Looking for advice on getting new hybrid bike - maybe trek fx3 or the canyon roadlite 5?

johnmck

Registered User
Messages
73
Thinking of getting a new bike. I've an old trek and want something new with disc brake.

Looking at trek fx3 or the canyon roadlite 5.

Anybody have any advice for me, thanks
 
Difficult choice, they both are two good bikes in that price range
If I was to choose between the two I'd be looking at the gearing, the Trek is a 2x9 while the Canyon is 1x11
Have a think about how you use your gears on your current Trek because you'd be loosing 8 gears by going for the Canyon
This won't be an issue if you mainly ride in the big chainring(46) but might feel it is if you use the inner chainring a lot
But if I was forced to decide I probably go with the Canyon as it's 1x11 and would be a better groupset (IMO) compared to the Shimano

Other than that I think they both evenly spec'd and after the gearing it's down to looks, colouring scheme and availability!!!
 
The Canyon is nearly 2kg lighter.

It has a single speed up front, which means less maintenance but fewer gears. There's a big cassette at the back to make up for this somewhat, but if you will need low gears for going up lots of hills then you should go with the Trek because you'll find yourself having to grind on the Canyon when the lowest gear is 46x42. In comparison, the Trek has a 30x36. I don't know why Canyon put such a big front ring on the bike, it doesn't seem like a good fit at all.

Also it looks like the Canyon availability is really poor. Their estimations of when things will be in stock are famously bad as well.
 
Difficult choice, they both are two good bikes in that price range
If I was to choose between the two I'd be looking at the gearing, the Trek is a 2x9 while the Canyon is 1x11
Have a think about how you use your gears on your current Trek because you'd be loosing 8 gears by going for the Canyon
This won't be an issue if you mainly ride in the big chainring(46) but might feel it is if you use the inner chainring a lot
But if I was forced to decide I probably go with the Canyon as it's 1x11 and would be a better groupset (IMO) compared to the Shimano

Other than that I think they both evenly spec'd and after the gearing it's down to looks, colouring scheme and availability!!!
I bought a belt driven Cannondale for my commuting bike as there's virtually no maintenance and as it's quite a flat and relatively short journey (it's only 10 Km) I don't miss the additional gears. It also looks great and I love the single front fork.
 
I'm kinda with Purple. My commute is 10k on the flat, so i need around 3 gears in total. It does really depend on what you want the bike for.

And 2bags of sugar lighter is not to be sneezed at.
 
I bought a belt driven Cannondale for my commuting bike as there's virtually no maintenance and as it's quite a flat and relatively short journey (it's only 10 Km) I don't miss the additional gears. It also looks great and I love the single front fork.
You're dead to me now, a belt driven drive train, flat handle bars, only half a fork and probably no lycra on your 10K commute
Only thing worse is those fellas who ride the funny shaped bikes with sticky out handle bars and insist on ruining a good bike ride by having a swim first and a run afterwards ;)

The bike shop where I worked for a little while used to stock all the usual brands but I always took a liking to the Cannondale "Bad Boy"
I just thought it was something a little different to the usual run of the mill commuter bikes
And IIRC around 2016 they brought out a version with internal 8 speed hub belt driven and the lefty fork which I thought looked awesome
The Canyon is nearly 2kg lighter.
Good catch, never even thought about weight
And 2bags of sugar lighter is not to be sneezed at.
Yes, another feather in the Canyon's cap

Even though weight is important what's more important is how the bike feels to the rider, my BMC's actually weigh a kilo more than the Cervelo's they replaced but I couldn't say I ever noticed the difference. Two kilo's, yes I probably would but then I'm going up and down the Dublin mountains day in day out, for the OP on their daily commute I don't think it would make much of a difference except if they have to lift/carry the bike a lot!!
 
The bike shop where I worked for a little while used to stock all the usual brands but I always took a liking to the Cannondale "Bad Boy"
I just thought it was something a little different to the usual run of the mill commuter bikes
And IIRC around 2016 they brought out a version with internal 8 speed hub belt driven and the lefty fork which I thought looked awesome
That's the one I have. I love it.

You're dead to me now, a belt driven drive train, flat handle bars, only half a fork and probably no lycra on your 10K commute



Only thing worse is those fellas who ride the funny shaped bikes with sticky out handle bars and insist on ruining a good bike ride by having a swim first and a run afterwards ;)

No lycra for me. I'm at least 20 years to old and the legs are too hairy.
 
I have a Trek FX3, bought 3 years ago.
I would not rate this bike for quality.. one of the disc brakes is not working, I cant fix it myself.
Derailleur is making a rubbing noise,
all of this without me causing any damage while cycling.
I should have bought a Specialised.
 
Disc brake pads wear down, fluid needs to be topped up, cables stretch, its all to be expected wear and tear after 3 years.
Yeah, just like a car, brake fluid needs to be drained and replaced after a time. Bleeding hydraulic brakes is an easy enough DIY job if you like that kind of thing or there are plenty of local mechanics who will do it if not.

Have a think about how you use your gears on your current Trek because you'd be loosing 8 gears by going for the Canyon
A typical 1x set up has around 15-20% less overall range than a 2x, the 1x will introduce more friction though due to the chain not running as straight all the time.
 
A typical 1x set up has around 15-20% less overall range than a 2x, the 1x will introduce more friction though due to the chain not running as straight all the time.
While you are correct in what you're saying, the reality it's not as black and white as that.

Yes a 2x will have more range then a 1x simply because of a doubling of the gear ratios from using two different sized chainrings
But if you use the OPs examples, the 1x system on the Canyon has the same top gear ratio but also has a lower low gear ratio then the Trek
So the Canyon actually has a bigger range but uses less gear ratios to achieve this than the trek

The thinking for many years was to get more gears on a bike, the more gears you had the more choice you have to find the right gear for the situation you find yourself in. That thinking has changed slightly now as more and more bikes are coming with 1x systems now, even the Trek the OP was referring to has now switched to a 1x system for 2023, mountain bikes that used to come with up to 30 gears are now nearly all on a 1x systems and the reason for this is simply you generally can get enough gear range between high and low on a 1x system now for all your biking requirements

The problem I have with the "friction" test is two fold, one the test is more of a Shimano vs Sram rather than a 1x vs 2x system. The actual test the author refers to even states the the build quality of Sram chains is not as good a Shimano and secondly its very much dependant on how a person uses their gears and maintains their drivetrain, if they are mainly using the outer gears more then yes the wear and tear will be greater on both systems and slightly more so on the 1x, but I'm not even sure a everyday cyclist would notice the difference in wear rates
I was always of the opinion that you should always be using the middle gears of the rear cassette for the majority of your cycling, if that is not the case then I would suggest that the gearing your using is wrong for the type of cycling you're doing and needs to be looked at
Bleeding hydraulic brakes is an easy enough DIY job if you like that kind of thing
I agree that most of the servicing of bikes can be done at home but only if you have the right tools and know what you are doing
and I certainly wouldn't advise trying to bleeding disc brakes unless you are sure of what you're doing
 
Yes a 2x will have more range then a 1x simply because of a doubling of the gear ratios from using two different sized chainrings
But if you use the OPs examples, the 1x system on the Canyon has the same top gear ratio but also has a lower low gear ratio then the Trek
So the Canyon actually has a bigger range but uses less gear ratios to achieve this than the trek
True, it pays to pay attention to those details. And yeah, the friction won't affect most riders, your average commuter isn't chasing marginal gains.

I agree that most of the servicing of bikes can be done at home but only if you have the right tools and know what you are doing
and I certainly wouldn't advise trying to bleeding disc brakes unless you are sure of what you're doing
The syringe kits required to ensure you get all the air out are cheap, and if you're any way competent at DIY generally, it's not a difficult job.
 
Back
Top