ArneDarvin

Way2Slow,
I ride mainly at dawn or just after so I didn't need the brightest of lights, just 500 lumen lights to make me more visible, which I have. But thanks for the suggestion!

Way2Slow

Another reason I got the NiteRider light is I could easily mount to the quad lock. The Flux is nice, but would have been too much clutter with the mounts and I think cables are in the path of the lights on my bike.

Loving the X5, been riding pretty consistently 5-6 days a week. Somewhat chilly these past couple of weeks as the temps dropped to low 40s, definitely wake you up in the morning! I took the family out to lunch in Tiburon on Saturday, perfect weather!

Mojo31

Got the Flux for her Roubaix, because in her bike size, the cables made a lot of other lights cumbersome. She did not want on on the top of the bar, and the Stix mount would result in the light being blocked by the cables. Had to find one that mounted under the bars and cables. Not many choices.

That's a great photo. Wish we had that kind of view around here.

We used to travel 3 to 4 weeks a year, but as you know that's been curtailed this year. Pretty depressed that we haven't been able to get out to places that are much prettier than DFW.

timgriffin2

I purchased a 2020 Sirrus 3.0 in late July to replace my 2016 Crosstrail Sport. It took a few trips back to the shop to get it right with shifting problems and a really loose bottom bracket. After the "free" tuneup at the 250 mile mark everything now seems to be 100%. I was struggling with slipping forward on the saddle and moving the saddle back about an inch corrected that problem. I found that my average speed is the same as it was on the Crosstrail which surprised me a bit. The Sirrus is about 8-9 pounds lighter than the Crosstrail. I now have 800 miles on the Sirrus and am missing the Crosstrail less every ride. So far the biggest difference in the two bikes is that I struggled on the Crosstrail after about 20 miles and had a maximum ride of 25 miles, but the Sirrus I easily take 30-35 mile rides now. I ride almost exclusively paved bike paths now and that factored into my decision to move to the Sirrus. The Sirrus definitely feels more nimble and maneuverable.
The pedals have got to go - the stock ones feel like I'm pedaling on 2x4 blocks. I'm also considering bar ends for more hand positions. Other than that I'm loving the Sirrus more and more with each ride...

ArneDarvin

As a new Sirrus X owner myself, I welcome you to the club!

If you do wind up changing out your pedals, please let us know what you landed on. I'm considering this as well.

Also, did you keep the stock saddle, or, is the one in the picture a replacement?

Ride on!

GrizzledBastard

The pedals supplied on virtually any new bike are total crap...and it's intentional. Not that long ago, pedals never came with better bikes, especially high end bikes. Now, they just put the cheapest they can buy in bulk (usually Wellgo) so the bike can be pedaled when just built out of the box. On mine, you could feel how out of round the pedal axle was when they rotated under my feet. I binned those things within 15 minutes of having my bike home.

If your riding distances and with fitness in mind, go clipless. Personally, I'm running Shimano XT PD 8100 SPD pedals which are mountain bike clipless with no frame. If you go clipless, for one, you'll put more power to the pedals and your pedal stroke is much more efficient. Your knees and leg muscles will thank you. You'll get more out of your stroke. Mountain bike style SPD's so you can wear shoes you can actually walk around in when off the bike as compared to the ridiculous roady elf shoes that have no heal and are as slippery as glass.

Shimano makes clipless pedals with stable frame work so you run a clipless shoe on one side and a non-clipless regular shoe on the opposite side. The XT touring pedal is a great example.

If you go with flats, there's a myriad out there of all price ranges. Shimano does make few sets that are decent and rebuildable as most all their's are. There are too many flats to list but I can't say what's better between them other than your shins will love you when drive those grip pins into them. Aside from a couple very short intervals for some downhill MTB riding, I haven't used a non-clipless pedal in 10 years.

timgriffin2

I replaced the saddle with a Selle Respiro - which I moved over from the Crosstrail because it it's very comfortable on rides longer than 15-20 miles!

Mojo31

After I got my Sirrus, I immediately wanted to get better pedals. I told her it felt like I was always pushing against the pedal bearing. My wife has the same bike, and thought I was nuts. But, if I was getting new pedals she was going to get some too, by golly. She didn't want to be left behind.

I ended up with the RaceFace Aeffect pedals and she got the RaceFace Rides (no pins to scar those legs!). Within the first 5 minutes of riding with them I heard the words, "Whoa, you were right!"

As for the flats versus clipless, I have Shimano SPD-SL clipless on my road bike. I wear Pearl Izumi shoes with a fairly stiff sole when riding the Sirrus with flat pedals. Quite frankly, I can't tell much difference in efficiency. I know that is a matter of debate these days.

One thing that really made a difference in my Sirrus was changing out the stock tires for some that were more efficient. I changed to Continental GP 4-Seasons, and since I'm always on a paved surface dropped down to 28mm tires. It made a world of difference in handling. Of course, after learning that, my wife had to change hers as well. She confirmed that I was once again right.

I only mention the wife's response on these items, because I don't often get to hear those words.

BiciMan

FWIW, the original metal pedals on my 2013 Sirrus Pro still look and ride great, as do the original 28mm tires. I have changed only the saddle, a couple of times, to the Serfas Performance RX in 2014, and then to the Serfas RX-RR Road/MTB Race Ready in 2018. I like them both. The current $80 Amazon price on the latter is what I paid then -not that it's a good price, nor that it has not been lower. My 2013 Pro also came with bar ends -which I rarely use, though I do like the look ...

GrizzledBastard

Thread wake-up.

I spent a pretty good chunk of time doing a thorough maintenance and clean-up on the bike after my 20 mile road ride yesterday. Considering today's ride, that wasn't a wise decision!

Today was the Sirrus' first true single track excursion. About 8 miles and 1100' of climb but lots of fun downhill, too. Off in the distance, Pismo Beach/Oceano Dunes. The ride on our relatively new Pismo Preserve where an organization I'm a board member of built 11 miles of single track trails. This is one of the biggest reasons I bought the Sirrus to grind the 8 mile road to, 8-11 mile single track ride, and 8 mile ride back home rather than hauling my full suspension MTB.

Sirrus X performed awesomely. Future Shock is epic, as is the rest of the bike. Tires are tubeless and I ran 37psi front and 44psi rear.

Discovery and Peakaboo intersection.

Pismo Beach all the way down the coast to Point Sal and Vandenberg AFB. Rocket and Minuteman launch facilities are just on the backside of that far off hill.

Top of Panhandle trail. There's a blue bike somewhere under all that powder!

hokiefyd 

Nice pictures! Are those cowbells one attaches to their bike for the trail ride?

GrizzledBastard

Yep. Bells4Bikes. Those are supplied by the trail organization I'm part of. We have sponsor bike shops and various local companies/stakeholders that we split the cost with and we keep these supplied on ALL of our local trail networks...which are numerous. It greatly helps with the rider/hiker/equestrian interactions.

moehoward

That Tiburon photo is very nice!

travbikeman

Just out of curiosity, what's the largest tire the Sirrus X can use?

GrizzledBastard

I saw mentioned somewhere, a 42c will squeeze into place.

badger1

Yes; there's an example in this thread somewhere. "Squeeze" is the right word, as I recall from the posted pic!

Jagamov

Speaking of tires, just fit some new ones this weekend. Much nicer than the Pathfinder Pros since I pretty much only ride on the road. 700X32.

GrizzledBastard

I ran Conti Gatorskins on my Roubaix for a long, long time. They were bulletproof on road. Wouldn't do me much good on the Sirrus, now but if I was on road exclusively, I'd have 'em!

badger1

I ride pretty much on paved surfaces now -- it's an old man thing! -- and have had very good luck with Specialized's Roubaix Pros in 32mm. Been using them for at least five years. Pic is from before the FS was replaced.

Laseranimal

It was a 42x622 and it measures out to 40 on a 26mm/22mm OD/ID rim and it's a SQUEEZE on a Sirrus Sport. As in you can't get the rear tire past the dropouts if its inflated, interestingly I ran into zero problems with the front fork.

badger1

Heh! I think I remember that one too, though I was thinking of a fellow with a carbon Sirrus X who managed to 'fit' a 42. It's somewhere in this thread! The bike is designed for up to 38s, which fit nicely, but looking at the clearance on mine I really couldn't see trying to wedge in a 42.

Your point about f/r clearance is a good one, though. My much-loved 2010 Sirrus Comp (recently stolen) was like that: looked like up to a 38 would easily fit the front, but absolutely no way in the rear. 32s no issue; but anything more than that ... iffy!

RIP

Laseranimal

I think 38mm is about the max I'd try to put in the frame if I was ordering and couldn't try before buying. I just happened to have a spare set of Kenda's lying around the garage and figured it would be a fun experiment. Given that they were wire beads and weighed 800g PER tire it was a short lived experiment as they pretty much were the most sluggish boat anchors you cared to drag around.

BiciMan

I don't see a Sirrus-specific cabon response, and mine is aluminum, though with a carbon fork and seat post. FWIW, I have a carbon road, and a carbon FS mtb, that do not creak, and never have, nor has my part-carbon Sirrus; so, it's not the carbon, as such. Welcome to the Forum and enjoy your new bike.

BiciMan

Wow, congrats, especially on your contribution to building that trail on that great setting, I've ridden in several areas along El Camino Real, but Arroyo Grande and SLO are probably the closest I've been to Pismo Beach. Maybe next time, though I don't expect the safe-travel opportunity to come soon.

GrizzledBastard

Regarding tire size, the big trick is to run a 650b (27.5") wheel on the Sirrus and put the fatter tire on. This is being done by the hardcore gravel grinder types. It's only going to work on a disc brake rig. Personally, if I need to go that fat, I'll be doing it on my 6Fiddy Fatty full suspension bike that I run 650b x 2.8 or 3.0's on depending on seasonal conditions in our dirt.

I'm about ready to drop a video on the Sirrus' carbon downtube clanking issue. I've heard complaints about it as well as on LOTS of carbon framed bikes where hoses and cable housings rattle inside when they are not given specific routing locations. On my first ride, as soon as I hit a stretch of road I often refer to as "Streets of Roubaix" where the asphalt is cracking and lifting and makes for some harshly rough riding, my X 5.0 was making unbearable chattering sounds. Being carbon, sound reverberates everywhere and can be very tough to pinpoint but I heard about the issue and went right to the source the next day. Problem solved but it requires a little bit of effort.

Hey, cool! If you went from A.G. to SLO, or vice-versa, you went right past this property. We started building the trails in Jan 2015, a short time after the Conservancy finalized the $12 million dollar acquisition and were done with the 11 mile network in about 3 months or so. The property didn't have a hard opening of the facility until last year! Every time they got close, they'd dig up some bones or some agency would throw another requirement in the mix creating hurdle after hurdle. Now, it's open during Covid but the trails are directional.