Hybrid Bicycles - 2010 Treck 7.3 FX

Hello from the great cold state of OH! I am very interested in getting into some riding this summer. I have been looking for a while and finally pulled the trigger in the 2010 Treck 7.3 FX. I was wondering what do you guys think about that back. Is there any "must have" accessories that I can start looking for?

I have also been reading that people have bike computers. Can some one fill me in on what that its? I am thinking it is a way to keep track of how many miles you have done so far. If that is the case what is a cheap but good model to look for. I am not going to ride to crazy just yet but I do want to be geared up for riding time. Thank you very much. Sorry for the newbie questions.

Nice choice on the bike,there are tons of accessories out there,you want to be practicle or just want to spend money on things? Depends on how and where you ride and how long do you ride,all that take into consideration as to what to get, a cyclemeter is one item you might want,it really helps to keep track on your ride.give us more to work with,we all can help .

Ooops, a ''must have'' item will definitly be a helmet.

Consider a Cateye Strada w/Cadence, as a bike computer - dependable, accurate, easy, handy, and will do what you want.

I have a 09 FX7.3 and I have put a light a Edge 705 on it. I use it to measure distance travel, speed, average speed, time, % of grade, elevation, and total elevation gain. If you want a computer, I would say it is not worth it to buy one with a heart rate monitor or maybe even a cadence meter. Right now, those numbers won't mean anything to you and you won't be a consistently performing cyclist.

Also, water bottle cages and water bottles are musts.

It'd really help if you describe your plans for the bike. What will you be doing with it? Where will you be going? From what you've written so far, it sounds like you'll be using it for recreational/fitness riding. The water bottle cages have quickly been recommended. Maybe when you ride longer distances, you'll find that you'll appreciate the various hand positions to switch to with the addition of bar ends (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_handlebar#Bar_ends). As for computers, the most popular abilities of cyclocomputers are to show distance traveled (for current trip and/or total amount), time, time elapsed on the current trip, current speed, average speed, and highest recorded speed.

And don't forget them blinkies for front and rear,ole boy,this list is going to be long.

Like everyone said, what will you do with the bike?

Nothing is "must have"... not even a helmet.

Some accessories you might consider:

Cycle computer - if you need to know your speed, avg speed, distance, etc.
Fenders - if you plan to ride during/after rain storms
Lights - if you plan to ride at night
Rack/panniers - if you need to carry a lot of stuff and don't want it on your back.
Bar ends - if your flat bars give you hand troubles. These will give you another hand position to help avoid compressing nerves for too long.
Water bottle cage - if the store you bought this from didn't include one. I have yet to find a store that didn't...

Helmet - if you feel you need one. Not to turn this into the ole' helmet debate. Some feel they're 100% necessary for every ride, others feel they're only necessary for certain riding situations, other think they're not necessary at all. Read the Advocacy & Safety forum if you really wanna know all you could ever know about the helmet debate.

Really there's tons of accessories to solve any problem you might have on your bicycle. We can help point you in the right direction if you let us know what kind of riding you intend on doing.

It really depends on what you are using the bike for. I was using mine as a car substitute so I have a bunch of stuff on it. That's one of the strong points of the 7.2 and 7.3 is that they have mounts for just about everything including front racks. The bike is basically a bare bones, good base point IMO that is excellent for building on. I use a cheap sigma bike computer it was like $25.(Mines the older version of This (http://www.rei.com/product/799880)) I've heard of people using the $10 schwinn ones too. They keep track of time riding, distance and speed at the very least.


Nothing is "must have"... not even a helmet. Uh double check your local laws on that one.. That varies from place to place, Dallas I've heard can write you a ticket for anywheres between $75-$150 for not having one.



Here a pic of mine, I'm still waiting on the new butterfly bars to come in.
http://www.bsteng.com/pictures/bike/new_bike.JPG

Hey Delman,is that an adjustable stem on your bike? i bought a Ritchie from ebay,very nice item.

Uh double check your local laws on that one.. That varies from place to place, Dallas I've heard can write you a ticket for anywheres between $75-$150 for not having one.
That is actually a very good point. Check http://www.bhsi.org/mandator.htm as well as your local laws just to make sure it isn't a legal requirement.

I know a friend rode a mongoose mtb without a helmet for yrs and had fell more than 3 times,he never injury his head so he said,recently his mongoose's frame had a crack near the BB and he went bought a trek 4500 mtb,which is a good choice for him,he wasn't on the bike when the crack occured.

Hey Delman,is that an adjustable stem on your bike? i bought a Ritchie from ebay,very nice item.
Yep, I just went to a local shop and asked what they had that would help and got it. It's a no name brand that was like $20-$30 that creaks a little bit but it isn't bad. I can check later today who it's made by though. It really does help bring the riding position more upright.

Yep, I just went to a local shop and asked what they had that would help and got it. It's a no name brand that was like $20-$30 that creaks a little bit but it isn't bad. I can check later today who it's made by though. It really does help bring the riding position more upright.
To fix the creaking, try pulling apart the pivot point and greasing all the parts. Any grease will do. There's probably just a slight amount of movement between the pieces of the stem. A little grease of any kind will help quiet it down. The plates should have ridges that will hold the stem in place.

Thank you so very much for all of your answers. I will be using it for recreational/fitness. My goal is to eventually use it to and from work. Well during the spring and summer lol. I would like to start with small rides and work my way up to longer rides.

I kind of don't know how I feel about bags on my bike. I like the idea but i feel that it would weigh me down to much. I also would like to know what kind of pump can I find to mount on my bike. I would like a good one but not to crazy priced. Is there only one set of fenders for this bike? So many questions and I always seem to lose most of them in my head. I feel like a little kid all over again getting my first bike. lol

Bags are entirely a personal preference. If you're going to carry stuff, you're going to have the weight anyways. You can chose to have it on you, or on your bike.

Any fenders for 700c will work. If you wanna go wider on the tires, you should get wider fenders. I suggest proper full length fenders.

For a pump, I use a Topeak Road Morph G (http://www.topeak.com/products/Mini-Pumps/RoadMorphG). About $40. I would like to tell you it works great, but I've not had to use it. I put some Specialized Armadillos on my bike and haven't had a flat in about 1500 miles so far.

For fenders, many here seem to highly recommend the Cascadia fenders from Planet Bike. Here (http://ecom1.planetbike.com/fenders.html) is a link to Planet Bike's fenders section. Notice that there are several different individual pages for the different colors and sizes for Cascadias. Since your bike runs on 700C wheels, you'll probably need to look at the Hybrid/Touring and Road Cascadias. Make sure that the fenders will accommodate the width of your tires, considering both your current tires and future sizes you might choose depending on your riding.