slimneverdies

Ended up buying a 7.2 FX to make into a fixie. It was dirt cheap and brand new so I couldnt pass it up. I like the thicker tires of the 7.2 when riding along the beach. The 7.5 tires are defintely just for road use. Took both bikes out tonight for a light 8 mile trip each way. The 7.5 is fast as he!!. Next im gonna complete my line up with a mountain bike.

I also bought some Look Keo pedals for the 7.5 and will test them out Sunday.

TheSwede

Thanks for the compliments!

Triaxtremec, you know your speakers, those are RF82's. I love them but wish I could have gotten the 83's. They were just too out of my price range.

slimneverdies, that is a nice looking 7.5. I see what you mean about the tires on the 7.2.

droobieinop

So, let me get this right, You bought a trek 7.2 fx, which has vertical dropouts and a replaceable derailuer hanger to turn into a Fixie? Why didn't you just get a fixie, like the soho?
https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en/bikes/urban/soho/sohos/

Secondly, not to be a bike snob but, look keo pedals on a hybrid? Sounds like you might be ready to get a genuine road bike. Or maybe you should have gotten some spd or crank bros pedals so you can walk easier.

slimneverdies

Yeah, I could have bought the SOHO but if you know how much I payed for the 7.2 you'd understand. I had to get it.

As for the pedals I noticed after riding the 7.5 that it will only be driven on smooth pavements and I bought it for some cardio so why not benefit from some clipless pedals. I see now that I may have been better off with the crank bros. Im new to the sport so bare with me!!

TheSwede

Ok, I changed a few things. I got some cyclocross tires. They are Ritchey SpeedMax. I also got some bar ends, they are Forte brand. The last thing I put on there is a Cateye computer. It is the basic wireless Vectra. I like the tires a lot so far. They are very fast on the street, but much more confidence inspiring on loose stuff. I wasn't sure if I really wanted the bar ends, but I am glad I bought them. They made quite a bit off difference on my ride today just being able to change hand positions. I found out that I should have bought some wrap though. they are very slick.

qmsdc15

Are you suggesting riding something other than a Trek FX? Buy a fixed gear bike? Buy a road bike? Why, when you can have it all, the total package, FX fixie conversion, FX road bike conversion, FX mountain bike... !? Get with the program, droobie!

dalyry

new ride. a birthday gift from my girlfriend (think I'll keep her around...)
Put drops on with sora sti levers, and FD and a Deore RD as well as some SM540s my friend had laying around.

[IMG][/IMG]

For some reason I can't get images to show up on here... any suggestions people?!

TheSwede

dalyry, I usually load my photos to photobucket.com. Once the photos are in my album, you can just copy and paste the IMG code that shows up under the picture, there are other formats as well. For this forum you must use an IMG code. Try typing [IMG] then the image's URL then [/IMG], in one continuous string. In other words, type [IMG] at the beginning of the URL and [/IMG] at the end of the image's URL with no spaces.

dalyry

thanks Swede!!

pierce

vertical dropouts and fixie/single speed aren't compatible. you need to be able to move the rear wheel forward/backwards up to an inch to take the slack out of the chain.

see pictures here. https://www.machinehead-software.co.u..._dropouts.html

#1 is what you have.

#2 is an old school road bike, those can be converted to fixie as tehre is sufficient leeway.

#3 is a proper track dropout, designed for a fixie.

droobieinop

First, in order for a fixed gear to be possible a frame really has to have track fork ends or horizontal drop outs. The picture of the fx shows vertical dropouts. This does not mean that it is impossible but, highly unlikely that one will find the magic gear that will allow the proper chain tension.

I've been with the "program" since I purchased my trek 750 in '95. It rolled out of the shop with drop bars, aero levers and barcons. I've changed to brahma bars and trigger shifters, and now back to drops and brifters getting ready for cyclocross season this fall. My trek has been everything from a fully loaded commuter, with front and rear racks capable of touring, to being riden in my first road race. I don't have any pictures of my bike with the flat bars ot brahmas out there but, if you look back you should find my 750 post race, in this very thread.

My statement about the pedals was because keos are typically roadie pedals. I've never, and will never, put road pedals on my hybrid. I did put on some one sided spd pedals though. My reasoning for this was that I use my hybrid for transportation and recreation and like to be able to walk around wherever I go. You can't walk comfortably in shoes with road cleats on the bottom.

irclean

https://www.trickstuff.de/index.php?p=d116en1
https://www.forwardcomponents.blogspot.com/

Compatibility issues solved! Alternatively, of course, you could just use a chain tensioner.

droobieinop

Ok, those are nifty little toys, and not the only ones out there. However, even if you have a frame you already love, that happens to have vertical dropouts, it becomes cost ridiculous in most cases. In other words, it makes more sense to buy a fixed gear if you want a fixed gear. I've spent close to $1200 over the last 2 years to end up with something that I could have purchased for less than $800. Live and learn.

pierce

chain tensioners only work as a single speed with a freewheel, not with a true 'fixie' which has no coaster/freewheel., as when you backpedal a fixie, you'll pull aall the slack taken up by the tensioner, then likely derail your chain.

Sixty Fiver

You can make the Trek 7.2 FX into a fixed gear if you by an eccentric rear hub... The White Industries Eno is $160.00.

You could SS the bike with a chain tensioner but cannot run a fixed gear this way.

pierce

ok, there's another way to get a fixed gear. first, while your bike still has a triple front and a cassette rear, break the chain, and try different gears til you find one that you think you can pedal and where the chain fits around with minimal slack when you hold pin against pin. punch the chain to this length, and put the chain together around those gears and ride that way for a couple days to see if you really want to do this, then get yourself fixie wheels (using a 135mm rear hub spacing of a hybrid, instead of the more typical 130mm rear hub of a modern roadie or the 120mm spacing of an old 10-speed roadie), and replace the crank with a single crank of that size. pay close attention to your chain line, you want no offset between the front chainwheel and the rear sprocket for smoothest operation. oh, and ideally you want a chainwheel thats *NOT* from a dérailleur bike, you want one with long teeth and no shift ramps.

personally, I think you're nuts for trying. find an old double-butted steel roadie from the 70s/80s made with good tubing, like Ishiwata 022, or Reynolds 531, and butcher that, instead.

Sixty Fiver

The magic of this fix wears off pretty quickly.

pierce

indeed. derailleur gearing was invented nearly 100 years ago, and fixed gears were relegated to tricyles, unicycles, and velodrome track racing.

and now its made a comeback, mostly among the cafe poseurs.

of course, I live where its hilly. I have absolutely no desire to be stuck in one gear.

AdelaaR

Exactly.
Unless you are doing track races, I don't see any other reason to have a fixed gear than "hype" & "image".
I would love to take some fixed gear guys on a ride sometime ... first we'll do "de koppenberg", then we'll do "de beerendries" ... from there we'll go to "de kapelmuur" and then take "de bosberg" while we're there anyway ... I wonder if those fixed gear lovers will still love 'em then

rkenshin0922

hi ya'll. name is chris and i'm new to the forums. just posting a pic of my marin kentfield fs. looking forward to seeing more pics of hybrids from other members

AdelaaR

Hi chris
It sure looks like a nice bike, but it is hard to tell since the lighting is so minimal on your pictures.
Not judging you as you may be a vampire who lurks around only at night, but pictures taken in daytime tend to look better than pictures at night with flashlight, especially on bikes since the flashlight will reflect on the shiny chrome bits of the bike too much

rkenshin0922

hi adelaar, haha yeah i was worried someone might bring up the quality of the pics hehe. me and my friends and cousins do a lot of night riding and these pics are the most recent ones i have since my bike went through a bit of transformation. we go biking at the beach a lot also during the day, so i'll snap a couple of pics next time we go i apologize for the picture quality

thanks for the compliment!

pierce

imho, the best bike pictures are taken when its overcast and the bike is against a contrasting background thats neither too dark nor too light.

bike in sunlight


bike in foglight


(yes, bike has some component changes between the two pics)

xoxoxoxoLive

Follow up on my bike after 2000 miles, still loving it.
Keep on Biking..

xoxoxoxoLive

Just playing around, but the brakes are great !