Looking at specialized sirrus limited 2012...any good?

[raggydoll]

Hi everyone,

First post. Been reading the forum for ages and finally decided to register!
Looking at getting my first proper bike. Have been looking at road bikes, cross bikes and also hybrids.
I know they all do different things. I have a bad back so worried about drops being too much of a stretch and hurting my back so leaning towards a hybrid for a more upright ride. Also kinda would prefer something I could go off roads and onto tracks with. More freedom that way.

Looking at specialized sirrus ltd 2012

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/sirrus-limited-2012-hybrid-bike-ec030745#features

Main thing I'm worried about is that it's not a triple ring at front and I don't want to struggle with the hills...I do live in a hilly area. Don't really want to start another compact vs triple discussion and I don't know too much about it but from what I've read, triple rings at front (with the old granny gear) is much easier for hills.

The sirrus ltd only has 2 rings at front....long story short, how would this compare to a triple and is it a good bike for the money?
I don't want to spend £1,500 on a bike to struggle with hills!

Is it worth the extra money compared to the srrus, sirrus sport etc?

Cheers!

 

[RoadBikeRecommendation]

With the 11-32t rear cassette and compact 50-34t crankset you should have plenty of gear ratios for even the steepest hills.

£1500 is a serious amount of money. Have you test ridden any of the Sirrus range? Definitely recommend giving them a go first. You may find the differences are not worth the extra money. Also don't rule out a pure road bike if it's just your back you are worried about. You can find some drop bar bikes specially designed with relaxed (more upright) riding positions and for £1500 it'd be good quality.

Thanks

 

[Norm]

£1500 is a significant amount, although it is a very decent bike.

My son has a basic Sirrus & it's a fantastic bike. It is my choice of commuter transport whenever I can grab it from him.

 

[MacB]

the option you're looking at is very much aimed at road use and if you're looking for something more allround then I think there are better choices. That Sirrus comes with caliper rim brakes and 23mm tyres. With the budget you're looking at you have plenty of choice at that mark and a bit above and below.

After a fair bit of deliberation, and some dodgy shop advice, I went with a sporty hybrid as my first serious bike purchase. This was with commuting and multi surface use in mind and I'd been assured it was a good choice. It wasn't, a lengthy commute with luggage on mixed surfaces was really pushing it to the limits. Fortunately it worked very well as a fast weekend bike and I bought a very different beast for commuting.

If you're not going for drop bars then I'd be more inclined to something with bigger tyre clearances and disc brakes.

 

[Doseone]

When I bought my flat bar bike last year the Sirrus Limited was my bike of choice, but in the end I settled for a Trek 7.7fx, mainly 'cos I was offered a better deal. Anyway, I had exactly the same dilemma - I live in a hilly area and was changing from my old bike with a triple to a double and didn't want to struggle. So, as some of the p!$$ taking so and so's on here will confirm I asked them to put a 36 "get out of jail" cog on the rear cassette. It meant that they had to change the rear mech as well and put a longer mountain bike one on but they didn't charge me for it. It's nice to have and comforting to know it's there, but tbh I rarely use the 36 now and can only think of one hill recently where I've had to grab for it in a hurry!!

 

[jackthelad]

this bike is like my wife vita comp 2010 with the carbon stays.Its a good bike but the stays at the back limit you to struggle with mudguards if you wanted to put them on later,The front rim is 24 spokes which keeps the bike light but a more robust 32 or 36 spoke wheel is better if you are above average weight and taking it off road. even rough paths.Your tyre size will be limited to 23c or 25c due to rims and clearances between the rear seat stays.This is a very good flat bar road bike but not a do it all bike,the lower spec sirrus sport or elite are better suited for all terrains they can take bigger tyres and mudguards and even cross tyres if you want to mtb.I just bought the wife a very good allrounder the ridgeback supernova reduced now to
£550

http://www.realcycles.com/m49b152s307p2689/2011_RIDGEBACK_SuperNova_2011/RS_GB/6145

deore across the board low gearing that will go up any hill, also including deore 36 spoke wheels which will stay true and take a bit of hammerring, a go anywhere bike and light at 23lbs and at a third of the price you want to pay.you might be better splitting your cash into 2 bikes and get a bike for each job

dont know if this has given you food for thought

 

[HLaB]

With the 11-32t rear cassette and compact 50-34t crankset you should have plenty of gear ratios for even the steepest hills.

£1500 is a serious amount of money. Have you test ridden any of the Sirrus range? Definitely recommend giving them a go first. You may find the differences are not worth the extra money. Also don't rule out a pure road bike if it's just your back you are worried about. You can find some drop bar bikes specially designed with relaxed (more upright) riding positions and for £1500 it'd be good quality.

Thanks

I'd agree with that 100% Furthermore, I find the roadbike more comfortable on the back and all round, being able to change hand positions and therefore my body position on the bike. Also contrary to a lot of peoples misconceptions most owners of dropbars ride on their hoods in an upright position most of the time rather than the drops; another good position, when the situation allows is sitting up and lightly holding the top/flats of the bar.

 

[MrJamie]

Id have a look at the £1200 Specialized Tricross too. From memory (so might not be totally accurate), its slightly more relaxed geometry than a pure road bike, this years has brake levers on the bars so you dont need to spend as much time on the drops. Gearwise i think its a triple with a big range cassette on there, so good allround. I think its also been set up with fittings so you can add racks and full guards. Disc brakes are pretty nice too. http://www.evanscycles.com/products/specialized/tricross-elite-disc-2012-road-bike-ec030755

Ive been looking at one myself as I have some lower back problems that put me off drops and it seems a great compromise of being nearly a roadbike, while retaining loads of offroad and touring options, with big range of gears for both hills and speed.

 

[Doseone]

I'd agree with that 100% Furthermore, I find the roadbike more comfortable on the back and all round, being able to change hand positions and therefore my body position on the bike. Also contrary to a lot of peoples misconceptions most owners of dropbars ride on their hoods in an upright position most of the time rather than the drops; another good position, when the situation allows is sitting up and lightly holding the top/flats of the bar.

Just goes to show how everyone is different. I switched to a flat bar because of a bad back and have found it much easier on my back, even riding the hoods on my dropbar road bike I was in a more stretched out position - but maybe that was down to the bike I had. I know road bikes like the Spesh Roubaix have more comfort orientated riding positions these days.

 

[raggydoll]

Thanks for all your replies, lots of good info!
I had read that the specialized roubaix had a more relaxed riding position so could check that out too.
I might be playing it safe with a hybrid but just worry that the drops would be too much of a strain on my back. (had problems with it for over 10 years).

Spending £1,500 is a lot of money and as RoadBikeRecommendation said, I may try some of the other Sirrus range and not notice much difference.
This is a really good point and to be honest I don't know enough about bike components to know the difference.
So I may not be able to tell the difference bwtween a £370 bike and a £1,500 bike.
On the other hand, i don't want to get something cheaper, then get really into cycling and want to start upgrading components or be left to sell the bike in order to upgrade.

I need to learn the different types of gears, gear shifters etc to determine what I would prefer.

Thanks again for the help!

 

[MacB]

The main thing about drops is the ability to change your hand positions and also the ability to get down lower into the wind. Or at least these are the points most generally cited in support yet reality shows that most ride on the hoods and some never use the drops at all.

The type of bars and what feeds off them is a really important decision and switching between drops and flats is difficult, expensive and may not work very well. Often a frame designed for drop bars will have a shorter top tube than one for flat bars. Drop bars and flat bars have different diameters so you can't swap controls from one to another.

It is important to test ride a few and get a feel for the different setups and bar styles. Unfortunately this only gives a partial picture as your preferences may alter as you become keener, fitter and more profficient. For example drop bars may feel to low/long right now but with improved fitness and flexibility could be the ride you've always dreamed of. But I wouldn't ever recomend trying to 'grow' into a bike just accept that whatever you buy now may, or may not, meet your future requirements.

 

[RoadBikeRecommendation]

Some really good comments on here. My final two penneth worth. I went from a mountain bike to a flat bar. I loved it but as my fitness and speed on the road increased I quickly found the flat bar wasn't enough for me so upgraded within 6 months to my first drop bar and have never looked back. One other option if your budget is £1500 is to get a decent hybrid for around £500 giving you the option of some off road, leaving you £1000 to get a full road bike. But then again I'm just addicted to buying bikes.

 

[raggydoll]

Cheers Mac!
I do have a lot of thinking to do. I've looked at roads, cyclocross and also hybrid.
One day I'll settle on what best suits me!
What do you ride?

 

[raggydoll]

Some really good comments on here. My final two penneth worth. I went from a mountain bike to a flat bar. I loved it but as my fitness and speed on the road increased I quickly found the flat bar wasn't enough for me so upgraded within 6 months to my first drop bar and have never looked back. One other option if your budget is £1500 is to get a decent hybrid for around £500 giving you the option of some off road, leaving you £1000 to get a full road bike. But then again I'm just addicted to buying bikes.

Could be an option!
My budget isn't set in stone. I could spend more for the right bike. On the other hand, I could get something half that price and be obliviously happy cos I don't know any better!

I only started getting into cycling last year and currently just use my old 18 speed mountain bike where only 6 of the gears work!
I remember looking at a cycle website and they were selling wheels for about £400 each.

I couldn't believe it at first but then I started to realise that a bike is simply made up of components and at the end of the day, you get what you pay for!

So before last year, I wouldn't even contemplate spending so much money on a bike but now I realise that as I said, you get wat you pay for!

 

[jowwy]

Some really good comments on here. My final two penneth worth. I went from a mountain bike to a flat bar. I loved it but as my fitness and speed on the road increased I quickly found the flat bar wasn't enough for me so upgraded within 6 months to my first drop bar and have never looked back. One other option if your budget is £1500 is to get a decent hybrid for around £500 giving you the option of some off road, leaving you £1000 to get a full road bike. But then again I'm just addicted to buying bikes.

this is a very good option - why not spend £500/£600 on a ridgeback flat bar, giant rapid 3/4 flat bar etc and then spend £900/£1000 on a canyon 6.0 with full 105 groupset in a triple with a more relaxed geometry. then you will have two superb bikes, giving you lots of options