My 2023 Trek FX Sport 6 Upgrades (photo heavy)
 

My 2023 Trek FX Sport 6 Upgrades

I purchased the bike direct from a Trek Corporate store in size Large and was put on the special order waiting list. The bike replaced my 2017 BMC Aplenchallenge AC01. When I ordered it it was actually listed as a 2022 and I got it for $2399. The same bike is now listed as a 2023 and sells for $2799.

While waiting for it to arrive I started amassing parts for the upgrades that I wanted to do and other items I wanted on the bike. I mainly ride for fitness / enjoyment and I probably do about 95% city roads and 5% light gravel over the course of a month.

Why upgrade a new bike you ask? Well, I generally try to get my bikes upgraded to my liking as quickly as I can then I am just in maintenance mode for the life of the bike. I don’t rush it as I look for sales and coupon codes to use. Most places give you a discount code for signing up for their mailing list. Once you get the code just unsubscribe.

A few of the upgrades were almost mandatory.. The saddle that came on it was not comfortable at all and the Promax F1 brakes it came with were, and I am being kind here, extremely underwhelming.

The saddle and the brakes that came on the bike were not what’s listed on the official spec sheet but even if it had came with what was listed I assume I would have upgraded those anyways.

I also quickly changed out the tires as the GR1’s that came on it are not very flat resistant and they were wider than I prefer since the majority of my time is spent on tarmac.

It took me about 6 months to amass all the upgrade parts either because I was waiting for sales, items to come in stock or for back orders to ship.

Most of my rides are on tarmac but I do hit some easy gravel and hardback trails every so often. I ride 5 or 6 days a week and generally do about 25-40 miles a day. Sometimes less, sometimes more and I generally ride 5 days a week… About once a month or so I’ll go on a longer ride of anywhere between 60-80 miles and a few times a year I’ll do a century.

Bike & Stock Specs Here:

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...olorCode=black

Upgrades from stock: (updated to show my final build)

Drivetrain:

• Garbaruk Long Cage for the stock GRX812 RD
• Garbaruk Oversized Pulleys for Long Cage
• Garbaruk 11-46 Cassette
• Shimano GRX 810 Crankset with 40t

Brakes:

• Shimano GRX 810 Calipers
• Shimano Deore XT MT800 Rotors
• Shimano Deore XT M8000 Levers

Other Upgrades:

• Bontrager RSL Carbon Stem
• Ritchey WCS Carbon Handlebar
• Bontrager Pro Seatpost Carbon
• Bontrager Verse Elite Saddle
• Specialized Pathfinder Pro Tires (700x32c)
• GoPro Hero 11 (replaced defective Ghost & and an old GoPro Session)
• Blendr integrated stem mount for Garmin and Ion front light

Gear I had that transferred over to new bike:

• Garmin Edge 1040 Solar
• Bontrager Ion 200 RT Front Light
• Bontrager Flare RT Rear Light
• Look X-Trac Carbon MTB clipless pedals
• Rocko Carbon Bottle Cages

Note on the Garbaruk cassette. If you want to go this route, on a FX Sport at least, you will need their 1.8 cassette spacer. When I contacted them they were unsure if it would be needed on my bike so I ordered it just to be safe and sure enough it was needed.. It only cost $1 so best to order the spacer with the cassette..

With the Garbaruk long cage you can go up to an 11-50 cassette but I opted for the 11-46 instead.. While I do have climbing it’s nothing so extreme where I need an 11-50.

Overall I am very happy with the bike. It rides fast and smooth in the city and can handle light gravel and hardback just fine. Shifting the rear is smooth and precise. The brakes are a night and day upgrade. I did lower the handlebars as Trek sets the bikes up with the highest possible handlebar position they can.

The only other upgrades I might consider in the future are ***a carbon stem, carbon handlebars and maybe upgrading the shifting.
***Stem and bar upgrades completed.

Since GRX is basically a Shimano road group I can’t upgrade to a better XT or XTR shifter. I believe the Shimano RS700 that’s on my bike is currently the best available for my setup. If anyone has ideas on a shifter upgrade please share as I’d like to eeek out every drop of smoothness I can get. I’m not interested in Di2..

Photos:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ec0ce07cd3.jpg

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b7d7420764.jpg

GTX 810 Crankset w/ 40t:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fae5e17749.jpg

Garbaruk 11-46 Cassette, Garbaruk Long Cage for GRX 812 RD, Garbaruk Oversized Pulleys for Long Cage:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...469c514719.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...277eaae4b2.jpg

GRX 810 Calipers, Shimano Deore XT MT800 Rotors and Shimano Deore XT M8000 Levers:

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9b6ee7e159.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4a0fe0398a.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...9f8e11b75a.jpg

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...58ad6e95cd.jpg
Ride safe! :speedy:

I like ! Two thumbs up !!

There might be other (better ?) options than the RS700 11 spd shifters - but I'm not aware of them.

Questions:

Why did you go with the GRX calipers ? ( instead of XT or 105 or Ultegra or whatever ?)

What brake lines were installed from the factory ? Did you change the brake lines ? And if so did you go with Shimano BH59 or BH90 lines ?

Thanks !

I went with the GRX 810 calipers because I found them on sale and was able to combine the sale price with a coupon code.

XT would not work unless you used an adapter to convert from post mount to flat. The FX Sport uses flat mount calipers. I *think* XT and XTR are all post mount.

The bike came with BH59 brake lines and they were just re-used for the upgrade.

A few more photos showing the add ons since 10 images is the limit in the OP..

Garmin, GoPro, Dinotte Quad Red, Ion front light & Blender stem mount:


https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fc5b862995.jpg


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...bff963ff06.jpg

Love this ^^^^ ... your project! FWIW, new XT (and XTR) calipers are now available in a flat-mount variant: https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/produ.../BR-M8110.html . I have them on my Sirrus X Carbon Comp. It was a long wait, but worth it.

Awesome! I didn't even look at them because I was operating under old assumptions. Also, thanks for the link!

I am happy with the GRX 810 calipers and I think my brake upgrade is hands down my favorite so far. It's a night and day difference -vs- the cruddy (and I am being nice here) Promax F1's that came on the bike.. The Garbaruk 11-46 cassette, long cage and oversized pulleys are nice but the brake upgrade is easily the most noticeable..

Also, for those who don't know, the GRX 810 and 812 series components are equivalent to Ultegra and / or Deore XT..

Took it out today on a route that I do every so often that has about a 2500 foot climb. Wanted to test the 46t cassette and compare to my old 42t that it replaced Also since the brakes are broken in and seated, I figured this was a good time to test them out on the descent as well..

The 46t was super nice and I did notice (obviously) a difference when doing the climb in the 46t as opposed to the old 42t. Happy with the gearing on the cassette. The brakes were phenomenal. I did this route once on the old Promax F1 brakes and they were so squirrelly and bad that I decided to not do it again on those brakes. The upgraded brakes were awesome and I felt confident and secure during descent. No overheating and they performed admirably..

I also slapped on the Varia Radar for todays ride..

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...f071872421.jpg

Would it be possible (and more cost-effective) to just get the frame, since you changed out the drivetrain and brakes?

Also, are the wheels thru-axle, thru-QR-skewar, or what?

Maybe? Maybe not? I have not priced a carbon frame, carbon forks, carbon wheels, bars, shifter, stem etc but I got all my upgrade parts pretty cheap using sales and discount codes and I was able to sell the old parts off as well. The carbon wheels that came on the bike are about $1100 by themselves.

Wheels are thru-axle.

GRX 810 is Ultegra/XT level and RS700 shifters are supposedly also but they lack multi release (two upshifts), which IMO is fantastic to have for 1x drivetrains. Additionally, XTR will have less throw, smoother bearings. and more metal parts.

I really like thumbshifters and think they are perfect for 1x drivetrains as they allow huge cluster dumps, are simple, have more metal, and are lighter but I can't get them to work for me with hydraulic levers as the cylinder bulges up and into the space needed for the lever's swing. Angling or spacing them further puts the shifters out of their ergonomic zone for me so with hydraulic brakes I stick to XTR pods for the best shifting possible. YMMV

But you are a shifter and rear derailleur away from XT (with better shifters and 46t compatibility), that might have been more cost efficient than the aftermarket stuff on the derailleur.

Ispec will also declutter your bars.

I thought the RS700 shifters were 105 equivalent but I could be wrong. Nothing really wrong with the shifters, they are fine, but if I could upgrade them to eeek out a bit more smoothness and speed then I would do so..

I was originally considering swapping everything over to Deore XT or XTR but the Garbaruk gear intrigued me. I probably could have saved a little cash going the Deore XT route but decided on the Garbaruk gear instead. The XTR route would have probably cost me more but XTR is Dura Ace level and I don't really need all that.

I did find a *supposed* GRX 810 shifter but I am pretty sure Shimano has just taken the RS700 and slapped the GRX name on it as it's basically the same part # with a LE at the end. I believe it's a part of their Limited Edition GRX group set.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/produ...S700-R-LE.html

GRX has multi-release, something Shimano thinks is a dirt only feature.

I broke down and ordered a carbon stem and carbon handlebar. The stem has no availability date and the handlebar said it was in stock.. After those everything on the bike than can be carbon, will be carbon.. Should help with road vibrations..

Stem: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/e...-stem/p/34937/
Handlebar (it will be cut down): https://www.performancebike.com/ritc...05504?v=615332

The Trek corporate store had no clue when the stem will come in. Could be a month or it could be several months. I guess at least it's on order..

alloy / metal riser handlebars are typically fairly heavy - so you will save some weight with the WCS riser bar

The Ritchey carbon bar came in and yes it's feather light.. It's actually lighter than I was expecting.

Still waiting on the carbon stem. If Trek does not have an ETA soon then I'll order it elsewhere. I found a place in Europe that has it in stock so they'll be next on the list.. While the Europe stock is cheaper it actually comes out at about the same price after paying for international shipping..

Carbon stem due in next week! This will be my final upgrade piece and the bike upgrades will be completely done.

I am going to have LBS cut the carbon bar down (I don't trust myself) as I was only able to find a 740mm in stock so ordered it. I'll have them cut it down to 660 (stock length which I like) and get the stem and bar swapped out..

I appreciate the changes you are making. I'm in a similar place with my Cannondale Quick 1... If I like the bike then I'll make the additions as I go. Why? Because I can. ;-)

Do you happen to know if the 2023 Trek FX Sport 6 would appropriately accommodate 650b wheels? Thanks!

..

..

It will accommodate the wheels themselves, yes. Just get the correct width and style of hubs and you should be fine. You'll need to experiment with tire size. You should be able to fit a wider tire on a 584mm rim ("650b") than you can on a 622mm rim ("700c")...but I couldn't say exactly how large of a tire you could fit.

futuristic and nice carbon hybrid:thumb:

Update after several months and a few thousand miles.. it's still riding like a dream and I am thrilled with the upgrades.

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0a03af1e65.jpg

Love your setup and thanks for the post! I have an new FX Sport 6 coming in next week and look forward to doing some upgrades myself. Thanks!

Great bike, you'll love it!