I have an '09 7.9. I enjoy it but wanted to try disc brakes.

Alright all you FX riders...get out there and do some touring! Video of loading up the FX bikes (FX 3 and 7.3) and doing a couple of days ride after some business. Nice cool weather for late June.


- Cpt. Bob

Hey guys,

I'm considering a purchase of the 2018 Trek FX 3 as it has disc brakes. It's $100 more than the 2017 and swaps out a few things, according to the specs, but it more or less seems like the same bike?

I'm wondering what you guys think?

https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en_CA/b.../1327010-2017/
vs
https://www.trekbikes.com/ca/en_CA/b.../1327610-2018/

Cheers!

All the components are the same except you're getting disc brakes and a different paint job. Up top you whether you think $100 is worth it. Personally, I'd rather have disc brakes.

Cheers. I've never used disc brakes so I can't really tell, personally, if they are worth it. But i'm hearing constantly that disc brakes are the bee's knees.

I am with you and I agree that it's more subtle but not everyone has the need to lock up their bikes. I've had five or six fx's since 2009 (i lost count) and have never locked them up. either i ride to a friends house or i go for a spin for 20-60 minutes at a time for a workout. that's it. and all of this i do near my home so for me, personally, i dont need the bike to be a subtle color.

the other population of FXers that commute with their bikes, go grocery shopping, etc - i am sure they are pleased with the new colors

very cool video and more of us need to get out and ride! myself included!

I know this is the TREK FX thread, but how would the 2 treks above compare to this Cannondale? https://www.cannondale.com/en/USA/Bik...c-9eedefdf75e0

Just purchased a 2017 FX 2 the price was reduced because the 2018's are out.

The FX's have a carbon fork which may be a less buzzy ride than the alloy fork on the Cannondale. Cannondale has 35mm tires compared to 32mm on the FX, likely better off road but slower on pavement. One will feel better on a test ride than the other.

congrats on the new ride and im glad to hear that you were able to get a price reduction.

at the risk of sounding like a broken record on this thread (although i will continue to do it), i suggest anyone looking for a bike (trek fx or otherwise) to physically go to shops to see if they have the bike you want in the size you want. if you are aggressive enough (and tactful), you can get deep discounts on the "outgoing" / last years models and maybe even a price break on new models if it's been on the showroom floor long enough.

i've owned 5-6 FX's since 2009 and the only one i paid MSRP for was my first fx, a 2009 7.2. all the other ones i have gotten decent discounts on. the biggest discount i got was on the 2011 fx 7.7 i bought - i got nearly 35% off on the MSRP AND it turns out that was a special order from the store (as in it was not sitting on the show room floor). i recall ordering it in august as the 2012's were coming out.

hope this helps anyone looking for a new bike. just trying to help my fellow riders stretch their dollar and get more bike for each dollar

fwiw.

Well my wife became the owner of a Trek FX2 today. Very nice bike!

I picked up my new ride from the LBS yesterday. Its a 2018 FX-S 5 with the new geometry. After putting about 1 hour on it yesterday I decided they needed to look at it. They adjusted a few things earlier today and I am just back from another 1 hour ride.

So far so good. It is a little heavier feeling then my 2009 FX 7.9 but on that bike I have RXL wheels and a new Ultegra drive train along with Carbon handle bars.

I will eventually lighten this one up but for now I am looking at the disk brakes as the rationale for trading in my old bike. I am in a very hilly area and hit some high speeds on almost every ride.

The disk brakes have met my expectations so far. Solid stopping power with little to no noise or vibrations.

The bike is not setup the way I like it yet. Today I changed the pedals and seat. Soon I will change the handle bar to a wider setup with the Ergon 5s from my old bike. At that point, it should be more comfortable (or at least feel similar to my previous FX).

This is my 5th FX model and so far I am happy with it.

Bike weight coming home from the LBS is 22.59 Lbs on a bike scale I have some faith in.

Here are a few photos of my new 2018 FX-S 5 in case anyone wants to see things a little closer.

https://cboyd.smugmug.com/2017/Trekfxs5/n-GGLMHg/

The last two are just before my first ride and have a few stickers removed from the bike.

Glad you are enjoying your new S5, I'm waiting to see one show up at my LBS, I'm curious how much the geometry has changed from last year.

I bought a 2017 S6 just about a month ago, and like you I changed out the pedals and seat, removed the reflectors and every sticker that would come off the frame and wheels, plus replaced the 110mm stem with a 7 degree rise to a 90/17 degree stem. It took a few hundred miles to get use to it and get it dialed in, but now with close to 600 miles, I'm really enjoying it.

Here's a pic of mine.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0...kNqcWpjXzRkY2M

(Have to use links now, not paying Photobucket $400)

Your bike looks great. With the red accents it looks similar to the S5 from the 18 line up. Agree that they look nicer with all of the safety stickers and wheel reflectors removed.

I see you put a new crankset on too. The 2017's are definitely something to consider with the Domane frame. I wish the 2018s had the isozone headset up front like the 2017s.

Yes the colors on our bikes are very similar, I haven't seen a 18 S6 in person yet, the gold/black looks good on paper, but wondering what it looks like in person.

I didn't like the 50/34 gearing up front, I wanted 46/36, but to change the chain rings cost almost as much as a complete crankset, and Ultegra was the only option. I also changed the rear cassette to a 12/25, rear derailleur to Ultegra and sold the 105 components as a complete "new take off" set. I changed the tires too, I had two flats in two weeks with those AW2 Hard Case Lights tires from sand spurs, they're really light, but very thin.

Yeah, I was really kind of surprised to see the new 18's didn't come with a tapered Isozone front fork, though I do like that the 18's have clean internal cable routing and the newer designed flat mount brakes.

Just an fyi, the '17s don't have the front Isospeed headset (decoupler). They use the 400series Domane S5 disc frameset with, as Scooty Puff Jr notes, a tapered fork.

The bike (referring to your pics next post) looks very nice indeed, and very 'clean'. Glad to see the actual weight is very, very close to what Trek specifies.

Would be very easy to push that weight below 20 lbs. if so desired.

Thanks for the info on that.

After I add my heavier Ergon EP-5 grips and CrankBros 50/50 flat pedals, the weight has been going up .

I even swapped the rear tire out from the stock 32 to a new TLR Botrager AW2 28. It turns out the 28 TLRs are heavier than the light Bontrager AW2 32s that come stock.

It is likely I will swap the wheels. During my tire change I weighed the rear setup and found the following. I am not a strict weight weenie but do have a scale in my workshop and use it for reference.

1129 g Bontrager rear wheel- bare rear wheel no cassette/tire/tube/brake disk etc
43 g plastic protector (removed)
398 g 10 spd 11-34 HG-500-10 cassette
27 g disk lock rings
105 g tektro 160-22 brake disk
380 g Bontrager 700x32 tires AW2 hard case lite (new Bont AW2 28C TLR = 391g)
118 g tube 700c 25/32

2200 g Total assembly (~4.85 Lbs or 21% of total bike weight just in the rear wheel assembly)

The wheel assembly as a whole is pretty heavy IMO. I have bontrager RXL wheels on my old FX model and it definitely feels more nimble.
I will look in this area, and the front wheel, for some weight savings as parts wear and sales come up.

On the wheels, that certainly sounds right. I expect changing the stock wheelset to something closer to 1500 grams out of the box would make a very noticeable difference.

I'm by no means a weight weenie, but I do like my bike to be as light as 'reasonably' possible. When I rebuilt my 2010 Sirrus Comp I took it from just over 22 lbs to 19.4 lbs (LBS Park scale) with pedals. That's light enough for me, and would be my 'target' for an S6 or 5 -- easily achievable, I think.

1) Your bike is gorgeous and you know what you are doing in terms of photography. I love the internally routed cables of the new model. Mind if i ask you what your camera setup is? what model camera/lens are you using...? I have a newborn and would love to take pictures of her with this much quality / clarity

2) I think the FX models from around the time of the housing bust - 09/10/11 - were the best "bang for your buck" models. I say this because, as you mentioned, they came with sweet wheel sets right from the factory instead of a heavier wheelset that you ultimately want to swap out. I had a 2011 7.7fx and that bike was amazing. it felt like driving a mercedes and the shifting was super responsive/crisp.

that being said, enjoy your new fx! it looks amazing and i cant wait to see more pictures of it!!

Very achievable, my 2017 S6 weighed 20.2 pounds when I bought it minus the reflectors, but the weight went up when I put better tires, pedals, bottle cages, computer, rear light, seat and my tool and gear bags on it, though its still a touch under 24 pounds which is fine with me. I really don't like the AW2 tires, I was happy to trade the weight gain for better flat protection with the Marathon Plus tires.

Yep ... it's all about one's preferences. I ride with as little as possible -- I'm one of those 'lever/tube/mini-pump in jersey pocket' type cyclists. Crummy pic of bike below (forgive the Sirrus interloper!) -- I'd be aiming to set up an S5/6 pretty much like it, and I'm getting more and more interested in the bike as these early reports come in. Sirrus has been a great, great bike for me, but it's getting on ...

Oh, and of course Sirrus doesn't have a 'beefy bottom bracket' like your S6 I 'feel like' I need one of those.