practical

I had the LSB switch the tires as part of the sale and I also knew that I wanted toe clips so I got them immediately. The other adjustments were made over the next few days while riding, although I knew from the start that the handlebars would need to be shortened. It makes a big difference to me to have my hands directly in front and my arms parallel to the bike. The other thing I would add if I were you would be a mirror - it really gives me a lot more confidence when riding in traffic and highly recommended them.

Hauptmann6

I have the alloy fork. I don't notice a difference from my previous bike. It's just a little lighter. But I'm no expert.

And exactly what he said. And I bet a good percent weren't even locked up.

I also made changes when I bought mine. I had them put on a trekking bar for all the added hand positions. I knew from my previous bike that a flat bar would not be good on the distances I do. And I had a package rack installed as well.

acceleration

I will definitely be investing in the best lock I can get. I will also test ride the Escape 2 and see how it compares to the Escape 3.

acceleration

One of the big differences I see between the Escape 3 and 2 besides the fork, is that the 2 is a 8 speed while the 3 speed is a 7 speed. I know more speeds is optimal, but is the difference really significant? Does it depend on where you plan to ride?

lopek77

All the grit, sand and wetness will reduce braking performance with rim brakes. But my point is that disc brakes works great in any type of environment, and will last forever comparing to replacing braking surface of the rim brakes - which is the rim itself. Some say that rim brakes/rim will last a very long time...well, I can go thru a set of very good quality wheel set ( Velocity ) in about 3 years. OEM sets never lasted more than 3k miles. Add few sets of brake pads, and in my case, the total will be around $500... On the other hand, my bike with disc brakes, never needed replacing brake pads and the wheel set, and it will be less than $50 if I need to replace the rotors and brake pads at some point.
I like to ride fast, I like to brake hard, and my bike with me and all the gear on it is way over 300 lbs. If you are a " skinny ass", your experience may be little different.

lopek77

7.0 FX 7.0 FX - Trek Bicycle

vs

7.2 FX Disc 7.2 FX Disc - Trek Bicycle

$180 price difference between these two. With FX Disc, you will get disc brakes, little better components, and additional gears (7 vs 8). I think it's well worth the upgrade to 7.2 model. It's your choice and your money. Either model will be fun anyway ;-)

Hauptmann6

I'm around 280. And Ive' never been able to wear a wheelset out. Last bike was 20 years old and I wore everything else out. On a mountain bike I think disks are a great idea. But for a road bike such as the Escape, I don't see it being that much of an advantage.

ColonelSanders

The number of speeds won't be that significant.

The Giant 3 actually has the better granny gear for big hills and the Giant 2 has better gearing for gaining pace on a downhill path.

You should try riding both if you can, because looking at spec sheets is one thing, but nothing will beat the actual riding experience of a test ride.

Will the crank on one of the bikes feel better than the other? Feel like you are more able to efficiently transfer force via your peddling?

Does steering with a handlebar that is 31.8mm wide in the middle feel any different to one that is 25.4mm wide?

Does the better derailleur of the Giant 3 and different shifters, give you a better shifting experience or does it feel the same?

On paper, there shouldn't be that big a difference between each bike.

acceleration

Granny gear? The area I will be riding is fairly hilly, to say the least, so maybe the 3 is the better hybrid for me.

How can you tell which gearing is better for different conditions? I would like to know for future reference.

I will test ride both and play close attention to each of the factors you mentioned.

ColonelSanders

The higher/bigger number of teeth on the cassette, plus the less/smaller the number of teeth on your crank.

So the Giant 3 & 2 have the same number of teeth on the crankset, 28/38/48, but on the cassette, the Giant 3's teeth go from 14 to 34, whereas the Giant 2's cassette goes from 11 to 32.

So for tackling hills you have the following ratio's :

Giant 3 - 0.8235 (28/34)
Giant 2 - 0.875 (28/32)

With the above, the lower the ratio number, the better for hill climbing. Admittedly the difference above is not that big.

The reverse applies to ratio's for gaining speed downhill or even on flat ground.

Giant 3 - 3.4285 (48/14)
Giant 2 - 4.3636 (48/11)

It is likely that you will encounter occasions where your speed downhill/flatish ground is limited by your gearing on the Giant 3(although you will still be going at a fast speed), but you probably won't encounter that on the Giant 2.

Ralar

The 2015 FX models are out. I picked up my 7.2 FX WSD on July 4th and my fiancé got his 7.4 FX disc on Saturday. The MSRP for the 2015 line is about $50 less than the 2014 line (the ones I saw). I don't remember all the colors, but I like the 7.2 colors better in the 2015 models. My bike is purple.

acceleration

Wow! Thank you for the really useful information. I was completely unaware. Not sure if I will really be needing to pick-up speed while riding downhill for my purposes. I viewed this bike purchase as a gateway into more mature level of riding. Essentially, a step up from a department store mountain bike. However, I will see if I notice the differences while test riding. Better gears for climbing is probably the most beneficial for me, but as you said, the difference does not appear significant.

acceleration

Are these online anywhere? I have repeatedly checked Trek's website and found nothing in the FX line released for 2015. For the 7.0, I can only find the 2014 for sale as seen here: 7.0 FX - Trek Bicycle. However, it appears that the 2015 7.0 FX is for sale in Europe:Trek 7.0 FX 2015 Hybrid Bike | Evans Cycles. Is this the 2015 7.0 FX model? This is why I am extremely hesitant to purchase the 2014 7.0 FX, as the 2015 appears superior in appearance (imo) but also in its number of speeds. I would just buy the 2015 7.0 FX Trek online, but test riding is important to me as well.

Do you or does anyone else know what is going on here?

Jimbosays

Have an Escape 2 (my first step up to 'real' bike) and still enjoy it taking out for a nice evening cruise around the neighborhood (10 - 15 mi.) occasionally. I often refer to it as the "S.U.V." because it easily takes on most any paved or dirt/gravel path with little thought or effort of the rider. I find it to be a great 'utility' bike and it is my first choice for a set of wheels to take on local overnight getaways for fun destination transportation.

Ralar

I have no idea what is going on. The LBS only had seafoam green and gray 7.2 FX WSD models on the floor. The person working with me looked online to see when the 2015 models would be released and couldn't find anything. When I was ready to order (that same day), he looked at the store's stock and also their warehouse's stock (the store is local to Northern Virginia, with 5 locations) and he discovered the 2015 model was in. Actually, we didn't realize it was the 2015 until it was delivered to the store! When we went back a week later for my fiance's bike, they had 2015 models on the floor.

I just checked, and my LBS now has some 2015 models on their webpage.

acceleration

Glad to hear you're satisfied with the Escape 2. How does it do on hills?

acceleration

One other question, now that my search has extended into the release of some of the Trek FX 2015 models. I am curious as to your opinion on how the Escape 2 compares to the Trek 7.2 FX 2014. The components of the 2015 Trek 7.2 FX do not appear as good as the 2014's, but the price on the 2014 has now come down to around $479. Many have expressed great satisfaction with this bike and I am beginning to think that if I am considering the price of the Escape 2 now, perhaps I should just push my limit a bit for the 7.2 FX 2014 if I can still find it.

Jimbosays

The Escape 2 (triple) takes on hills better than the Secteur Elite 105 (compact 50/34 12-27)!

acceleration

Haha ok, great! I'm a bit of a newcomer to biking (and bike speak) haha. If you don't mind explaining, what does all that mean?

ColonelSanders

Just comparing the 2014 7.2 FX to the 2015 7.2 FX, what Trek has done here for the 2015 model is downgrade the bike one step in rear derailleur(from Alivio to Acera) and has downgraded the frame from Alpha Gold Aluminium to Alpha Silver Aluminium.

Perhaps the difference will be hard to tell in actual riding, but looking at those differences on paper, they are very disappointing downgrades, even allowing for the lower price.

The 2015 model does come with a better setup for integrating Speed & Cadence sensors if you want to go with Trek's Bontrager models, but that is probably not that big an issue for most people.

Now comparing both the Trek 2015 & 2014 7.2FX models to the 2015 Giant Escape 2, what I am about to say of course only applies from looking at the spec sheet, and it might be a case of the lesser spec'd bike feels better to ride to you, for all we know.

All 3 bikes have the same gear shifters, front derailleur & brakes.

The Trek Bikes have Shimano Altus Brake Levers, vs the Tektro Brake Levers on the Giant.

I doubt there would be a world of difference between these brake levers, but I'd probably give the edge to the Shimano Altus brake levers here.

In respect of the crankset, the Trek's come with Shimano Altus M131 cranks and the Giant comes with the SR Suntour NEX, both have a triple setup of 48/38/28. I'm sure both cranksets will do the job, but it might come down to whether one feels more comfortable with Shimano gear, as they have such a good reputation in the industry.

Rear derailleur - This is probably the biggest difference between the bikes on paper and one of the specs I am always most concerned with, as they all use Shimano rear derailleurs(r-d), but of different levels.

The Giant 2 comes with an Altus r-d, and the next model up in Shimano's r-d line is the Acera, which is on the 2015 Trek 7.2 FX, then the next model after the Acera, is the Alivio, which is on the 2014 Trek 7.2 FX.

Handlebars - I'm not sure if there is much difference in real life here, but the connection width in the middle of the handlebars of the Giant 2 is 31.8mm, whereas for the Treks it is 25.4mm. Most, if not all high end hybrids come with a connection width of 31.8mm.

As for the differences in frame material, we are pretty much only talking about weight differences here, not a concern about a frame braking due to lesser quality materials.

So the difference between the Alpha Gold Aluminium & the Alpha Silver Aluminium, will only be about weight and I have no idea what that difference is.

Hard to compare the grades of Aluminium one manufacturer uses against another.

For all we know, Trek's Alpha Gold Aluminium might be the same as Giant's ALUXX, or it might be the same as their ALUXX SL, or it might be better than both.

Anyway, ignoring pricing and just going on paper specs, the bikes appear to me to stack up as :

1. 2014 Trek 7.2 FX
2. 2015 Trek 7.2 FX
3. 2015 Giant Escape 2

However all 3 would still be good bikes, and you might find that after a test ride, the Giant feels best to you.

ColonelSanders

He is saying that the front two Chainrings on the Secteur Elite 105 are 50 tooth and 34 tooth on the second ring.

Then the rear cassette ranges in tooth size from 12 to 27.

Using the previous explanation I gave you for climbing a hill, you want to be on the smallest front cog, so in this case 34 and the largest rear cog of 27, this gives you a ratio of 1.26(34/27).

The Giant Escape 2's ratio is 0.875(28/32), and for climbing hills, the lower the ratio, the easier the peddling.

Cyclonefever

Not sure about online availability, but I picked up a 2015 FX 7.2 from Scheels a few days ago. They said it was their first batch of 2015's.

acceleration

After testing, it is clear to me that the 2014 Trek 7.2 FX is the best bike for me. I absolutely loved riding it. One thing I am a bit confused about however is that, apparently, after being fitted, I am best fit for a size 21" frame. The Trek only comes in 20" and 22.5" frames. I took both for a test ride and found that I like riding the 22.5" better. I also didn't feel hunched over. Is this right way to decide between the two sizes?

What are the most important accessories to purchase for this bike right away?

ColonelSanders

I'm no expert on sizing, so I can't really help you there too much.

I've heard it said before on here that it is easier to make a bike one size too small fit a rider, than a bike one size too big, as you can lift the seat pole and play around with the stem.

As for accessories, the two most obvious to me are lock(s) & lights.

I'd say a Bike Computer is pretty important too, as it will give you added information and motivation to go longer, faster etc.

You would probably want to carry spare tubes, tyre levers, and either a pump or Co2 cartridges.

Because I use my old bomb of a bike for commuting, I have a rear rack and a rack bag where I keep my locks and other goodies.

armoured1

In the same boat - deciding against a 2014 7.2 and a new 2015 escape 2. LBS is doing the 2014 7.2 for $470 + $50 giftcard that can be used on the extended warranty vs the 2015 Escape 2 for $430. Not even considering the 2015 7.2 cause the 2014 is superior.

Test driving both - for sure the escape 2 felt much faster due to the weight. However the shifting was a little shady, the gears weren't catching.....but they tell me that that's normal and you need to reel in the cables after buying. This was happening to my GF too on the 2015 Women's.

Not sure what to go for......to me the Escape 2 feels better, but the trek has better parts. For $500 out the door, + an extra $70 (with $50 giftcard)I can have a bike with 3 years accidental warranty which covers everything, vs $450 out the door for the Escape 2.

IF the trek was MSRP there would be no doubt I would go for the Escape, but seeing as the 2014 7.2 is on sale.....it makes it a tougher decision.

Anyone know how good the "puncture resistant tires" really are on the Trek? Also as stated above, the Crank is different on the Escape vs the 7.2......how does the SR Suntour NEX compare to the Shimano? What would you guys do?