Trek FX3 Disc Review
Here’s a review of my 2023 Trek FX3 Disc, which I bought at the end of January. It’s the first new bike I’ve purchased since I got my Trek Madone 4.7 in 2009. Until now I’ve been riding my 1998 Trek 7500 hybrid when I didn’t want to use the Madone, but that bike is now showing its age and needs quite a bit of work. When I called my LBS to give me a quote on the repairs and upgrades, they made a suggestion: instead of putting several hundred dollars into the old bike, why not consider a new FX3 which was on sale for just a few hundred dollars more than that?
I did some research on the FX3 and liked what I saw. It’s similar in capabilities to the 7500, but is significantly lighter and incorporates a carbon fork and disc brakes. I gave one a test ride and decided to buy it. I have around 900 miles on it and I decided to bring some of my thoughts about it to the group.
Trek is marketing the FX series as “fast, fun, comfortable, and agile.” I certainly agree with Trek about the “fun” part – that’s the first thing I noticed about riding the FX3! As I said before, it’s lighter than my 7500, but it’s also more nimble and maneuverable. Its steering is responsive although I think it would be even better with lighter wheels. I like the upright posture of a hybrid bike, but I’m tall (6’3”) and even with the XL size frame, I had to put a longer-reach stem on it to extend the cockpit a bit. The longer stem makes the ride easier on my neck and shoulders, although I am currently in a fitting process to make it more comfortable. I like the “wings” on the handlebar grips that function as palm rests – however, as delivered I found them angled upwards too much. I rotated them down a bit and now they are better.
I do find the bike very comfortable to ride; perhaps the most comfortable bike I’ve ridden. At first I didn’t know if it was due to the frame, the fork, the tires, or a combination of all three, but I’ve come to believe that it’s mostly due to the tires. The bike just glides over smooth pavement and minor irregularities with aplomb. With rougher pavement you definitely feel it, but it’s easy to remain in control. I find the ride on the old 7500 much harsher, despite its having wider (35mm, currently) tires. That bike is from the earlier days of aluminum frame design, with large diameter round tubes and a steel fork. In the quarter-century since it was made, manufacturers have improved their designs, techniques, and materials to make aluminum a much more comfortable frame material than it used to be. The FX3 incorporates shaped and butted tubes that make the frame lighter and may contribute to a superior ride quality compared with the earlier effort. I’m sure the carbon fiber fork doesn’t hurt, either.
The saddle is also reasonably comfortable. My longest ride on the bike so far has been just over 30 miles. By the end of that ride I was definitely feeling saddle discomfort, but at that point I had been on the bike nearly 2 ½ hours, whereas none of my previous rides had even reached an hour and a half. For my shorter rides I don’t find the saddle to be a problem.
I don’t find the bike to be particularly fast. Maybe it’s fast in comparison to some of Trek’s other bikes, such as the Verve series, but I don’t find my average speed to be any higher on the FX3 than on my 7500. The upright riding posture increases my air resistance compared with my road bike, and that slows down a cyclist more than any other single factor. With this bike I struggle to approach 30 mph even on a major downhill, whereas I have exceeded 44 mph on the road bike on similar hills. That’s just the nature of hybrid bikes. When I researched the bike I found that its 1X drivetrain, with only a single front chainring, had a generous supply of low gears suitable for climbing, but limited higher gears for faster riding on level or downhill sections of road. I was concerned that I would run out of high gears before I ran out of my ability to crank them, but that hasn’t happened yet.
I will say that the FX3 accelerates faster than the 7500. Presumably this is due to its lighter wheels. Initially it was harder to keep my feet on the pedals during rapid acceleration or fast pedaling. I found the pedals that came with the FX3 to be inadequate for any but the most casual riding. They are made of lightweight plastic with a textured surface designed to keep your shoes from slipping, but I didn’t feel they really succeeded – my feet would slide around on them during vigorous pedaling, and would lose contact completely under some conditions. I use clipless SPD pedals on the Madone and I’ve always had toe clips and straps on my 7500, and after a week or two riding the new bike, I found myself wanting greater stability and security while pedaling. The stock pedals are not compatible with toe clips, so I replaced them with a set of alloy pedals with clips and straps, and now find pedaling to be much more efficient.
As for the tires, I’m finding them to be excellent. At 32mm wide, they are quieter and more maneuverable than those on the 7500. (The 7500 has heavier wheels, too, which affects maneuverability.) Potentially these tires can be faster, with less rolling resistance, although I haven’t found that to be the case so far. Their traction is excellent, both on straightaways and when leaning through tight turns at speed. I initially inflated them to 80 psi but after some experimentation I’ve settled on pressures around 60 psi. I ride mostly on local bike trails and residential streets.
The drivetrain on the FX3 is also proving to be excellent. Shifting is precise and quiet, and the derailleur responds instantly to the trigger shifters. I was surprised to find that upshifts are possible by either pulling OR pushing on the front trigger! My Trek 7500 has had a durable and reliable crankset and derailleurs, and the FX3 seems to at least match it.
Braking is excellent. This is my first bike with disc brakes, and I was expecting amazing braking power with little effort. I do get that, but I also got it from the cantilever brakes on the 7500. The disc brakes are a bit quieter, but I don’t think they’re any more powerful. Modulation is similar. I have not tried the new brakes under wet conditions, under which disc brakes are supposed to show their superiority, but under normal dry conditions, I don’t find a significant advantage.
The new bike is very quiet, with little noise from the chain and a relatively quiet freehub ratchet while coasting. The tires are very hushed on the road, and the frame doesn’t have the hollow, resonant quality that my carbon fiber Madone has, which sort of amplifies road noise. The FX3 is almost stealthy in its silence.
I wish that Trek had provided an instruction manual for the bike – if not an actual paper booklet that comes with the bike, then at least an online downloadable manual. It could help a new user become familiar with the features of the bike, and perhaps recommend some sort of maintenance and inspection schedule. The Trek store where I bought it asked me to bring the bike back in for inspection and adjustment within 30 days of my purchase, which I did. It needed only minor adjustments.
Overall, I’m really impressed with the Trek FX3 – its features, performance, and value for money. I can highly recommend it to anyone looking for a moderately-priced, comfortable fitness bike.