no1mad 

I am just wanting to check and see (if possible) if the sales guy at the LBS closest to where I work was telling me the truth.

I went in and explained what type of riding, typical mileage, and terrain I'd be riding on*. He showed me the Giant Escape City and the Specialized Sirrus. He claimed that the Giant was the better bike- material, specs, value... better period. Is this an accurate statement? A yes or no answer will suffice, but if you feel like you have to justify your position, feel free to do so.

It doesn't really matter what model I end up with. I'm trying to determine if the shop is worthy of my patronage. A good LBS will be more valuable in the long run, as they should be able to help me fine tune the fit better than trying to post pics and getting feedback from this community...

*I've since determined that I want disc brakes. Either one can be converted to at least a disc up front. Plus, both models could be adapted to IGH as well. The Sirrus has the clearance (I asked) and the Giant has a variant available in other parts of the world that has both discs and IGH.

_Skunk

I suggest you look for a bike with disc brakes as standard. It might sound easy to adapt but I predict you will encounter problems.

Arcanum

I agree with Skunk. Aside from that, I don't see a disc tab on the fork of either of those bikes. No disc tab means you'd have to replace the fork to convert to discs. You'd have to replace the wheel as well regardless, unless the stock wheel(s) happen to have unused rotor mounts (unlikely). Replacing wheels can get expensive.

xtrajack

+1 on the concept of disc brakes. They are must haves as far as I am concerned.

no1mad 

Crap. I totally blanked on the need to change out the wheel as well as the fork.

Thanks for pointing that out. And to be honest, when the guy was comparing the Escape to the Sirrus, I don't recall if it was the Sirrus Sport (8 spd) or the base Sirrus (7 spd)...

monsterpile

I'll preface this statement by saying I haven't seen your 2 bike options physically. Having said that I don't see these 2 bikes as a very good test to judge your lbs by. The Giant is a no brainer better as a commuter imho. This guy might be a moron or a genius and tell you that is the better bike. That doesn't mean the Sirrus isn't a good bike (it probably is) just that the Giant seems like an obvious choice to me for a commuter. Imagine if you were a recreational rider the Sirrus would be the obvious (but maybe not the right choice for various reasons) over the Giant.I would echo what others are saying get a disc brake bike to start with or at least one that has mounting brackets and wheelset. It sounds like you have expanded your budget enough for that. Good luck in your search. I think I get why you are talking a while for this bike. for me it would be a big purchase and I would want to get something really good out of it.

irclean

Judging by this and your other recent thread about the Kona Dew Plus I'd say you're in a quandary about which bike to buy. I could offer my opinions based on links that you provide to this or that bike, but IMHO you would be better served by giving us a list of criteria that you would like your dream bike to have. So far I've gleaned that you want a "performance hybrid" type of bike with disc brakes, and the ability to switch between a traditional derailleur drivetrain and an IGH. Please correct me if I'm wrong. I don't know your budget, but assuming by the examples you've provided you're looking in the $500-$800 range. Again, correct if I'm wrong.

If money were no object I would suggest buying a frameset (like something from Surly or Soma) with semi/full horizontal dropouts or an eccentric BB, then building two rear wheels; one with a freehub and cassette and one with an IGH. Either that, or just buy two bikes. To stay within your budget, however, you might want to consider going used.

I had similar set of criteria before settling on my latest bike and believe me, making major mechanical modifications on a bike can be a pretty pricey proposition. After calculating the cost of modifying my Schwinn to an IGH drivetrain and from rim to disc brakes, and also the cost of buying a used bike and building it to my liking, I figured I would be better off just buying a bike with the features I wanted. So... I saved my pennies and I now have my belt-driven/IGH'd/disc-braked Norco Ceres, plus I got to keep my Schwinn for backup.

Good luck with your search!

no1mad 

I can't correct someone when they are right.

As Arcanum pointed out, availability of the Kona could be a problem. As this next bike purchase will have to be done using layaway, the shop may or may not be inclined to order one for me- if there is any of the particular model left. If for some reason the Kona isn't a viable option, my backup is the Giant Seek 2. The LBS is scheduled to be open tomorrow and I'll contact them. With any luck, I can talk them into ordering the Kona (if available) so that I can compare the two.