avidone1

specialized sirrus carbon frame

I'm thinking of moving up from my comfort hybrid to a lighter, faster ride.
I require a pretty good level of shock absorption so of course I'm considering a carbon frame.
A drop bar road bike seems to aggressive a posture for me, so the flat bar specialized sirrus seems a good candidate.
I went to the lbs who sells specialized but he only had an aluminum framed sirrus. I rode it and was jolted so badly that my
neck is stiff after only a few minutes on paved, if someone uneven terrain.
The carbon framed, forked bike will absorb some of the shock, and the zertz inserts are supposed to increase the compliance even further.
But I can't help but wonder if it will be enough.
Do any of you have experience with the carbon framed sirrus?
None of the lbs in my area stock the carbon frames.

Monstermash

I'm not sure what your budget is but maybe consider a carbon cross frame so it will accommodate larger tires. The larger tires with the carbon frame will give you a little more shock absorption.

That at being said I have a 2014 Sirrus carbon Expert disc with 28mm tires and an S Works CG-R seat post on it and I find it absorbs the imperfections of the road just fine.

There are also wheels that will help absorb some of the shock as well. I had a set of Spinergy Xclone wheels that made a huge difference.

If if you check some of my past posts you'll find a few threads on my Sirrus as well as one on my Carbon Crux (with flatbar) as well. I had the Spinergy wheels on the Crux and it was very smooth.

Calder Benson

Avidone is your current hybrid an alum frame, and was the Sirrus a rougher ride than it?

Calsouth

Just purchased the Sirrus Carbon Comp and it's worth every penny!!! Buy it if its in your budget & trust me you will not regret it!!!

Robin Hood

If your budget's just a grand then this might suit:
https://www.thebikefactory.co.uk/pro...roductid=71587
This model is offered with the rack and mudguards that I'd be adding anyway, but I can't find where to click for the spec!

Calsouth

This particular bike doesn't come with the Zertz that the newer specialized bikes come with.

BeatStumpjumper

I had the opposite problem, I could find the carbon frames but not the aluminum. I'm not sure that had I found an aluminum that I'd have noticed much of a difference and I'd have saved $600. But, that said, I really like the carbon ride and don't regret the purchase.

avidone1

My cannondale is way more compliant than the Sirrus was. But of course as a comfort hybrid it comes with suspension forks and a suspension seatpost.
The kid at the store did tell me that he "maxed out" the tire pressure because it was going back on the rack.
No, my budget is not limited to a thousand. I am willing to go significantly higher for the right combination of quality components, comfort, and speed.

ColonelSanders

I think the current carbon Sirrus' are designed to be ultra stiff, rather than to soak up the bumps.

You should try and test ride a Jamis Coda Elite.

The ride of that bike was so good on terrible roads, that one guy from these forums who bought one, then sold his 2015 carbon Sirrus, as he felt it had too harsh a ride.

avidone1

Thanks for the feedback...I have grown more and more interested in Jamis bikes recently...they seem to pack alot of bang for the buck

badger1

A few comments.

Frame or ride 'comfort' is determined primarily by proper design, geometry, fit, and tires (width; construction; pressure), not frame material. Decent-riding frames can be and are being built with carbon, aluminum, steel, titanium. To some extent, forks are the one exception: commonly-used straight-blade aluminum forks can be 'harsh' (unforgiving) relative to good steel or carbon forks. It may be the case that good carbon frames filter higher-frequency 'road noise/buzz' more effectively than other materials, but no diamond-framed bicycle is going to prevent lower-frequency bumps/jolts from getting through, absent some form of active suspension. The key there is proper fit, along with 'riding light' and reasonable tire pressure.

In the case of the aluminum Sirrus the OP tried, a main clue is in the comment that the LBS 'maxed' the tire pressure -- a common issue. Any frame can be harsh-riding if the tire pressure is too high for the load being carried.

Finally, the comparison ColonelSanders refers to (carbon Sirrus vs. Jamis Coda) needs context: the person in question had a 2013 or '14 carbon Sirrus, based off a Roubaix frame, not a 2015 which is an all-new design. That person also had a preference at the time for narrow/high-pressure road tires, mistakenly believing that these were somehow 'faster'; in relation to that set-up, of course the Jamis was/is going to 'feel' more compliant with lower-pressure tires.