Piston Rick

I have a 7.5fx that I bought in Feb and have put about 1100 miles on. It's a very quick bike and will go very fast if you can push it hard. My max speed on flats is about 26mph and down hill around 32. I can't maintain 26 very long but I think that's me not the bike. I average around 15.5 on a very hilly ride in north nassau county. My personal best was a 50 mile ride that I avg 17 but it was a very flat route. That being said try out a stock 7.5 and do some interval training and see where you get.

sh00k

^ cool - i plan to hit some nassau/suffolk county trails (paths only, not on streets) soon!

i am also able to get up to about 22-24mph on the flats but when i stop peddling, i quickly go down to 15mph then eventually like 10mph..... my average speed on 20 mile rides, mostly flat, is only like 12mph =( this is on the stock 7.2 tires. i may swap out the stock tires for 25 or 28mm ones....

downhill, i've gotten around 26-28mph and that felt awesome. what i want is ot be able to do 25mph on the flats - preferably on an upright bike.... i dont know if this is possble - i know my body will act like a sail and slow me down.... i dunno.....

johnny0

have you considered aerobars? that will get you low enough so the air resistance is reduced.

jbarham

If you want to sustain speeds of 25 mph on flat roads you need a road bike. There's no getting around this. At all. You need a road bike.

annc

I have a 7.5fx. The only way to maintain speeds greater than 25 mph is to tuck into an aero position. You can do this on the stock handlebar but it gets uncomfortable pretty quickly.

canyoneagle

Is this screaming "fixie" or "singlespeed" to anyone else?

Keep the 7.2 for utilitarian duty or longer rides, and build up a rockin' track frame with a modest flat bar (not TOO wide, try shoulder width) as a ss/fixie for pure fun. It will not win any road races (road bikes will be able to go faster, but the track bike will likely be better with handling and acceleration).

As others have mentioned the ultimate means to faster riding is to improve your fitness.

The "engine" makes the biggest difference.

trinamuous

I took the plunge into biking about a month ago, purchasing a 7.2 FX. I can relate to your urges for better-faster-now, as I have been incessantly second guessing my purchase and researching upgrades.

That being said, it sounds like your 7.2 is stock, and there are definitely easy upgrades you can make to add speed. Going from the 700x35 stock treaded tires to 700x28 smooth road tires and toe clips made a very noticable difference. My average speed (granted my daily exercise runs are only 30 mins or so) increased from about 12 mph to 15 mph. I can sustain 17-18 mph relatively comfortably on flats. Beyond the actual speed, the bike simply FELT better. Perhaps because less energy is wasted, I work harder and get a better workout. I do not want to make the plunge into clipless pedals yet for financial reasons, but I imagine that would improve performance as well (I just can't quantify)

Also, I like the bar ends the additional hand position. On the 7.2 FX, the "top" shift trigger is engaged with the index finger, whereas the 7.5+ use the thumb for both. Shifting the rear deraileur for more speed while using the bar ends might be more cumbersome on the 7.5.

Personally, I plan to use my 7.2 for commuting. Once I am conditioned, then we will see if I still want an upgrade. Before buying the bike, it had been waaay to long since I had a good exercise routine (I am 155 lbs and in my 20s btw). After that long winded story, I suppose my recommendation is to try new tires and some toe clips - less than a $100 upgrade. Go from there.

sh00k

^ thank you so much for your reply. I am realizing via this site that there are many of us in this position - we jumped to buy lower end fx's, get addicted and want more! i agree, i love the shifting on the 7.2 - very easy to manage.

the 7.2 fx is an awesome bike on it's own and i feel it's a solid bike for years to come if you own one. i personally feel like i need/want more ;-D

so i put my fx on craigslist last night. lets see what happens. after selling my bike this is what i am considering:

- Trek FX 7.5
- upgrade to Bontrager Race or Bontrager Race lite wheels
- 28 mm tires
- toe straps (~$10)
- bullhorn handle bars

the bontrager race or race lites will give me lighter wheels which everyone says will make a huge performance change (in terms of speed, spinning up, etc) the 28mm tires are good enough without having the danger of getting a flat on 25mms in nyc. the toe straps i am considering so i dont have to put down another $100 into toe clips. the bullhorn bars - i can have the mountain bike hand position and also the areo position by putting my hands on the horns.



what do you guys thinks? i know i could update the 7.2 but i want to move to something a little higher up.

lambo_vt

The shifters that come with the 7.5 almost certainly won't work with bullhorn bars.

sh00k

thanks for the heads up, lambo. do you know why? is it because of the space they require? is it because the bars are rounded on the ends?

Skoal

here is a good thread to start on about handle bars

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...tto+north+road

squirtdad

You want to ride fast....but don't do clipless pedals, do not want to do road bars and ride in your jeans and tshirt (as best as i can tell from all the post...don't want to quote it all), i don't get it.

Everything you say about how you want to/and do ride says go for a road bike with road bars, clipless pedals and get some bike shorts.

Form follows function. Your stated function is going fast for 2 - 4 hour rides. The form that follows this function is road bike.

Clipless pedals will increase your efficiency also.

You have already bought one bike and have outgrown it and are it seems like you are setting yourself up for a repeat.

Obviously it is your choice, but you should at least try an extended ride on a fitting road bike first.

lambo_vt

Bar diameter + the shifters probably won't clear the bend in the bars. Start a new thread or ask in the mechanics forum if you seriously want to go this direction, but it sounds like you don't know what you want.

As far as I'm concerned, bullhorn bars give you the flat and the hood position that drops do, so you might as well get a road bike with drops. You could chop the drops off (or simply never use them?) if it's such a big deal to you.

The whole thread in a nutshell. +1

MxChino

If you get a new 7.5fx you're just wasting your money, like others have already said. I started out on a used 7500fx which is close to the same bike, minus the carbon fork I believe. I had it for 2 weeks before switching to a road bike which I absolutely adore. I bought the 7500 fx because I thought I would be more comfortable being more upright instead of bent over like on a road bike. Was totally a false assumption. I'm going farther, faster and I'm 10x more comfortable on my road bike. Just test ride one, you'll see.

CCrew

I'd just go Open Pro's on Ultegra hubs if you're going to invest in low end wheels (About $225 at Performance) since the Bontragers are not all that hot. The OP/Ultegra is about the best bang for the buck there is.

That said, I'd just buy a 7.3 and upgrade the snot out of it rather than buying the 7.5. Same frame at a lower cost of entry.

sh00k

^ thanks so much for the tip. I do not mind getting a $600 fx 7.3, putting $700 of components on it.... but when i then add in another $700 for a quality wheelset, the price gets close to an fx 7.7....

$600 for the bike
$700 for components (ultegra f/r derailers, crank, shimano r773 shifters)
$700 for wheels
_____________

That's a total of 2 grand. and since I am not a bike mechanic, i would be paying someone to put this all together (or maybe i can put all the parts on and take it to a shop to get tuned....) ... I know i would be building a bike superior in parts to like a 7.7 or a 7.9 but if it costs over 2 grand, i am leaning towards buying a 7.7 - hell, it may even come out cheaper...... i was quoted $1770 for a 2010 7.7 which i thought was a really good price......



update - i have yet to test-ride a road bike... i went to a high end shop yesterday and they said if i am willing to spend 2 grand on a bike - i should get an all carbon orbea diem -- https://www.orbea-usa.com/fly.aspx?la...d=167&taxid=74

they are going to build one and i am going to test ride it next week. it's essentially a road bike with my choice of bars - drop bars or flat bars.... he said he's had 20 people try it out and 20 people have bought it... i am doing research on the bike/company right now...

FriendlyFred

there's a place in people's stables for both a road bike AND a very nice hybrid. Different situations and riding styles call for different bikes. And for the people who hate on the 7.9fx because of the cost....I just found a 2009 with very low miles on eBay (it arrived on Thursday) for $1300. So, for the price of an entry level road bike, I now have a great hybrid, to go along with the two road bikes I already have. The point is, you don't have to have one or the other, you CAN have both, and if you shop around, you can find a 7.9fx at a really good price.

jeffpoulin

IIRC, the OP ended up buying a Trek 7.7FX over a year ago.

trek79fx

I own the 7.9 2007 model and found the wheels to be easy to tweak at 190lbs. - the bike otherwise is awesome and I commute 20 miles a day.

trek79fx

Just wondered about your fx 7.9 - i own two of them and greatly enjoy them both, one is set up for inclement weather the othe to haul ass.
great bike! I did however do some serious component and wheel upgrades and hey it's only money you weenies. :**