blacksapphire08

I stopped by the LBS today to take a look at some road bikes and after riding a few I like the fit of the Specialized bike. Im looking for something for longer rides (30+ miles) and possibly commuting on roads. Would this be a good bike for this purpose and is it a good deal at $520?

halfspeed

Drop bars are better for longer rides IMO.

alexaschwanden

Road bikes have better gearing as well.

daihard 

In what way? I'd argue that hybrid bikes (which usually have MTB-like gearing) may be better suited for commuting.

alexaschwanden

The gearing is tighter in the middle to end of the cassette.

Slackerprince

I had a 2009 Sirrus Comp with carbon seatstays and forks. Very nice ride for the neighborhood, and it is a fast bike.
You can really go faster on a road bike, but for multi-purpose, fast riding, you can't beat a hybrid.

S

daihard 

I understand that. My question is, how does that translate into "better gearing" for commuting?

alexaschwanden

You pedal a higher cadence and when you shift your rpms don't drop as much.

gsa103

Except the hybrids running road bike gearing...

MRT2

Based on your experience with your last bike purchase, you should take some time and plenty of test rides. Generally, Specialized is very good, and the Sirrus is a sporty hybrid that competes in a crowded category with Trek 7.x FX, Giant Escape , Jamis Coda, Kona Dew, and Cannondale Quick Series. These Bikes all sell for $400 to $1,000 and overlap somewhat with real road bikes. Any one of those should be much better than your cruiser for 30 mile rides. If you aspire to do longer rides, than a road bike might be in your future.

I would advise you to try both sporty hybrids and drop bar road bikes and decide for yourself what you prefer.

blacksapphire08

Yep the plan is to try out many different models and listen to advice from you guys. I tried out a couple Giants and some Canondales while I was there too. This store didnt carry Trek but I hear a lot of good things about the FX bikes so I would like to test ride those too. I'll definitely check out that Jamis too. Thanks.

BTW I plan on keeping my cruiser

MRT2

If memory serves, your girlfriend rides a Jamis, so you must have a Jamis dealer nearby. I would suggest you check out the Jamis Quest, as well as the Coda. Quest is a drop bar road bike that could be set up as a commuter, if you are so inclined.

daihard 

I don't think that would help much on commutes, which tend to include lots of stops and goes and various terranes ranging from steep hills to flat roads. For commuting, features like rack and fender mounts, as well as fatter tyres, would be more useful IMO.

MikeWMass

Specialized site is down, but I think Sirrus covers a bit of ground. My daughter has one with Alivio triple and 32 mm tires. I sometimes ride with a couple of guys who have Sirruses (Sirri?) with carbon stays, 25 mm tires and road gearing, one has an old Lightspeed and rides the Sirrus. All seem to be fine bikes. All have been on rides of up to 60 or 70 miles with no problems.
They seem like road bikes with flat bars. Most of the people I see riding road bikes are on the hoods 99% of the time, so if you are not looking to do fast group rides, I'm not sure you give up a lot. The price is good because flat bar shifters are much less expensive than "brifters".
My parents did multi-day bike tours on heavy 3 speeds in the 1940's, and 20 pounds was quite light not all that long ago (at least by my internal calendar!)
If you like the bike and it feels good, I would say go for it!

WestPablo

+1

This guy gave you the best advice. Please seriously consider it!

* "Sporty" hybrids are the same thing as "Performance" hybrids. So either one of those, or a road bike with drop handlebars...

Wanderer

The Sirrus is a fine bike for 30+ mile rides and commuting.

blacksapphire08

Unfortunately, none of the local Jamis dealers carry the Coda or their other road bikes. The closest one they have is the Citizen which I wasnt a fan. The closest Kona dealer is on the other side of town so looks like i'll have to make a trip to try that one.

I went to the local Trek store today and test rode a few FX models and a Modona 1.5 to get a feel for a road bike with drop bars. I have to say that style of bike is not for me but I can appreciate why people like them, very fast. The FX 7.2 was very comfortable and shifting was silky smooth. I have to say that I like that bike the best out of all that ive tried thus far. The 7.3 didnt seem like much of an upgrade, but the 7.4 has better derailers, better wheels, and a carbon fork. It is quite a jump in price though, do you think its worth the additional cost?
It's also worth mentioning that the staff at this Trek store were very helpful/knowledgable so thats a plus.

Any other suggested models I should try out? Im going to keep doing research.

WestPablo

For little over $70 less, you could get yourself a really nice "Performance" hybrid, that comes equipped with better components, including a carbon fork. Of course, it's a Fuji Absolute 1.3 "Fitness" bike, from www.performancebike.com @ $584

Performance will ship the bike to one of their brick & mortar bike shops. That's where you'll pick up the already assembled bike. You'll then give a test ride, in order to confirm proper performance, comfort, and fit. If you don't like it, you can either get a refund, or you can reorder.

MRT2

Giant Escape 1 or 0, Cannondale Quick 4.

If you want to stretch your budget, Trek Cross Rip, Giant Anyroad, Specialized Tricross, All City Spacehorse, Surly Pacer. All of these will get you out hybrids and into drop bar road bikes, but not of the racing variety.

There should be plenty of bikes that will do what you want them to do. Frustrating that your Jamis dealer doesn't stock the Coda. Don't understand that.

blacksapphire08

Those are the Giant and Cannondale models that I test rode along with a few others. The local Jamis dealer only carries comfort bikes, cruisers, MTBs, and trikes/recumbents. I guess thats just the market they cater to. They can order other Jamis bikes but I have to put down money and they dont offer refunds if I dont like the way it fits. The Coda Comp seems like a solid deal compared to other bikes with those specs.

I wasnt comfortable with the drop bar handlebar. It seemed like no matter how we adjusted the seat it just didnt feel like a good fit. The shifters/brakes were very alien to me and the Trek Madone didnt have a chainguard. I can appreciate the style and why people love them but its not for me. Thanks for recommending it though.

Campag4life

OP...its really hard to give you advice because of your experience level. Most here would never suggest a flat bar bike for road riding. Since I moved to an area that is all concrete, I just parted out my last flat bar bike.

A performance rider would never consider a Sirrus. The top tube is too short for all frame sizes and you can't get in any sort of position to generate power. Of course you can't relate to that. If you absolutely must purchase a flat bar bike, get a 29er which can be ridden both on and off road. Most 29'ers will put you in a riding position that you can generate more power and be more comfortable because the top tube is a full 1 inch longer than the Sirrus throughout the size range. Also a 29er can be fast if you outfit it with 25-28c smooth tires. I could keep up with most drop bar guys if they weren't working too hard to drop me.

The biggest misconception about drop bar bikes is a drop bar is bad because you can't get comfortable. You can't get comfortable OP because the drop bar is positioned to make you uncomfortable. A drop bar provides more comfort than a flat bar provided it is placed in the right position for your riding position. 10 years ago a whole new genre of road bikes was spawned called endurance road bikes. These have a drop bar but positioned higher which is much friendlier for the vast majority of those that like to ride a bicycle on the road. My suggestion is, try one of those. Flat bar bikes are very limited in hand positions and for most that have some experience with road cycling, having a variety of positions that a drop bar affords adds a lot of pleasure and performance to the riding experience.

Turnin2

I have the same bike. We do one or two multi-day tours, some as long a a week, per year. The Sirrus is the bike I use for this. It can fit wider tires, I have 28's on it currently and it really helps on crappy roads or hard pack dirt. It has rack mounts and a more upright position that has been comfortable for up to 80 miles a day. It might be a little slower than my roadie but for more relaxed pace rides of 40-60 miles day after day this is an excellent bike.

side_FX

The 7.4 is a sweet spot for the FX line for a good all-rounder. Slightly wider tire (28 vs. 25 on the 7.5 and up) and no funky izo-zone thingy on the back. Not as fast as a drop bar, but it gives you more options of surfaces to ride. you can even up the tires to 32 if you'd like.

daihard 

The 7.4 FX has 700x32c tyres. The 7.5 FX has 700x28c's. The 7.6 / 7.7 FXs have 700x25c's.

stephtu

You were adjusting the wrong thing. Seat height is to get proper leg extension, fore/aft for weight distribution. Then, to get comfortable reach and upper body angle, one has to get the proper length & rise handlebar stem. Stock stem isn't going to work as is a lot of the time, might have to be flipped up instead of down, might need different length, might need higher degree of rise. The shop should work with you to get comfortable. Right stem is needed for flat bar bikes too, although perhaps by default they were set up closer to what you prefer.

I wouldn't dismiss drop bars until you find a shop that will flip and/or swap the stem for you to test ride, to get you in a more upright, perhaps less stretched out, position on the hoods comparable to the flat bar bikes you've tried. There are reasons 90+% of long distance road riders use drop bars, we wouldn't use them if we found them less comfortable! Comfort is important when we are riding 6+ hours at a time! Only a fraction of us race, we don't necessarily set the bars low for aerodynamics, but multiple hand positions and neutral vs. pronated is more comfortable for a lot of us. Similar upper body position vs. the hybrids you are looking at can be achieved with the right stem. If the shop changes the stem for you & you still like flat bar better, then fine choose a flat bar bike.