Masonchat

Hi, I currently have fx 7.2 , good bike cant complain, but just want an upgrade, had my heart set on trek fx 3 disc black (900 euro) but cant be got for love nor money at moment.
I was looking at trek fx 2 disc ( 560) euro , and to my ignorant eyes seems pretty much the same bike except for carbon fork , would very much welcome any advice you can give of the pros and cons of the 2 bikes as i really know nothing about drive train, group sets etc.

Fx 2 has 24 gears 3x8 which appeals to me as I do a lot of hills , fx 3 has 18 9x2

AU Tiger

You mentioned the gearing and hills...

At the lower end of the gearing, the FX3 would be a little better for climbing:

• The FX3's 30/36 is 0.833
• The FX2's 28/32 is 0.875

And at the upper end, the FX2 would give you a tad more speed before spinning out:

• The FX3's 46/11 is 4.182
• The FX2's 48/11 is 4.363

Of the two, probably the FX3's benefit at the lower end would be slightly more noticeable than the FX2's benefit at the upper end. Not huge, but if you're looking for a difference it's there.

Besides the extremes, you also want to consider whether you could camp out on one chain ring for a lot of your riding. For example, maybe the triple would let you stay on the middle ring most of the the time and just go down or up for the extreme up/downhill stretches. Whereas the transition between the two chain rings on the double might not be in a place that is conducive for that. I'm not saying that it would happen - that of course depends on your specific riding. I'm just saying it's something to consider. A test ride over your normal terrain would be very helpful in that regard.

Both non-suspension bikes I've owned have had carbon forks, so I can't compare them to aluminum. I'm told carbon makes a difference, but just how much of a difference I can't really say.

One way to look at your choice would be to ask how similar the FX2 is to your current bike. If it's not very different, then what's the point of getting the new bike? If it's just a matter of getting something now vs. waiting to get what you really want, I'd say wait. A year from now, what will you be happier with?

Masonchat

Thanks Tiger for such a detailed informative reply, I got the Fx 2 yesterday , before I saw your post, haven't tried it out yet, but I have feeling you were 100% right and should have waited, we have a saying here in Ireland, never buy a pig in a poke 😁 , which is what I did

freeranger

While the FX3 is a step up from the FX2, it's far from being a "pig in a poke". With the covid induced bike shortage, you may have been waiting until the end of 2021 for the FX3. If you really want to wait for an FX3, with the current demand for bikes, you could probably sell the FX2 for near (if not exactly) what you paid for it. But then, you wouldn't be riding for a good long while, while waiting.

Masonchat

Freeranger you are right, I didn't mean fx 2 is a bad bike, it's a good bike, but having tried it, it doesn't feel like an upgrade on my current fx 7.2 , the fx 7.2 feels like a smoother more responsive ride
, plus I had the handle bars customized for a very upright position due to neck problems, I had hoped getting a large frame on fx 2 would help ,but I've learned now that any bike I buy would need to have handle bars customized, which means getting all the cables redone .
but you are also right at least it's a good time to sell bikes so hopefully I wont lose too much

AU Tiger

Well as another saying goes, that's water under the bridge now. So just enjoy riding the new one and don't worry about what you could've done differently. It is, after all, A NEW BIKE!!! New bike day is always a good day, right?

Masonchat

Very true tiger, been out on it again , its definitely growing on me , handle bar is a problem for me but would be same problem with any bike, that's what I get for crashing a motorcycle and landing on my head 😁, it's the one drawback on these bikes , if I could raise handlebars 3 inches think I'd be very happy with it

hokiefyd 

You can! You can get riser handlebars so your grip area is 3" higher than what you have now. You can also just get a stem extender, which will raise the entire bar up. You can also get an adjustable angle stem, which will allow you to experiment with different heights. Some of these solutions may require longer brake hoses or shift cables, but that's a one-time fix for something that may work better for you in the long run.

Masonchat

thanks Hokiefyd I did do that on the 7.2 ,, it was a bit more straightforward though, will definitely have to renew all cables as there is no play at all in them , but yeah I'd say it would make all the difference for me , so I'll probably bite the bullet and get it done

Masonchat

I did do that with the 7.2 fx but it was a lot more straightforward, the fx 2 already comes with an out stretching stem , so you would need a step that goes out