i am curios if there are any opinions regarding the Specialized Sirrius bike. it is a high performance road bike with upright handles rather than drop down.
thanks.
Specialized Sirrius
Tue, 06/01/2004 - 6:00am
Tue, 06/01/2004 - 8:04am
#1
Which?
Specialized makes good products. I have a '92 Hardrock and my gal has a '02 Allez Elite.
Sirrus comes in several models, depending on the gruppo, from Ultegra to Sora. I would not go below the 105 gruppo. Also, I think you would want to get drop bars after a few miles. So, get a Specialized Allez.
Any way, a good choice.
Wed, 06/02/2004 - 4:06am
#2
Specialized Sirrus (not Sirrius)
I have owned a Specialized Sirrus Sport for about ten months. I like it a lot. It is certainly heavier than most road bikes but it goes like a bomb and is great for city rides or off-road trails. I replaced the tires with Vredstein fortezzas and that made it all the faster. I also like the disc brakes. They stop on a dime.
Tue, 06/01/2004 - 9:13am
#3
Not a lightweight bike...
...as I understand it. Cannondales are the lightest. If you're keen on straight-across bars, you could take a look at a high-end Cannondale Road Warrior. It might be lighter in weight.
Tue, 06/01/2004 - 6:35pm
#4
sirrus
this is what I ride. I think it's a great introductory bike but I outgrew it? within about a month of riding it and wished I'd gotten a bike with drop-down handlebars. I do think it is a great value but if you think you fancy cycling at all get the entry level Specialized road bike or a Trek 1000 for a little bit more money.
Wed, 06/02/2004 - 4:15am
#5
Sirrus
I have a 2001 Sirrus (Sport model, with Tiagra). I bought the Sirrus as an upgrade from my mountain bike for longer rides. I didn't think I would like the more aggressive riding posistion of a drop handle bar road bike (chronic bad back) and the Sirrus seemed like a good solution, as it is definitely superior to the typical hybrid. The Sirrus was in fact a big improvement in terms of speed, comfort and weight, and I like it a lot. As I became more involved in cycling, however, I began to see the benefit of a true road bike, and this year I made the plunge and bought a true roadie.
I can tell you that the improvement has been dramatic. The road bike is signficantly more comfortable on longer rides, quicker and better on climbs. And even though my road bike is steel, it's much lighter than the Sirrus. I don't mind the drop handle bars at all, and they provide many different positions for the hands. (On the Sirrus, my hands would get tired easily on longer rides.)
As I said, I still like the Sirrus, but there are fewer and fewer times that I will use it now. If I had to do it over, I would have bought the road bike right away.
So my advice is to think hard about what kind of cycling you will be doing. If it's likely to be shorter, casual rides around the city, then a hybrid may be a good choice, and the Sirrus is definitely towards the higher end of the hybrids. But if you think you'll be doing a lot of club rides, or getting out into the countryside for rides of 20 miles or longer, look seriously at a road bike.
Mon, 06/07/2004 - 1:05pm
#6
Similar experience
I completed a SIG on a Sirrus Comp a few years ago. I was the only hybrid in the bunch and had to work harder than everyone on everything EXCEPT long inclines, in contrast to Fred's experience. I casually passed my overall faster roadie colleagues on more than one occasion. I'm pretty sure this was more a result of the granny gear than the hybrid factor though. The bike is heavier and definitely less efficient for certain styles of riding than a road bike. Also, I found going downhill scary on the Sirrus because of the upright position. And forget cornering. No way! The bike seemed to want to slip out from under me. This may have had to do with my inexperience in general at the time, although I noticed immediate improvement in my downhill and cornering comfort levels upon transferring to a road bike. Otherwise, I found the Sirrus extremely comfortable. I never had hand (I have bar ends), seat, knee or back issues. (To Marion -- hope you see this -- perhaps you should have a bike shop do a proper fit if you've not done so already. It might solve your hand issues because there may be more to the problem than just bar style.)
Anyway, I purchased a road bike after that SIG and never looked back! The Sirrus sits on my bike rack collecting dust. I keep thinking I should sell it, but then I tell myself I'll make it my commuter bike one day, perhaps in my next life. I fully agree with Fred: think long and hard about the kind of riding you plan to do before purchasing. If I had to do it over, I would have bought a road bike, but I also had no idea I'd enjoy cycling as much as I have, so go figure...
Thu, 06/10/2004 - 4:53pm
#7
sirrus hands
I have gone back to Toga a few times regarding the numb hands problem and they say my bike it fitted properly.
Funny you should mention the way it takes corners--I find the same thing. I am a newcomer, taking my first C12-14 on Sunday 6/13, so it will be interesting to see how my bike and I hold up!
Since first buying my bike in March, I have commuted from 72 and riverside to canal many times and have rounded CP and gone from the GWB to Battery Park. Hope my hands don't fall off at the dam.
Fri, 06/04/2004 - 6:11pm
#8
04 sirrus
I bought the o4 sirrus in March and had to get the bar ends almost immediately because I found my hands were getting numb. Unfortunately the bar ends are not helping much which is really bumming me out.
After reading the posting on the Sirrus, I probably should have gotten a road bike with drop down bars. But I just bought the 04 in March.
Any suggestions regarding the hand problem?
