An LBS has a '04 Sirrus on sale for $800 (retail $950). There's a link to the bike below. It has no suspension with the exception of the Zert insert type of thing. I sometime ride on brick streets so that's a minor quibble. The brakes aren't anything to write home about, but probably sufficient. I took it for a ride....it's been a while since riding such a light bike. To tell you the truth, every bike that I've ever ridden in the last decade (over $350) has felt like a great bike to me!

The primary downside of this bike is: can't be converted for use as a ATB and the cheap looking brakes.

Frankly, I don't do any mountain biking, but I do like to ride the bike with a dog and we occasionally cross run along dirt areas and grassy fields. I may have to just get a second bike for that.

Does anyone have any opinions on this bike?
Here's the link:
https://www.specialized.com/SBCBkMode...0y2jggz.j27011

I have the basic 05 Sirrus. I use it for daily commute and all other transportation. So far so good, sometimes I will ride a short distance on a dirt trail and it isnt to bad. I dont know what you mean by cheap looking brakes. My brakes stop me just fine.

I think he means the cheaper shimano disc brakes on the sirrus disc vs. avid's.

The really "cheap looking" part of the brakes is the levers....they look like the cheapest possible material and they wobble quite a bit. The actual brakes don't have a brand name that I can see. I would think that a bike retailing for $950 wouldn't have that situation.

On the other hand, Armadillo tires are rather expensive and have an excellent reputation for resisting puncture.

I'm going to check a few other bike shops, but this might be the right bike. Simple, light, and with whatever braze-on's I might need for fenders or rack.

I'm hoping to hear from those who can either check the specs and price of this bike and tell me if it looks like a good bet....or from those who actually have such a bike.

Thanks for the responses so far
Kelton

The question to ask yourself is if you want a flat bar bike. I have a similar Specialized, and find it quite uncomfortable for longer rides, rather than my road bars. To grip the bars, my wrists are not angled comfortably, like when riding the hoods of a roadbike.

It is just something to consider. I know they try to market the Sirrus to be comfortable, but like heavily padded seats, so issues of comfort are counter-intuitive.

$800 for that...? At any rate there wouldn't be any problem running across grassy fields etc with that. At least I would hope not. You're not going to need a seperate bike just to do that, unless you decide to get a road bike or a unicycle.

The Specialized Grips tend to be good. You don't need suspension. I use a Sirrus, but it is older model and has Deore shifters which are very nice. It also has v brakes. The Wheels on Specialized tend to be crap, although I see they have now moved to DT spokes. They are a very comfortable bike, I have done some long distances with mine and added some bar ends which really I have no used that much.
IF you use the bike heavily then you will end up replacing wheels etc. I do not know anything about the shifters, you might make some more enquiries.

I have found Specialized as a company superb to deal with, first rate. This is their dealer in Ireland but also their customer service in the UK, I recently returned some locks to them. I could not say enough about the way in which their support seems to work. I have not used them mich, locks and wheels when I bought mine, but they are top rate when it comes to sorting out any issues you may have.

I have a 2002 Specialized Sirrus, the cheaper $500 version. I'm happy with it. It was first my recreational weekend bike. Now that I have a road bike, it has become my main commuter bike. It came with seat post suspension. However, I replaced that with a regular seatpost and I took the grips off and put bar ends on it and some handlebar tape. The second choice of hand positions has worked better for me than the grips. I've also replaced the original 700x28 tires with 700x25c Armadillos. I don't ride much off road, but I do fine on some of the rougher roads in this area and on the occasional few hundred feet or so across bricks, dirt, gravel or grass as long as I'm not trying to go through it too fast.

I also have the $500 model that I got on sale for $435. I added some Planet Bike Hard Core fenders for the winter and a WSD Brooks saddle. So far the bike has been good on pavement as well as grass, snow, slush, ice, sandy bikeway and most other surfaces you might come across in the city.

Too bad it's not too great on really old uneven cobblestones that you find in more industrial waterfront areas.

Stacy

I have ten bikes, and if I were forced to have only one, it would be the Sirrus. It is my favorite bike, but I must admit I do not tour or do anything other than commute and daily errands on pavement with it. I can not attest for the higher end models like the one you are looking at because mine is the base model, which I improved with fenders, lights, rack, everything a good commuter needs. However, I could not be more pleased with the performance I've gotten from my Sirrus over the last three years.

My wife has the 04 Sport disc and it is a very nice bike. That price isn't bad but I would think they could do a little better on an 04. At our Specialized dealer that model is going for $760, so just a little lower. Maybe at $800 they could be talked into throwing in some accessories or lowering the price just a bit more.