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Trek FX 7.3 - Drop Bar Conversion, Max Tire Width, and Other Exploration

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Trek FX 7.3 - Drop Bar Conversion, Max Tire Width, and Other Exploration

Old 06-11-22, 01:03 PM
  #26  
RiddleOfSteel
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Originally Posted by t2p
double sweet - super job !

only thing I'm adverse to is shortening the steerer - once you cut you can't get it back !

.
Thanks!

Oh yeah, I was definitely thinking about that as well, even if I had triple checked things.
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Old 06-12-22, 07:23 AM
  #27  
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You've done a great job on that bike. Looks great!
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Old 05-12-23, 12:36 AM
  #28  
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Tyre tolerances on a smaller frame

Hi, I'd just like to say how interesting and useful a read this was for someone in a similar situation with a 7.3 FX.

A bit of a newbie question, but would having only a 17.5" frame size and tyres with some tread make that clearance too little on 700c X 42? I was looking at Continental Contact Plus tyres.
Maybe those things don't affect the gaps but I wanted to make sure.

Last edited by Krabix; 05-12-23 at 03:54 AM.
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Old 05-12-23, 08:02 AM
  #29  
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Just out of curiosity, how much did the bike plus rebuild cost all in?
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Old 05-12-23, 09:49 PM
  #30  
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Originally Posted by RiddleOfSteel
Man if it ain't broke...

I cut 20mm off the steerer, swapped V-brakes, and put on larger rings. It's down to 20.3x lbs, and that's after putting lighter wheels and tires (slightly smaller) to get it to 20.0 lbs on the nose, but it just didn't have the life that it did with these DT Swiss wheels and larger 42mm Soma tires. 53/39 chainrings for bombing down hills do gear me up, but look super legit and I don't spin out on long downhills, which was a goal. The TRP mini-Vs from a different build hug the 42s really well. I dropped a little weight with them, but they look the business, stop well, and really complement the componentry. Long wheelbase, big roll-over-anything tires, comfortable critical components, light weight and lively, killer looks--what more does a guy need? Cool part is that one can replicate this for a ton cheaper (and a pound or two more in weight, still light!) if they just chuck some R3000 Sora on it and bump to bigger tires!

Glam shot. In real life, it's even more of a butch-yet-sleek road bike+. Love it.

You can get equal performance from other, much cheaper mini-V brakes and normal-length V-brakes that weigh nearly or essentially the same, but they won't look as hot as these. At least to me. [not that the stock FX V-brakes looked bad--they looked totally fine!]


Best looking modern crankset, IMO. Still. Looked great with the 50/34 combo, but stepping up to the 53/39 was almost intimidating as it now looked like a Real Road Bicycle crankset that I better have a worthy frame to hang it off of. Gulp.

Ultegra 6800 11-32T cassette run by a standard Dura-Ace 9000 rear derailleur with a 6800 GS cage setup. Don't be worried about making it work, people! Also, I show this as, to keep the new chain clean, I cleaned not only the faces of each cog, but the flats of every single tooth/valley between the teeth. This is the, maybe, second time I have ever gone to that length to clean a freewheel/cassette. I am glad it's over!
as a lover of trek fx's (i have 2 now, have owned 4 in total previously), i love what you've done to this thing! i have hated the brakes on every single trek bike i owned including a higher end trek fx 7.7. they're so bad and always catching the wheel. these look more pro! your reviews of the brakes so far....?
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Old 05-12-23, 10:12 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by Krabix
Hi, I'd just like to say how interesting and useful a read this was for someone in a similar situation with a 7.3 FX.

A bit of a newbie question, but would having only a 17.5" frame size and tyres with some tread make that clearance too little on 700c X 42? I was looking at Continental Contact Plus tyres.
Maybe those things don't affect the gaps but I wanted to make sure.
Thanks and you're welcome!

Everybody has their level of comfort when it comes to tire clearance. Coming from road riding (and still there), I don't mind pushing things a bit as gaps are tighter anyways. Manufacturers work with 4-6mm of air between a stated tire size and the frame. That's a ton of space for me, so I'll see if it's possible to fill it. Small frames sometimes run into clearance issues, usually in the seat stay area from my limited experience, but you'd have to check. If Trek is consistent, then true 35-38mm tires should be very possible. Manufacturers state tire size, but true size varies with rim width, inflation amount, and however wide (bead to bead) the tire is constructed. It's a bit of a zoo, so I lay a tire flat and measure and chart the bead-to-bead width of a tire to get an accurate idea of how wide it actually will be.
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Old 05-12-23, 10:24 PM
  #32  
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Originally Posted by RoadWearier
Just out of curiosity, how much did the bike plus rebuild cost all in?
That's sort of a question that 1) you or I don't want to know, and 2) is different depending on what deals one comes across. Some of these components I've had for a little bit, having purchased them new for fair or good deals. Others are new. Dura-Ace is always pay-to-play, and 9000 is no different. If you can compile a 9000 groupset for below $1100, you're doing great. It may be a lot easier if you buy it attached to a bike, but then you'll have to deal with the rest of the bike. The DT Swiss wheels were $350 IIRC when I picked them up used a few years prior. 1600g or so and nearly double the price when new, so I feel good about those. The carbon bars are a few hundred new, but I paid $40-50 for them used. Seattle is an embarrassment of riches when it comes to bikes and components. So this is perhaps a 2k build or a little under. That's some serious money. Granted this is 2k on a bespoke build and not 2k on a bone stock Tiagra-level new bike with nice but heavy componentry and tires (resulting in a much heavier and/or more ponderous ride), so your desire for a specific look or performance vs a desire to just get on and ride will skew things.

I have put the bike back together fully stock with the addition of fenders and am selling it. All those other components stay with me and are on different bikes. It's a bit of how I justify things as I like to build, ride, learn, and repeat, just with different frames. A lot of those 9000 components are now on a '09 Specialized Tricross Sport triple (Tiagra mix) that fits massive 48mm tires on those same DT Swiss wheels. I repainted the frame (paint had been stripped 2 owners ago), added decals, got some super flared Salsa bars, and it all came in about half a pound lighter than the FX, even as the FX frameset was a touch heavier to begin with.
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Old 05-12-23, 10:37 PM
  #33  
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Originally Posted by sh00k
as a lover of trek fx's (i have 2 now, have owned 4 in total previously), i love what you've done to this thing! i have hated the brakes on every single trek bike i owned including a higher end trek fx 7.7. they're so bad and always catching the wheel. these look more pro! your reviews of the brakes so far....?
Thanks! The brakes do well, but like many things more and more it seems, it's all in the pairings. Stock TRP pads do really well. Kool Stop salmon pads for better rain (and dry) performance are really killer, but with v-brakes, they are prone to squealing/squawking on longer, steep gradients. This is Seattle though, and I couldn't avoid it. Some rims and pads get along, others are very grippy combinations. The grippier and grabbier, the more prone to noise they are--and I hate noisy brakes (looking at you, disc brakes!!). So yeah, all stock they are a really good mix of performance and being quiet.

I've had pads that were really lackluster (Shimano 105 5800, fresh off the shelf) and others that surprised me (TRPs, random 35 year old Shimano 600 pads on old Matrix wheels), and still others that surprised me even more. I've run hydraulic disc brakes before a few years ago--all Shimano Ultegra level stuff, rotors included. They were alright. So I don't buy the disc brake hype, especially when it comes to dealing with rotor warping and pad contamination/noise. For all the sent-from-heaven hyperventilating about hydro disc, the hardest I've ever felt (for surprisingly little effort) is a combination of Dura-Ace 7402 levers paired with Dura-Ace 7800 brake calipers and Kool Stop pads. Absolutely vicious, even for me at 200 lbs. I forget the rims. They may have been old Mavic MA2s, which I do like a lot. Seems like machined sidewall (think Open Pro and anything modern) can be either pretty good or a bit smoother/more indifferent.

I guess this is a long way of saying "It depends!" which doesn't help. There are general proven products and setups, but there are also enough surprises to make one question things. Usually hybrids with their V-brakes stop a lot stronger (and more confidently) than road bikes, to me. I mean the lever and v-brake physics are logically superior, so when they work, they work.
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Old 05-14-23, 07:07 AM
  #34  
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Originally Posted by RoadWearier
Just out of curiosity, how much did the bike plus rebuild cost all in?
A good-component conversion, like the blue one I posted above, will run you about $250-$300, not including the base stock-built bike. All parts except the shifters were new. The stock blue bike above(a 2007 I think) was like new and ran me $325. The $250-$300 does not include a new set of good tires. Many folks ignore tires..tires make a huge difference in how a bike handles and how fun it is to ride. I always install good tires, but they are not specifically needed for a conversion.

I recently picked up another 7.5FX, also in like-new condition(2010 model), for $190..quite a score. I'm converting it now, using all new components, and using new 3x9 Microshift shifters($120). Costs will be about the same as the blue one. The red one will be left at & used at a vacation home we purchased recently.

The total costs of a conversion like this can be quite a deal. In our, actually my wife's experience, it's a road/gravel bike that is very lightweight, it FITS her (they are WSD frames), and can run 38-40mm tires for a comfortable ride. $500-$600** doesn't get you far when you start looking for a used gravel bike that can match one of these conversions. I target 7.5's and above..they have better component groups and a carbon fork. Parts are arriving for the red 7.5 conversion. I'll post a photo when I get it done.

**Between my wife and I, we have about 12-13 bikes. I've never purchased a used bike yet that didn't need $100-$200 is refurb-upgrades..so a $500 bike is typically more than $500 when the dust settles.

Last edited by fishboat; 05-14-23 at 07:18 AM.
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Old 06-01-23, 03:27 PM
  #35  
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Thanks for the inspiration!

Hey guys,

Amazing thread! So much so that I've gotten myself a 2012 fx 7.3, did the drop bar mod, and put about 1000 miles on the clock in the meantime.

I have an interesting finding when it comes to a caliper brake mod (tektro r559). Tldr, works amazing, easy to do. If someone is curious about my findings, please let me know

Cheers!
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Old 06-01-23, 03:53 PM
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Thanks for the inspiration!

Hey guys,

Amazing thread! So much so that I've gotten myself a 2012 fx 7.3, did the drop bar mod, and put about 1000 miles on the clock in the meantime.

I have an interesting finding when it comes to a caliper brake mod (tektro r559). Tldr, works amazing, easy to do. If someone is curious about my findings, please let me know

Cheers!
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Old 06-01-23, 07:28 PM
  #37  
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mrs t2p 7.5 FX

recently showed it some love with upgrades including 35 mm Panaracer GK SS

the tires actually measure around 36-37 mm installed - and this width is the max for this FX : the front wheel / tire must be squeezed / shoehorned through the open front brake pads when installing ... a tire 1 mm wider would prob not work (without deflating the tire)

Last edited by t2p; 06-01-23 at 07:32 PM.
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