specs - are the later model FX 7.4s lighter than my 2012 model? I can't find the weight of my current model to tell if a new FX has come in noticeably lighter.
Thank you for any knowledge and input!
Tara

Originally Posted by djmcnz

Butt, check.
Legs, check.
Wrists, need to correct something.

I had exactly the same experience a few months ago when I got my bike but as I learned, your wrists shouldn't hurt.

During your next ride think about your wrists and make sure you're not gripping the grips too hard as that can be a cause. If you've got a relaxed grip with comfortable control and still have sore wrists after a ride then most likely you're too weight-forward and may need to adjust the saddle. A tiny adjustment to my saddle to move my weight back eliminated any wrist pain for me. It may also help for you. There are other ways to address your weight distribution but the saddle is the place to start.

Originally Posted by Dcwrider

Hi Forum, posting in case my story ends up being helpful. After my original post my local Trek shop put on new AW2 32 tires and got the rear wheel back to true, but within 2 days of riding the bike felt laggy again, and on the third ride was having a repeat issue of the bike being very resistant to shifting gears; it would get stuck mid-shift and then surprise me with a lurch when it did shift. It made the bike still feel very sluggish and "heavy." A girlfriend suggested maybe my chain had stretched; anyways, back to the shop. I thought the fix might be replacing the deraileurs to higher-performing models. The tech looked closely and ran the bike multiple times through the gears, noting that the shifts perform differently when a person's weight is on the bike, but even just in the stand he got it to replicate the error when shifting in the mids (not the highest or lowest of the ranges between any of the three chain rings.) He found that my deraileur hangar was bent and ordered a replacement. I also added some Ergon grips to the handlebars to provide more comfort when riding.
Bottom line, the hangar was the culprit! I went out riding that weekend and it was like I had a totally different bike. It climbed effortlessly, responded immediately. Very very happy customer, my 7.4 is performing like a lighter faster bike and I'm keeping it

Originally Posted by snuboy360

I just found this forum but I’ve been looking at the Trek FX 3 for a few weeks now. As of the new year I’ve been trying to lose weight and I’m now down to 332lbs. I’ve been looking for a good fitness bike to get into biking but with the weight limit of 300lbs on the Trek website I’m wondering if I’m still too heavy for this bike. Are there any heavy riders out there that are over 300lbs that are using the Trek FX series, and if so how is that gong?