Well, I rode both these bikes today at my LBS and struggled to distinguish their rides from the several laps around the parking lot. Both seemed nice. I'm a trail rider (paved and crushed roadbase) primarily so I've been leaning towards the no-suspension side of the hybrid fence. I typically ride in the 10-20 mile range on local trails with my mtn bike but with a lighter bike I might roll further. And I'm not expecting to jump into road riding anytime soon to warrant looking at those bikes (just not enough free time).

Of course, I'd love to be able to test drive both on the actual trails I ride but in lieu I was hoping to tap you on the shoulder to ask your opinions.

My newbie assessment is that the Trek offers slightly higher quality components along with a carbon fork. the Sirrus has a little lower quality shimano components set but with carbon melded in both the fork and seat post! I've also heard that the sirrus tires are a bit suspect relative to the bontragers on the trek. Both with 28cm stock tires.

They're close in price ($650 and $680) so its a tougher choice. Will the carbon on the sirrus seat post make that much difference? Or will Trek's quality components payoff in the long run with fewer adjustments needed and noticeably smoother shifting.

Will one perform any better on hardpack dirt trails? One consideration is that for the next couple years, there'll be several occasions where I'll be hauling either a trailer and/or a trail-bike-behind me. Has anyone tried that with one of these bikes?

I know I probably can't go wrong with either but I'd probably be more comfortable with the benefit of this thread's experiences and knowledge of the two bikes. thanks.