Originally Posted by
RollCNY
Jamis gets lots of praise on BF, don't know if you have access. The Giant Roam1 looks nice, has lock out fork, and SRAM components, which I like in MTB components, but it is totally personal preference.
If I were you, I would really think about your blend of on road vs off road. Hybrids are okay at everything, but not excellent at anything. The Sirrus can be a nice fast road rider, but it is not a road bike, so if you have a speed jones, you'll end up wanting more. It is worse off road.
A suspension front fork mountain bike hybrid, like the Roam1 or Spec Crosstrail, will be okay off road, but cheap suspension forks are just that, and won't necessarily be great mountain bikes. They will be one of the worst options on road. You can mount slicks but they still won't be super slick on the road.
It is an incredibly tough choice, that we all wrestled. There is probably no wrong choice, but pick what best matches your goals. Realizing of course that your goals may change.
Well, I'm not a speed junkie per se, so I'd be fine with a bike that was nippy and relatively quick whilst comfy. Don't like the position of real road bikes and I don't need to commute anywhere so have no real use for all that extra speed.
And honestly, from the sounds of it, I'd probably prefer a hybrid that had a road preference like the Sirrus. I know the LBS near me stock the normal one (non sport) with 700x32s instead of the usual 28. Would a 32 cope well on a path like that? I've heard the 28s won't do the job well, but would a 32 be a nice compromise? I won't mind if it doesn't perform brilliantly off road, as it'll probably still be fine for me since I'm not an experienced rider.
The LBS also stock bikes such as the Giant Escape, which is listed as a hybrid/speed and uses 35s, even better or too much?