Keisuke

Hi I'm currently riding the trek fx 7.2 series,
7.2 FX | Trek Bikes

Need some help here for upgrading to improve the performance

which are the parts I should change first to improve its performance ?

tyres ? What brand and type would suggest?

gear set? 105 series? Deore? Or others. Does it helps a lot? What would you suggest

what other parts should be considered?

is er4 grips good or what other grips is recommended and where can I get them. Current grips ain't that comfortable.

Can I check the brakes to disc brakes? Current is calliper

Lastly, does it affects the warranty after I change its parts?

all suggestions are welcome !

no1mad 

Moved from Road.

Craptacular8

Given I just recently bought the 2016 version as a foul weather bike, I'll give it a shot. The grips are not ideal for anything longer than a few miles. I know my plan is to swap the Nitto trekking bars I have on another bike over to the fx, which should fix my numbness issues I have after 6-7 miles. I'd suggest the most reasonable grip upgrade would be a set of Ergon GP 1 grips to at least allow you to rest your palm, or the Ergon GP3 or 4 for at least one additional hand position, all are fairly reasonable on Amazon. After that, I typically upgrade the saddle, though, so far, the stock saddle has not seemed offensive enough to me to put another Sel Anatomica saddle on it...at least not yet. In my opinion, even the stock tires feel pretty nice, so I'm in no hurry to swap them out. The bike in stock form in a 20" frame is roughly 26 pounds...which is chunky, though not ridiculously so. I plan to ride mine mostly stock until I wear stuff out. Wheels/tires are probably the best upgrade $$ spent after taking care of contact comfort points, though you'd be looking at nearly half the value of a new 7.2 to get a measurable/noticeably better wheelset with 105 hubs, etc.

The frame does not have the tabs necessary to go to disc brakes. Hybrids typically use mtb gearing, that said, I know the 7.9 does use the 105 groupset, which can be had for around $400 on Wiggle.com, but would also require a new set of wheels capable of 10-11 speed, new stem, and new handlebar set because they wouldn't fit on the handlbars on the 7.2....hardly seems worth it to me, you'd have nearly as much into upgrades there, as just selling, and buying the 7.5 that gets you to the tiagra groupset, 10-speed, and carbon fork for $1000, and shaves nearly 5 pounds off the weight of a 7.2.

Keisuke

Thanks for your input !
I'll definitely get one of those ergon grips. It looks cool. I hope it'll solve the issue of my palm having too much pressure on the grip as I'm leaning most of my body weight on it.
On 2nd thought , the gear set upgrade is not so worth it after all.
Brake wise I guess I'll have to stick with the calliper bakes.

For tires, you have any recommendations. Possible to get 25 width tyres?

How about for saddles, it does hurt a little after sometime. People said its crappy, I have no idea what to change it to though. Are the ergon saddles recommendable?

Craptacular8

You'll have to weigh your desire for faster tires with your level of risk against flats. Stock tires kind of balance ride/weight/flat resistance, probably opting for greater flat resistance. I just put some Pasela Tserve on another hybrid that are lighter/faster, and still ride plush. While I suspect you could go down to a 25 width tire, I probably would not feel comfortable going smaller than 28 without changing out the rims to a narrower internal width, plus little weight is saved over the 28's while sacrificing ride quality, but that's just me. Guessing you are outside the US, so perhaps look on wiggle.co.uk they show having the Schwalbe One for a fairly reasonable price...super light tire, plus decent flat resistance.

I'm partial to the Selle Anatomica for saddles, and typically find the leather "hammock" style saddle (Brooks b17 is another) work better than padded versions for avoiding a sore backside...everyone's backside is different though. SelleAnatomica.com does typically have a page of factory seconds/returns that they sell at a decent discount. I've been shopping ebay for a lightly used brooks or SA to put on mine...still looking though, lol.

rkerider

I currently have 700x25 Continential Ultra sport tires on my 7.3FX and didn't notice a huge change. The ride is a bit more aggressive but I haven't had any problems nor did I see huge gains. I did buy another Bontrager saddle and my LBS had a gel pad that you'd sit on to measure your sit bones. Besides the saddle and tires the bike is still stock besides replacing worn out parts.

techsensei

Generally, I would recommend not changing anything unless it is broken or worn out, because you won't notice any change in performance .. not without changing virtually everything.

MRT2

grips can help a little as can gloves but, if you are leaning most of your body weight on the handlebars, you need to address the fit of your bike.

MRT2

You can easily spend more than the bike is worth on upgrades. Switch out saddle if you don't like the stock saddle. Go with whatever pedal system you prefer. Beyond that, don't worry about changing tires until your stock tires wear out. Don't worry about wheels until you start popping spokes. Ride the bike for a few years before e changing drivetrain components.

Keisuke

Hello all i'm back with more queries.(Still on FX 7.2 2016)
I have changed the grips to Ergon GP2, fits perfectly good. Less numbness, more comfort in riding, ride up to 5hours no problem !
Besides that, I have also change the tires to Continental Grandprix 4000SII 28mm. Acceleration is much easier and faster ! I could go up to 1 speed higher. Great tires !

These are my upgrades after riding for a year, the rest are still stock. Now i am thinking of upgrading the wheelset, here's a few wheel set i'm considering.

1. Shimano Ultegra 6800 Road Wheelset
2. Campagnolo Vento Asymmertric G3 Road wheelset 2017
3. DT Swiss R24 Spline (is this wheelset only suitable for disc brakes?)
4.Others??(suggestions please !)

With tires?/Continental Grandprix 4000S II 25mm?
Do they fit to trek 7.2? (with v-brakes)

Any suggestion for carbon fork too?

All other suggestions are welcome !
Thank you !

CadenceBoy

My suggestion is use the bike as is, and when you have enough money sell your bike and get a (much) better bike overall.

You should NOT have bought the 7.2, is is quite a entry level bike.

The best thing you can do is get the best bike you can afford, buying cheap and then spending much more on upgrades is silly and pointless.

ColonelSanders

I'm not sure your frame is worth making all these other possible upgrades to.

The FX 7.2 in 2016 had Trek's aluminium Silver frame, which is a lower grade of aluminium than what was found on the Trek 7.3 FX and above.

What's the difference between the aluminium Silver and aluminium Gold that Trek uses? Probably only weight.

The 7.2FX frame of 2016 is probably a pound heavier at least. Not a great amount obviously, but a minor annoyance none the less, for what is otherwise an identical item.

I feel you would be better served by keeping your FX 7.2 as a back up bike and/or beater bike and instead buy a brand new bike that comes with a carbon fork and better wheels, it will also have a better frame.

If you are happy with flatbars, then get another flatbar bike higher up the foodchain, if you want to experiment with a drop bar bike, then you could get a proper roadbike, instead of a hybrid.

There are so many choices you have, depending on budget, but if you are after a faster flatbar bike, something like the Giant Fastroad SLR is worth a test ride.

Or the Giant Fastroad Co-max 2 if you want a carbon frame.

Both these bikes also have hydraulic disk brakes.

fietsbob

Sell your bike get another Trek FX selling with fancier components , and thus costing More ,

Someone will find your old bike satisfactory, just as it is.

FX | Trek Bikes

improve performance? the engine may need to be in better shape.. shopping? get some expensive Tires.. Compass Cycles , no narrower just better.

MRT2

Makes no sense. Sell the FX and buy a real road bike. Or keep the FX and stop it with the upgrades. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

Lt Stonez

Makes no sense. Sell the FX and buy a real road bike. Or keep the FX and stop it with the upgrades. You cannot make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.

sh00k

I too considered upgrading the drive train of my fx 7.4 to the 105. When I did the math, it would cost north of $800 to do so since I need to buy the 105 groupset ($400), new wheels (at least $250) flat bar shifters ($105) and other small parts/cables/etc. This could easily run up over $1000 since I would take it to a shop to install everything.

So I am also suggesting go buy a road bike but specifically, get a high-end lightly-used late year road bike off of craigslist. many people dish out a ton of $ into new bikes only to realize they dont like riding it or whatever their reason may be. You can find high-end road bikes for "dirt cheap" on craigslist.

Of course you can dump $ into the fx and get the "ultimate" hybrid bike but financially it would not make sense to do that. There have been a few people on this site that turned their fx's into road bikes and they all said it was too expensive but fun to do the conversion. So it depends on what matters the most to you.

jase33

The frames of a bike series tend to remain the same as you go up in the series with only the components becoming better and more expensive. Many people I know will buy the base model of the bike they want (carbon or aluminum) and then put the extra cash into the components they really want. They usually come out a little higher in cost than the top of the line factory setup, especially if they don't have parts to reuse, but they end up with a bike exactly how they want. They will then sell the take offs to recover some of the money.

MRT2

And if OP's goal was to build the ultimate hybrid, he might want to start off with something a bit further higher up the food chain than the venerable but inexpensive FX 7.2.

MRT2

True in some cases, but not all. In this case, the FX 7.2 has a lower grade aluminum frame (and a cheaper fork) than the new FX 3 or FX 4, which do have a higher end aluminum frame and carbon fiber fork. Step up in price to the FX 5 and you get full carbon fiber. So while I give Trek credit for marketing a sensible and price friendly bike in the FX 7.2 (now the FX2) it really isn't true that you get the same quality frame at the lower price point, with just cheaper components.

jase33

I see what you're saying however I don't consider the FX7.2 and the FX3 to be in the same series, actually different bikes from my view. I would say the 7.2, 7.3, etc are in the same series as the FX3, FX4, etc. would be in the same series. The FX5 being full carbon puts the bike in another category for me so I don't count that one.

MRT2

Except that the 2016 FX 7.3 has the same frame as the 2017 FX 3. I don't remember the year Trek downgraded the FX 7.2, but it was a few years ago. It may or may not make much of a difference to the OP, but what you said about all the Trek FX having the same frames is not true. The lower end ones have the "Silver" aluminum frame, the mid level ones have the "gold" aluminum frames, and the higher end FXs have carbon fiber frames.

Keisuke

Appreciate all comments !
I am trying to make the best out of what i have currently, eg changing parts that are "worth the money vs lesser effort gained."
For eg after i change the tires and i am able to ride on gear 3 x 6/7 smoothly which previously i can't.
Kinda satisfaction to see the upgrades actually helps
I'll probably ride the bike till it hits its max capability

Of course changing into a road bike or buying a new bike with better parts and components will be the best and simplest choice.
Currently looking on the Canyon Roadlite 7.0, krestrel bikes, what you guys think about these?

Sell current bike SGD$400-600
Purchase new bike SGD $2100
I'll have to top up another $1600 !


From what i see now,
Change drive train - not worth it
carbon fork - just get a new bike

Wheel set - probably worth it?( if anyone could recommend a low end wheel set which is worth the bucks ! Putting a high end just isn't worth it !)

MRT2

It is not clear what 3 x 6/7 means. But these days with computers or even apps for smart phones, it is easy to chart your progress. So how fast, and how far are you going, and how much faster and how much farther do you want to go? And how much do you ride?

Yes, there are probably better wheels than the stock wheels that came with your 7.2. And, if you get some really nice wheels, you can always keep them and put the stock wheels back when you sell your Trek. But again the problem is, a wheelset that is significantly lighter and stronger than your current wheels might cost almost as much as your current bike is worth. So, unless your stock wheels are giving you problems (breaking spokes, going out of true, or rims cracking at the spoke holes for example), you might just hold off and put your money towards a new bike.

practical

Appreciate the 7.2 for what it is - a durable all-around bike good for commutes and general riding around. Changing the tires is something that you did and that is about the best you should expect. Use this bike for riding on streets and in traffic (get a mirror) or on bike paths or trails. This is the kind of riding where versatility rather than speed is the priority. If you want to go on rides longer than 25 miles or bike at speeds consistently over 15 mph, then get a different bike. Other small no-cost or low-cost changes you could make include cutting the handle bar so that it is narrower (take about 1-2 inches off each end) and fits the width of your shoulders better. Add simple toe clips (the ones without the straps). Add lights so that you'll be safe riding in the dark. I don't know where you live, but if you live in a city, this will be a good bike to get around on.

MRT2

Pretty much. I would suggest maybe trying clipless pedals. That is a modest investment and you can move the pedals over to any future bike, when the time comes.