Originally Posted by
b0rderline
I was considering crosstrail but in the end i have bought trek ds 8.5. Crosstrail is only a little shorter than ds but has a wider Handlebar so it is even less comfortable than trek. Sirrus is shorter and better for me but i need bike with wider tires and/or front suspension so i had to choose something else. Now i am wandering if shorter Stem will be enough to be happy with my trek. Unfortunately i cannot do anything with longer wheelbase and Chainstay but like I said crosstrail is only marginally shorter and i did not felt that it was as agile as a sirrus. I now that lack of suspension and narrow tires are mainly responsible for that feeling but my question from The beggining was if i can have a bike that will replicate The agile feeling of sirrus but also has suspension and wider tires?
Well, you've made your decision -- quickly -- so there it is. To be fair, though, your original question was not to do with the "agile feeling of sirrus" but with "speed oriented frame geometry". Not a quibble: 'speed' and 'agility' are two different things in cycling. By 'agility' one usually means quickness of handling -- changing a line, etc. By 'speed' one means, quite literally, how fast one will go over a given distance for a given expenditure of effort. That is primarily determined by the way the frame's geometry positions the rider on the bike in terms of aerodynamic and pedalling efficiency.
In that context, the Sirrus and Crosstrail are pretty much identical, as I've said. In terms of 'agility'/quick handling on the road, the Crosstrail is also closer to the Sirrus than would be the Trek DS. The latter has a geometry (including fork travel) closer to that of a 29er mountainbike than does the Crosstrail, which has a geometry more or less identical to that of the Sirrus. It doesn't matter much in the end; both the Crosstrail and DS are fine bikes, but they do fit differently.