drew62266

I've decided to up my cycling game, trading my Specialized Sirrus Comp for a road bike. I'm doing the BPMS150 Houston to Austin ride next April. I test road a Specialized Roubaix, it was nice, but wasn't thrilled with future shock as much as I thought I would be. Granted, it smoothed out the paths I was riding on, but when I really got on it, the front end felt really spongy?? Component set was the Shimano Tiagra. Today I'm testing Giants Defy Advanced 2 with 105 group set. Same price as the Roubiax. Also going to try out the Giant TCR Advanced 2 w/105s as well.

I've read the TCR is great for racing & distance, while the Defy is more distance & comfort. On paper, I'm thinking Defy. The test ride will be the proof.

Hopefully riding a new bike this weekend!

Cheers

rumrunn6

some day you're gonna want that other bike. here's a vote for keeping it & just getting another bike

puma1552

Keep the Sirrus! I'm glad I kept mine.

BirdsBikeBinocs

I love the Future Shock. I'm in awe of how well the Diverge E5 Comp rides. I was on gravel tonight and the bike felt like I was on tarmac. Pretty darn close to tarmac.!! I don't quite understand you saying when you "really got on it" it felt spongy. I've never felt that. In fact, when I get on it I'm pulling up on the handlebars. The future shock isn't even in play. I'd give it another ride.

How did you like the Giant Defy.?? Nice bike. I'm wondering how you liked the D-Fuse stem and seat post.

drew62266

I'm so tempted too.....I love that bike.

sdmc530

If you can keep them both, do it! You will not regret it. I am glad that I have a non road bike to ride on sometimes. Its just handy as heck!

Wilfred Laurier

Where I live, many people are buying cyclocross bikes and 'gravel bikes' as their 'road' bikes. A nice set of supple-casing 700x32 tires rides like a dream.

Skipjacks

This.

The Sirrus, and similar hybrids, are GREAT for the urban ride where it can be like an obstacle course to dip and duck in and around curbs, potholes, suddenly dive out of the way or cars and pedestrians, find a random traffic cone in your path and need to jump up into the grass to avoid smacking it... etc etc etc. And that's not to mention the constant starting and stopping that make a low geared triple chain ring (yup, I went there) easy to work with as I can get up to speed fast in traffic without the slower acceleration time of a high geared road bike that is built for distance.

I find my straight bar hybrid is PERFECT for those conditions. ESPECIALLY if I want to weigh it down with a lot of stuff when I commute on it.

But my road/gravel bike is horrible for those same conditions. I hate riding it around town. It takes longer to get it up to speed. I can't run at it's top speed anyway because I have to stop so much. Curbs aren't fun on it. It's not as nimble for the ducking and dodging stuff. And the smaller tires (if you have a true road bike) are not very forgiving with things like speed bumps and potholes

Now out on a long trail or open road without obstacles....the drop bar bike is long distance speed and comfort at its finest. The hybrid, by comparison, feels like riding through waste deep mud. It takes a lot of effort to keep my hybrid moving at a constant 15mph on a long trail. But my road/gravel bike will sustain 18-20mph with less effort, letting me to bursts up to 30mph.

So each bike has it's proper place and use. The Sirrus will outperform the road bike in certain places. And the road bike will leave the Sirrus in the dust in other places.

02Giant 

You have to start the N+1 addiction some time, may as well be now.

puma1552

Yeah, don't sell that Sirrus.

Brocephus

I concur with the above comments that you should keep the Cirrus. Hybrids used to be kind of trainwreck, but in recent years, they've really dialed in the concept, and I've gotten to be a fan, myself.
In fact, I just built a hybrid-type bike, and I'm really digging it. It fills the gap between my road bike and mtn bike. Plus, I kinda like ditching the road shoes and LOOK pedals, and just running tennis shoes !

puma1552

As I always say to my wife, my road bike is for cycling, my hybrid is for biking...there's a difference!

It's nice to just fool around in the neighborhood sometimes.

Wilfred Laurier

There have been some dogs, for sure, but there have also always been many many good ones. Trek was making fantastic hybrids in the late 80s/early 90s in their 'Multitrack' line - lightweight lugged cromoly frames and forks with enough tire clearance for ~40mm wide tires. Specialized had Crossroads models that were also lightweight and simple and fast. Both these companies also made higher-end versions of these bikes - carbon frames and better components - that pre-date the marketing concept of 'flat bar road bike' by at least 10 years. Both Diamondback and Bianchi made hybrids in the early 90s that were essentially 29er mountain bikes, but it didn't catch on.

However, the name for a bike that was neither a 'racing bike' nor a 'mountain bike' used to be 'bike'. 'I believe things started to get very specialized (small 's') in the late 70s/early 80s... you want to ride on the road? you need a road bike... want to ride on a trail? Mountain bike. Well, those roads and trails have had bikes rolling down them for decades, but until then there was little effort made toward designating specific bikes for each purpose. Then after mountain bikes and fat tires were popular, companies needed to make a specialized category of bikes for non-specialized categories of riding.

In general, the only 'hybrids' that I dislike are the cheap ones that came with suspension forks - a decent suspension fork costs at least $500, so what quality of fork is going to be included on a $330 bike?

Brocephus

Yeah, I was thinking specifically of a couple bikes I put together for a buddy and his girlfriend, years ago. These were heavy, over-engineered monstrosities with a tractor seat, suspension seatpost, adjustable stems, grip shift, and maybe a cheeseball front fork, I forget.
Those clunkers left me with a bad impression of the hybrid concept for years afterward.
My first mtn type bikes I ever had were some of those 90's chromoly, rigid fork Treks and Specialized, that I put some road friendly tires on, and got great service out of. In fact, I've had my eye out for a nice clean one to refurb, but they're either over-priced, or rusted out junkers (my neighbor has a red GT that fits the bill, but in it's condition, it'd have to be free for me to take a swing at fixing it up.)

drew62266

After reading the replies (Thanks a million)....I'm thinking, keep the Sirrus and throw on some gravel type tires for neighborhood cruising, minor curb hopping when necessary, etc.....

02Giant 

A convert...

mikebelliott

The formula for bike ownership is n+1, n being the number of bikes you currently own. Unless you're terribly strapped for cash, hold on to that bike!

Skipjacks

You have made the right choice, my friend.

Especially if you have kids who want to go riding with you around the neighborhood. I can't ride with my kids on my gravel bike with the higher gearing and drop bars. I'm all kinds of wobbly trying to keep uprights with the constant starts and stops an an average speed of 3mph. But the straight bar hybrid in low gear......I can do that all day.

Fendertele

Im in the market for a road bike also and planning to keep my hybrid.

drcollie

I traded in my Specialized Sirrus Expert for a 2020 Roubaix Pro. I don't miss the Sirrus one bit - the Roubaix is so superior in every respect. If you haven't ridden the 2020 model, it has a new generation Future shock, and I love it.