odedidush

Hi,
I ride to work everyday about 15 miles per target, the road is diverse : road trip , sidewalks,easy gradient , sometimes holes .
This days I ride with a mountain bike to work and i want to make the riding easier.
I've recommendations about buying Fitness bikes : TREK FX 7.3 , yesterday I went to the TREK store to test drive and they offer me to upgrade to advanced model - FX 7.5. They explained to me that they are more quickly and perform better in urban areas in terms of speed and durability.
Also, they presented the following table compares the two models but i did not really understand the differences.
Can you advise me which model to choose and explain to me what are the differences between the models.

Table at :
Bike model comparison - Trek Bicycle

appreciate .

fietsbob

a bit more up tick in price upgrades the components significantly..

component companies have several levels of components .

you get a lot more for your extra $100, or so, than the cost of the parts if you had to do the upgrades

... after you bought the lower cost bike.

tsl

I dunno Bob. Maybe it's new math or something, but I see a $440 difference between the two models the OP is asking about.

fietsbob

>|< "...or so..."

Homework : * price out what all the parts would cost retail and compare the whole spec list

Saying ...
the upgrades, if done later, aftermarket, will cost more than that $400.00

* OP to put out the effort.. since they asked..

jeffpoulin

I'd get the 7.5. You'll be less likely to want/need to upgrade it. I have a 7.7FX that I bought in 2008 and it gets lots of use. The mix of Ultegra/105 components are still going strong after nearly 20,000 miles.

tsl

There are three major differences between the 7.3 and the 7.5--besides the price.

1) Fork. The 7.3 has a steel fork, the 7.5 has a carbon fiber one. There are religious wars between fans of each. Steering away from that, I've owned a low-end aluminum Trek with a steel fork. After being hit by a car, I replaced it with carbon fiber. The difference was night and day. The carbon fork has a much more forgiving ride.

2) Drivetrain. The 7.3 has a low-end MTB crankset. The 7.5 has a road crankset. The 7.3's crankset does not have replacable chainrings (the gears). When you wear out a gear, you have to replace the entire crankset. When you wear out a chainring on the FSA crankset, you simply replace the one gear. How long they last is largely a matter of your conditions. I ride every workday, no matter what the weather. Upstate NY winters are murder on parts. I got about 10,000 miles out of the middle ring on my primary commuter's triple. Fair weather riders get three to four times more.

The difference bwteen the triple on the 7.3 and the compact double on the 7.5 is largely one of personal preference, local terrain, and your power output. I'm a flatlander and compact doubles drive me nuts, because at my power output, my cruising speed is right between the two rings. I'm either cross-chained in one, or cross-chained in the other. Both stronger and less strong riders love them. I'm in the middle--too strong that I run out of gears in the 34, but not strong enough to push the 50. Triples (or standard doubles) work better for me. But what works for me may not be the best choice for you or for anyone else.

The shifters are also different between the two bikes. I don't ride mountain bikes so I'm not qualified on the topic of differences between models of MTB shifters. However, in Shimano's road equipment, R series is always pretty good stuff--above average, verging on excellent.

3) Wheels and tires. This one's tough because there are so many variables. Weight and number of spokes don't necessarily mean stronger or weaker wheels. I had a bike with heavy 32-spoke wheels (like the 7.3) which were crap--lasted about a year. I also had a Trek that came with lightweight Bontrager 24-spoke wheels (like the 7.5). Those too were crap and lasted for only a year. There's also the matter of your weight, how you manage that weight on the bike, your terrain, and your riding style.

My advice? Look at the 7.4. You get the carbon fork, but for a lot less money. Then replace components with better quality when the originals wear out. Meanwhile, use the money you save over the 7.5 for quality accessories--lock, lights, fenders, rack, panniers, and so on.