Mountain Biking - Is the Trek 77-7500FX a mountain bike?

I'm looking for a bike to ride on your basic gravel canal tow-path. I'd also probably be riding on the road to get there. IS the Trek 7700FX up to that task? What about swaping the tires for conditons, ala Cannondale Bad boy concept?? Not looking to jump off cliffs on purpose but don't want to take a "road bike" in the dirt.

The FX models are more "flat bar road bikes." They have thinner tires and less shock absorption even than the more standard hybrids they derive from. So no, these aren't mountain bikes.

But I ride my touring bikes -- which have narrower tires even than these bikes -- on tow-paths all the time. These Treks have 700x35c tires, which are plenty of air for a gravel path.

I don't know about the wheels; they might be fine, but I don't personally trust low spoke-count wheels. I'd want a strong hand-built pair of 36-spoke touring wheels -- Mavic 520 rims, 14/15 DB spokes -- on any bike I was planning to take on bumby surfaces. But that might just be me.

I don't really think you need a mountain bike, or even fat knobbies, for a tow path. And once you're back on the pavement, the closer your bike is to a road bike the happier you'll be.

RichC

They will work on a tow path, however they will beat you up. If your going to ride on a path much I would recommend a plain 7500 because I think they have a front shock. I used to ride a comfort bike on fire road which are probably rougher but it beat the holy sh_t out of me.

The 7700FX is definitely more road bike than mountain bike. Although the bike comes with 35 mm tires, the rims are 13-14 mm ID so you can easily mount narrower tires if you are riding only paved roads.

I would be hesitant to increase the tire width without a wider set of rims, but if you want to, the bike can handle it. the 7700FX uses V-brakes with plenty of clearance for fat tires.