Trek 7500 Review

The Trek 7500 is a hybrid bike that wants to give you speed and agility in an urban environment whilst also giving you enough leeway to venture on to mud, gravel and uneven surfaces. There is little doubt that it is a premium quality machine, but what is it about the main hardware and components that makes it worthy of your attention?

The Trek 7500 features an Alpha Gold Aluminium frame, which is well suited to hybrid use, since this material is a feature of both the road and mountain bike models from Trek. The geometry is adequately sporty and the whole thing feels stiff, which results in responsive handling and good off the line acceleration. The lateral rigidity lets you transfer power effectively, but there is also the frame’s vertical suppleness that means that road buzz and off-road bumps will not leave you scathed.

Further comfort and convenience is added by the inclusion of the SR Suntour NCX fork with 50mm of travel. Whilst this is not quite as flexible as you might expect to see from a fully-fledged mountain bike, the hybrid nature of the Trek 7500 suits this level of suspension. You can ride over bumps in the road or trail and find that the front wheel shifts to fit the landscape, leaving your hands planted on a handlebar that is not constantly passing on shocks to you. Meanwhile, the back end remains taut so that you can pick up speed effectively and feel increasingly engaged with the ride without being shaken into submission by it.

The drive train comes from the Shimano Deore groupset, providing 27 gears of smooth shifting power delivery, which you can rely upon. You also get Shimano M446 hydraulic disc brakes onboard, with this model being the first in its range to introduce them. These high performance brakes are well suited to the hybrid nature of the Trek 7500 and will allow you to manage speed and come to a stop in a variety of weather conditions across a number of surfaces.

Bontrager Nebula rims and LT2 tyres feature on Shimano centre lock disc hubs for a poised, hard wearing wheelset. In fact, much of the Trek 7500 has been designed around the idea that sturdiness will be valuable to the rider, since the everyday usage that is anticipated for this type of hybrid will result in plenty of wear and tear that you will want the bike to resist for as long as possible.

A comfortable Bontrager Evoke 2 saddle features light chromoly rails and is mounted on a Bontrager Race seat post, adding to the sport-oriented nature of certain aspects of the Trek 7500. The Low Riser handlebar, also from Bontrager, is what puts you in touch with the front fork and allows you to dictate the path of the bike precisely. Interestingly, the fork itself actually offers full hydraulic lockout, which means you can stiffen up the front end if you are particularly concerned about getting the maximum amount of speed from your bike on flat, tarmac surfaces. This gives the bike a duality that enhances its hybrid nature and makes it all the more functional both on and off the road.

Rack and fender mounts at the front and rear of the Trek 7500 will let you add your own accessories further down the line. But it is sensible to leave these as optional extras as some people might not really want to get a bike that already dictates the type of kit available to the rider before they have even got it home.

Trek 7500 Specifications

  • Front Fork: SR Suntour NCX, 50mm travel
  • Rear Shock: N/A
  • Front Derailleur: Shimano Deore
  • Rear Derailleur: Shimano Deore
  • Gears: 27
  • Chainring: Shimano M431 Octalink, 48/36/26T
  • Cassette: Shimano HG50 11-32T 9 speed
  • Shifters: Shimano M590 Deore
  • Brakes: Shimano M446 hydraulic disc brakes
  • Wheels: Bontrager Nebula disc
  • Tyres: Bontrager LT2, 700x38c