Road Cycling - Hard time deciding-Help!

I have been having the hardest time lately deciding on a bike right now I'm looking at the Specialized sequoia elite and the specialized sirrus comp. Iwill be using it for mostly road riding/touring and or fitness. I would like to do some long distances ocassionally. The drop down bars on the sequoia are fine since it gives you a choce of hand positions but I'm not sure I like the location of the shifts in comparison to the straight bar of the sirrus. I also tend to keep my hands on the top part of handlebar and hardly ever use the drop down.Has anyone any experience with these bikes as far as comfort or if you can give me any insight this would be greatly appreciated. Other bikes I've looked at are the Kona Dr. Dew and Jamis Quest. Help !!!!!!
D. Allen

Well, it should work in your favor that you're deciding btw 2 bikes from the same company. I hope you're not feeling too timid about asking your Specialized dealer lots and lots of questions. He or she should be well-informed as to how the bikes compare and if the shop is any good, the employees should know to be patient with someone asking lots of questions. Especially if they know those bikes are your top choices: it's important to be nice to someone who's considering spending a grand at your store... The other nice thing about deciding btw. 2 specializeds is that it's easier to compare them than it would be if your top choices were at 2 different dealers..

But anyway, besides recommending that you try to get to the dealer on a slow day and talk and test ride a lot, I should just point out a widely-held opinion here: that people who think they need flat bars for comfort often get very used to drop bars. I think it's a common misconception that with drop bars you spend a lot of time hunched over holding the drops because you need to in order to reach the brakes. In fact, newer brakes work extremely well from the hoods. That is, you ride the bike with your hands on top of the levers and push the brakes w/your index and middle fingers.. The shifting I think is pretty easy from there too (my bike has somewhat different shifters, so I don't have lots of experience w/STI) once you get used to it.

It seems as though there are lots of folks with drop bars who spend most of their time riding from the hoods. And the conventional wisdom is that for long-distance riding, a choice of hand positions is essential. I've tried a Sequoia and thought it was incredibly comfy. If you can make sure your frame size and stem are set up so that you're comfortable riding on the hoods, I think the Sequoia's a great choice..

good luck.
Y.

I'm with Yoni on this one. Go with the Sequoia.