My wife is looking at 7.5 FX WSD and was wondering if it would handle the crushed limestone trails. From the searches I did it looks like there is no clearance to add larger tires. It comes with 700 X 32 road tires. I also was wondering if anyone try to fit a 700 x 32 cyclocross tire?

The 7.5 will handle crushed limestone no problem, but if that were my main riding surface I'd probably opt for the 7.3 FX. My wife owns the 7.5 and my daughter rides the 7.3 and they're different enough to be better suited to different surfaces. Either works, but the 7.5 is happier on paved surfaces.

Edit: Also, the higher spoke count wheels on the 7.3 hold up to rougher terrain better.

^ he totally stole that answer from me!

I was going to say that the 7.3 is a nice bike too, nice and light frame (like the 7.5) but has 'beefier' tires which will definitely withstand abuse. if you are going to be riding on rough/harsh terrain the majority of the time, i'd go with the 7.3 . the component group on the 7.3 is pretty good too so i would not hesitate to go that route.

the tires specifically on the 7.5 are more geared toward street riding - that is - smoother surfaces. while i am sure they will hold up to some abuse, i would be hesitant to spend $800 to find out for sure

7.3 would be better.
Swap the tires out, hard-cases are junk.

32C or wider tires would keep the trail from shaking you to hell after a few miles, I'd vote check out Vittoria Rando tires. Pro versions are lighter than hard-cases and either the pro or regular are a much better tire for flat protection. They roll better too.

Oh, I've not had a hard-case last more than a few hundred miles on limestone trails, they get chewed too pieces and start falling apart.

Thanks for all the replies. We are still on the hunt. This weekend is out due to a predicted 6 inches of snow. 90% of the stores around here carry TREK. The others don’t have any stock to look at. I did see a Cannondale Quick 1 that was nice but over what we want to spend. https://www.cannondale.com/usa/usaeng...0-9QR1-Quick-1

Thanks for all the replies. We are still on the hunt. This weekend is out due to a predicted 12 inches of snow. 90% of the stores around here carry TREK. The others don’t have any stock to look at. I did see a Cannondale Quick 1 that was nice but over what we want to spend. https://www.cannondale.com/usa/usaeng...0-9QR1-Quick-1

Well, ideally make a short list of what you want from a bike. Such as rack mounts, gearing (plan on hitting the hills or towing anything, you'll want lower gearing), tire width planned on being used, bottle mounts, price, stiff or suspension fork (I vote stiff, on sub $1000 bikes they're scary.) Take that to a LBS, and have her test ride what they have. Whichever feels best on her hands and back after 10-15 mins of riding, buy it. Makes the whole experience easier, and she gets a bike that fits which is the most important.

For any given set of bikes at a certain price, components are always very close, unless there's an expensive item like disc brakes or a suspension fork. Then the components tend to be cheaper to make up the cost difference.

I've taken my 7.5 - before I completely rebuilt it - out on dirt and 10 miles of gravel/dirt with no problem at all. It just ate it up!

^ wow, lol! there are some small (10-20 feet) parts of the trail i ride that are unpaved - its just packed dirt... and i get nervous riding my 7.7 on that bc i dont want dirt/grit getting into the components! :-X

But dirt and sand and etc. gives you encouragement to learn to overhaul your components. In other words - get more intimately close with your bike!