Introductions - My Trek FX 7.9 review, my introduction, and my questions

Hello,
First of all I want to say that this is my first post on this forum, so please bear with me. While I have been an occasional cyclist all of my life (all 25 years of it), I occasionally experience bursts of intense enthusiasm for the sport. I am currently in such a state of mind.

Up until a few years ago, I knew nothing but mountain bikes. My mountain bike was one of Trek's first OCLV full suspension bikes, that I got circa 1999. It was a great bike for the occasional 10 mile rail trail ride, and not knowing any difference, I actually used it in a 40 mile per day road biking charity event over the mountains of Maryland. I later realized why all of the road bike guys were commending me and giving me the thumbs up as they flew by me during the trip...lol

Anyway, I have always been enamored by the look of road bikes, and a few years ago made the (mistake?) of going to my local bike shop to get air in my mountain bike tires. In the window was a beautiful Serotta Ti road bike. Thinking of all of the points that I would get on my amex card, I jumped on the opportunity to get it.

I had expected the Serotta to be extremely easy to climb hills, and much more fun to ride on the road than my mountain bike. Boy was I wrong. As soon as I got home, I took it out for a spin around the neighborhood and couldn't even get it up a hill I was fully comfortable climbing with my mountain bike; then about five minutes later I blew a tire. Embarrassed, and blaming my overly-comfortable physique (5'9" 210lbs), I hung the Serotta up in the garage as a decoration piece, where it has remained since. Later, I found out that I should never have gotten a bike with only two front gears at my fitness level.

Anyway, I had taken a break from biking for a few years until one day my mother asked me to join her on a trail ride (about 3 weeks ago). I informed her that since I had given her my mountain bike years prior (and had it customized for her stature), I did not have a bike I was comfortable with. She immediately began singing the praises of something called a "hybrid" bicycle (she had just purchased one), and told me that I NEEDED to get one. So, I once again went down to the bike store and inquired. The gentleman asked me what kind of bike I had. I told him a Serotta, but explained why I didn't like it. He told me that a hybrid seemed like the perfect answer, and if I wanted something of comparable quality to the Serotta, I should look at the 2011 Trek FX 7.9.

I must inform you all that I have a severe carbon fiber fetish. Pretty much everything I own (from the hood of my car to my pen to my sunglasses) must be carbon fiber. So, needless to say I fell in love with the bike. I added two carbon fiber water bottle cages, upgraded pedals, extended handlebar grips, a Schosche iPhone holder, and hit the trail.

My experience with the bike was unbelievable. I was averaging 13 MPH, which for me I am extremely happy with for now. Also, other than pretty bad tingling in my left hand (still not sure of the cause but guessing ulnar nerve related???) I was completely comfortable. I ended up doing 28 miles my first day out without even realizing it.

Last week I took the bike to the shore with me on vacation. I wanted to take advantage of the completely flat terrain. Again, a 40 mile ride and I was completely comfortable other than the left hand tingling.

For me the bike has been absolutely life changing. I can't wait for opportunities to ride, and have been losing some weight in the process.

Now for the issues: I really have no basis of comparison as I have only used the Serotta once, and it has been about 10 years since I rode my mountain bike, but I am really not happy with the shifting on the bike. It seems clunks, jolty, and seems to miss shifts. Sometimes I'll pull the lever and get no shift at all, other times it shifts all the way to the extreme opposite gear with one pull. Are these not supposed to change one at a time??? I know never to ride cross-chained, but I wasn't and still had issues. Are the number of gear shifts dependent on how far you press the lever? It seems that way. I kind of wish it was more like a motorcycle, where each full press changed the gear only once. Also, today I was riding along when I heard something dragging behind the bike. I looked down to see a small tree branch stuck in my chain. I pulled over, carefully pulled it out, and continued on my way. However, I noticed that I could no longer have the rear gear in the hardest position (smallest gear???). Whenever it was there, the chain would just skip over it, making an awful scraping noise (like a car only partially in gear). I continued on my ride, but dropped the bike off for service immediately after. The tech of course happened to call in sick today, and nobody else there knew what the issue was. What do you all think happened?

Sorry for being long winded. I wanted you all to have some background. I am very much looking forward to advancing in the sport of cycling, and getting into shape.

Lastly, if any of you know of a good iphone cycling app, please let me know. I am currently using MotionX GPS, which is nice, but I am sure there is something better. I am debating getting the Garmin 800, but would prefer something iphone based as I don't want too many devices crowding up my handlebars.

P.S. My current specs: male, 5'9" 25 years old, 205 lbs, broad build

Cheers and welcome to Bike Forums. Quite an introduction there!

Best place for your specific questions is probably our Bicycle Mechanics subforum, but a couple of ideas here:

- Tingling. I get this too on my hybrid bike. You can try to adjust your riding position (e.g. move saddle back/forth), but make only small changes to see what works and what doesn't. A couple of millimetres can make a lot of difference. In my case, turns out I need more hand positions on handlebar. I added small bar ends and that helped a bit. I know people who have resorted to full blown "butterfly" type handlebar to get enough comfortable hand positions.
- Shifting. Missed / noisy shifts, inconsistent shifting etc all sounds like your rear derailleur needs adjusting. If you feel like it, it's doable yourself. see www.parktool.com for instructions, or just take it to the shop. You have indexed shifters, so yes, they should change one gear per one audible click from the shifter. If you shift to a lower gear (larger sprocket) in the rear, you have the option of pressing the shifter all the way down to get a second click and consequently two shifts "at once" (in reality, second shift following rapidly after the first one).

--J

Welcome and I believe you win the award for longest, most detailed intro. :D I would expect you get all the info you need here.

welcome to the forums

might want to stop by your LBS to get fitted, it might help with the tingling

Welcome to Bike Forums.


In the window was a beautiful Serotta Ti road bike.
I hung the Serotta up in the garage as a decoration piece, where it has remained since.
You're using a Serotta to decorate your garage? :eek: That has to be some sort of sacrilege. :twitchy:
I'll be more than happy to ride it for you. I'll even pay the shipping charges. ;)

Welcome to Bike Forums.


You're using a Serotta to decorate your garage? :eek: That has to be some sort of sacrilege. :twitchy:
I'll be more than happy to ride it for you. I'll even pay the shipping charges. ;)

You would hate to know what some of the other decoration pieces are...lol

UPDATE: My hybrid is at the shop getting a tune-up due to the gear shifting issue. I didn't want to take a day off from riding as knowing me one day leads to two days, etc... So, I dusted off the Serotta and hit the road. I enjoyed it much more than I remember, but I definitely need 3 sprockets up front. Any recommendations for changing the setup?

Rather than major surgery like replacing a double chainring with a triple, why not just get a wider range cassette that your current rear derailleur will accommodate? Then when your legs and lungs are stronger you can put the current cassette back on.

Rather than major surgery like replacing a double chainring with a triple, why not just get a wider range cassette that your current rear derailleur will accommodate? Then when your legs and lungs are stronger you can put the current cassette back on.

I think that is what I am going to do. The local bike shop recommended the same thing.

I think Trek stopped making the 7.9FX. I was saving for one through an awards program and now when I go online to order the bike is no longer on their website. Kind of bummed as I thought it would have been a good short commuter.

They may be coming out with a 2012. If you can get your hands on a 2011, go for it. I got a sweet deal, and the components are much better than the 2012 7.7.

nice intro....welcome