Originally Posted by Tom Bombadil

I test rode both, the Sirrus Sport twice and the Sirrus Comp, '06, '07, and '08, a total of 6 times. I could definitely tell a difference between the two bikes. In my final rankings of flat-bar road bikes, before I made my purchase in March of '08, I had the Comp at my #5 spot and the Sport was not in my top 10.

My main misgivings about the Comp were:

1) The ride was rougher than several other bikes, which was surprising given that it has the most carbon fiber of any bike I tested and it had those Specialized "Zertz" inserts - which seemingly did nothing to dampen vibration. Some of the roughness may have been from the Armadillo tires which are said by many to have a rougher ride. The difference in the ride between the Comp and the Fuji Absolute 1.0 that I eventually bought was substantial, surprisingly substantial.

2) They have a shorter top tube than almost any other flat-bar bike. The "Medium" Sirrus has an effective top tube length of 545mm, as compared to the Trek 7.6's 568mm, most other flat-bar bikes are very close to the Trek's measurements. Even the "Small" 7.6 has a top tube of 557mm. The effect of this on me was that I couldn't get comfortable on the Sirrus. And I really tried ... especially when I had a chance to buy a closeout '07 with the better components for $750!

They have a lot of up sides. They are light & fast. I find them more comfortable than a drop bar road bike. The ride, while not as smooth as the best in their class, was still better than several other bikes.

If someone can get comfortable on one, I can easily understand why they would buy one. I would have. But I would have switched out the tires at the time of purchase.