Hi. I've been without a bike for ten years now, and currently I'm looking at some entry level street bikes to start myself back into riding. My plan is to get a pavement type bike this year and then probably more of a trail / mountain bike next summer. For now I'm just wanting about a $600 bike that's good for say up to a 15 mile route through town, but for the most part I'll mostly only be doing shorter 5 mile routes, mostly for exercise.

After visiting all the local shops I've settled (for now) on the Specialized Cirrus Sport here...
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...name=Multi+Use

Was considering the straight plain Cirrus model but I decided to upgrade to the Cirrus Sport because of the upgraded shifter. Although my budget's not all that much here, I am willing to spend more to get the best shift action I can (afford).

Here's the bikes I've been shown so far...

Raleigh Misceo
Giant Escape
Specialized Cirrus Sport
and nothing at the Trek store (due to low inventory apparently)

I've been told the Raleigh bikes aren't up the same quality as Giant or Specialized so unless someone here speaks up about Raleigh I'm probably just going to leave that one out.

I liked the Giant Escape and Specialized Cirrus Sport about the same. Only big difference to me was the SRAM shifter on the Giant vs. the Specialized's Shimano Acera Rapidfire (9 speed) shift levers. The SRAM seemed to tire my thumbs out a little while the Shimano levers just seemed intuitive and easy to use. Dunno, maybe this is a beginner's thing where the Shimano looks good at first but then after I gain experience possibly the SRAM would begin to look better. Guess I'll just go with my gut here.

Honestly if I could have the Shimano shifter levers on the Giant Escape that's probably what I'd do. But as far as I know the bike isn't offered that way. Is it possible to make a deal with the bike shop to put the Shimano levers on the Giant?

Well, that's where I am right now. If you guys have any comments on what I'm looking at or maybe suggesting other bikes that I don't know about yet please feel free to speak up. Especially if anyone knows much about the TREK line (which again I haven't seen anything from) please let me know what models I should maybe have a look at.

Thanks!

https://www.performancebike.com/bikes/Product_10052_10551_1118664_-1___400316

I also like the Cannondale Quick series too and the Jamis Coda.

Same bike shop or different bike shops?

My advice is always to "shop for a bike shop" first. If you ever have a warranty issue for example, who do you want to have working for you? When you find one with people who ask the "right" questions and want to discuss where and how you plan to ride, that's it. Buy a brand that they carry and you'll never go wrong.

Thanks for the advice! So far all the shops I've been to have been really helpful so it seems I have a wide range of brands locally well represented.

Checked out the Cannondales and it looks like I'm settling on the Quick 4. So now my newest question is...this Quick 4 has Shimano M310 Rapidfire Plus 8-speed shifters while other bikes I'm looking at have the Shimano Alivio Rapidfire Plus 9-speed shifters. Is there that much difference between the 8-speed M310s and the 9-speed Alivio shifters? Ease of shift is one thing I'm willing to spend a little more money on, but if you guys feel the upgrade isn't worth it then I won't worry about it. If I got the Cannondale Quick 4 I would have to pay extra to upgrade to the 9-speed Shimano Alivios.

I wouldnt get too hung up on 8 or 9 gears. These bikes seem to have a nice range for either one. I would go with best components for your price range and which one you feel must comfortable riding.

Welcome To Bike Forums, Bradley!

It shouldn't be that much of a stretch for you to upgrade your Quick 4 to a Quick 3....


Quite honestly, for what you're interests entail, I'd say that ChowChow's Fuji at Performancebike.com is the best value mentioned, thus far. Of course, I'll always be kinda partial to the Quick series, too.They're all great bikes!

Good Luck!