Specialized Sirrus Comp: A journal thread
 

I spent a good deal of time reading on here before buying my bike, and I thought I'd do a writeup to give back to the community. I especially wanted to help new riders like myself, in case they were interested in the same bike.

Once I rode this bike, I knew it was the one. The Giant Escape 0 and Cannondale Quick 3 were very strong runners up, but the Sirrus Comp was closer to where I wanted to be.

One thing I don't understand is why most bike manufacturers won't post weights online. This kind of drives me nuts. Stock from the factory with nothing more than the water bottle holder, my bike weighed in at 23.1 pounds. It's size large. For reference, my wife's XS size Giant Escape 2 is 4.5 pounds heavier. My 6 year old daughter's 20" Schwinn cruiser from Target is a full 7 pounds heavier.

I mentioned in another thread that the only thing I really didn't like about this bike was the saddle. I haven't ridden in years, but with only 3 miles on the first day, my sit bones were in protest. Seat adjustments didn't help after the first day, so I bought padded shorts. They helped a little, but after 5.5 miles on the first day, I was still in a lot of pain, especially later that evening. I rode 7 miles today, and pulled the saddle.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/IMG_3438.jpg

I was in search of something more comfortable, and read some reviews on here about the Serfas lycra dual density saddle. I was a little disappointed when I got to REI, because it looked gigantic compared to the stocker. I realize comfort trumps aesthetics, and that extra pound and a big funny saddle would probably allow me to ride longer. I explained my plight to one of the REI guys, and told him I'd like to work my way up to 15 miles within the next month or so (I'm really out of shape). He said that the dual density might not be the best choice if my rides get much longer than that, and recommended the Respiro athletic, which is also a gel seat, but maybe a better balance.

My bike was set up and I was fitted to it, but I had a rear brake squeal that would wake up the dead from higher speed stops. My neighbor heard it, and after he told me he worked at a bike shop in CO, he told me how to angle the pads to take it away. I went home, and after a few moments with an allen wrench, the squeal was completely gone!

I rode a few miles this afternoon with the new saddle, but am unsure if it is really any better.

I'll report back soon, as I intend to update this thread about the bike. I got a little bit of hand numbness after the longer rides, so gloves may be in order next.

Thanks for reading my thread, here's some pics of the bike:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/IMG_3443.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/IMG_3441.jpg

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/IMG_3442.jpg

Pretty sweet bike. I used to live in the 'Ville myself for a little while. Nice neighborhood.

More pics of the LanEvo :p :D Do car folks still hang out around Cool Springs on Saturday evenings?

Man, I wish we still did, but that's long gone, sadly! I live in Spring Hill, so Cool Springs would be so convenient.
I like your cool MASK avatar! Do you have a 'Teg as your SN suggests?

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/IMG_2637.jpg

More car pics here: http://forums.evolutionm.net/all-mit...evo-x-gsr.html
I'm an Admin over at Evolutionm.net, which is a sister Internet Brands site to BikeForums.

Had another ride on the Respiro, and felt frustrated. I went to my LBS over lunch, and they said it's time to measure me and see what's going on. Turns out I have narrow sitbones. They gave me this saddle to try, but might need to order a small.

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...gisa/image.jpg

I can't wait to get more comfortable. Returning the Respiro tomorrow.

Yeah I have a GSR that I bought in 2001 about 2 weeks after moving to nashville. 11 years and 225K miles later it's still going strong.

I used to hang out with Trey Commander, Andrew Cowden, Brian Hibbs and some of those guys. I used to be a mod on an IB site Honda-Tech, but not lately as I'm rarely on there anymore.

Wut? I think I might know who you are! Trey and I were close friends back in the day.
I'm Seth, used to have a white 2000 Prelude back then.

ahhh dude yeah, I remember that car. Yeah I'm still driving the same ol' same ol' GSR I had back then :p 315K on the original engine and trans

From the 2004 Nashville Honda-Tech meet out there at Thousand Oaks, what eventually became the Import Alliance meet. This was when the paint actually looked good haha:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v3...t/DSCN1558.jpg

Anyways, back to your bike :D

*edit* oh yeah I have a Specialized saddle similar to your last pic, that works pretty well for me. I replaced it with a fat@$$ Bell cushy saddle last year, but recently went back to this one and like it better now.

I have a sirrus sport, and a 2013 Sirrus pro on the way.

About the saddle, its actually comfortable, but I ran into similar issues. First, your rear end is not used to it. I had the same pains. It took 2 weeks to get used to, then I found out, I was sitting on it wrong. Very wrong, I had to push my butt back on the saddle, after that, it was very comfy.

I do 30 miles on the weekends, and 10-14 miles on the weekdays without any discomfort now. So I suggest, give it a week or two, and rough it out, and change your sitting position. I was in a similar situation.

Oh and about the weights: one of my buddies just picked up a Cervelo P5 last week. I was looking and looking, trying to find out the weight of the bike (cost is :eek::eek::eek: ), and then someone posted on their forum that they received an email from Cervelo saying they don't post bike weights because most manufacturers that do, actually lie about their weights. So they would either have to 1) lie also to make them sound competitive on the weight front, as people put more stock in that than aerodynamics, or 2) be truthful about the weight and appear heavier than others who lie. They didn't want to do either so just don't publish it. In the P5's case, they say it weighs a bit more than some due to all the aerodynamic stuff, but in reality the aerodynamics plays a bigger role in overall speed than the weight of the bike does.

Patrick, I totally remember you and the car! I was going to ask if it was kind of teal. Man, it's been years, we're getting old. :D Glad to see you are still around. Thanks for the info, and the note on weights.

I did notice that if I try to slide back, it helped out some. I am kind of in a win/win with the saddle situation. My targa arrived with a slight rip, so Specialized is going to warranty it, meaning the LBS will give me $60 credit toward any saddle in there I want. They didn't even charge me for this Avatar yet, just told me to try it and come back and pay if I like it, or swap for one of the Bontrager saddles to try if I don't. Regardless, the Targa is dead to me since it was 155mm anyway. Thanks so much for the advice on sitting position, I appreciate it a lot!

Man, that's a great looking bike! A little off topic, what stand is that? I need something like that...

Thanks man! It's a Feedback Sports RAKK:
http://feedbacksports.com/shop/RAKK-...ack-P17C4.aspx

Thank you! It looks like the REI just up the road from me has them in stock.

Man I so wish we had an REI in the Memphis area. Oh well we're about to have a Bass Pro in the Pyramid that will basically be like a theme park, wonder if they will carry any bike stuff.

Unless you use your bike to hunt or fish, I would think that you will be out of luck with Bass Pro carrying bike stuff.

well they carry just general outdoor sports stuff, too.

Seat fitment is everything. Three hours on that avatar, and I'm doing great.

Shortest journal thread ever.

Thanks to a LBS that is awesome and willing to work with me, they let me trade my Sirrus in on this at no financial loss:

http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/b...a/IMG_3447.jpg

After a couple hours in the saddle on the Sirrus, I got hand numbness that I couldn't really overcome. A guy made a post in my intro thread that rang true: There is a lack of hand positions in a flat bar bike for long riding. I probably could have modified it and made due (really loved that bike), but after fifteen minutes in the saddle, I came to realize that a road bike just makes more sense for me.

Though I still will ride with my wife and kids, most of what I will do will be for fitness/exercise and riding solo, until I find some friends to go out with. I think down the road I would like to get a lower price hybrid with 700x32 tires that will allow some dirt use. But it's not in the budget ATM. Thanks everyone for all the help along the way. I'll be around!

I went with SRAM instead of Shimano on the 2.1. Love the double tap!

sellout! j/k Seth looks like a sweet Trek. :D

If I can swing it I may be in Nashville on 15 September for the Naked Foot 5K race. http://www.thenakedfoot5k.com/#/nashville/ Maybe I could bring my bike. :thumb:

Hit me up, Patrick. I don't have enough posts to PM yet, but I will long before then and I'll send you my cell. Def be fun to ride together!

Yeah we'll just have to see how funding goes, as I'm vacationing in Destin next month.

I am new to biking and would like to to find out if I can use the Sirrus Comp Disk with the tyre size 38 to go "light" off road? will it damage
the bike frame if I ride on a off road trail with a lot of rocks or pothole ? I do not like the Crosstrail model since it is a lot heavier than the Cirrus. Thanks,
Tin Nguyen