Exit3

I've just spent half the day going through all these posts looking for some info on the Sirrus Elite. I am shocked that there doesn't seem to be many people showing off their bikes. Are the too busy out there enjoying them maybe? Or is it just that I am seeing so many FX postings because i am looking for a Specialized? I am this close to pulling the trigger on a 7.3 FX but I did ride a Sirrus the other day and it was nice. The price will be about the same but I am hoping to find someone to say forget the Sirrus because....or this is why it's better. It seems more road bikeish, with skinnier tires and already has a useable seat and bar-ends. Just not sure on the way the front end of the frame seems a bit high. I am just paralyzing myself with all this analysis. Some one just tell me what to do. BTW, I like the Utopia as well but I can't decide if the fork and discs are a waste of time for me. Oh yeah..the kaitai is cheaper and doesn't have the discs to fuss with, and the Coda is steel and cool.....now you see my problem???

Farmer Dave

Hey exit,
I was shopping in the bike market about a week and a half ago. I test rode all types of bikes like trek and specialized. I always came back to specialized. Eventually I narrowed my options down to a brand new 2010 globe vienna disc 3 and the sirrus elite. They both ride great and I had a hard time choosing.

The sirrus had a little bit better components however the vienna had disc brakes. The area where I live (Southern Oregon) the sirrus went for 700 and the globe went for 550, (however in 2010 it went for 770). The Sirrus was a bit lighter especially with the carbon fork and had flat handle bars vs. the globe which was a tad heavier and had risers. I prefer risers because to me they are more comfortable, but everybody is different. The Globe also had more room for modification via additional areas to insert a mountain rack, front rack, water bottle cage etc.

the two bikes are very similar and the only way to really test is to actually go out and ride them yourself. But I will say this, the Globe is more of a "hybrid" in ares such as: sturdier frame to support weight when carrying a load when commuting yet light enough to not be cumbersome whereas the elite is attempting to be somewhat of a wannabe road bike but lacks the crucial factors that makes road bikes what they are, (light weight, dropbars, thin tires, etc.)

Honestly you won't be disapointed with the sirrus, especially if you are a beginner, but I strongly recommend test riding other bikes and see how they compare. Don't let weight be the deciding factor, on lighter bikes when you stop pedaling on the flats you really lose speed, a heavier bike on the other hand will use it's momentum. Obviously there is a trade off on hills... Just a nice thing to consider.

Hope this helped, and good luck!

BTW I went for the Globe Vienna Disc 3.

Fizzoli

I recently chose a Sirrus Sport over a trek 7.x (3 I believe)....

NormDeplume

If you're searching on the boards here, also look for "Sirius" and "Sirrius", as a lot of people misspell it. (I ride a Vita, which is the women's version of the Sirrus, and I'm happy with it, but I am not a power user, so YMMV)

mjwithtwins

If I was picking between a sirrus or trek fx I would go with the sirrus. I know the trek fx series are solid bikes but something about the way thet look turns me off. I think the sirrus is a better looking bike so if I liked the way they both ride and had it narrowed down to those 2 I would go sirrus. Of course I am partial to the Dual sport bikes so I would vote for the kaitai or utopia. Have you ridden all of your choices? Ride them all and pick the one that rides the best and that you like to look at.

EsoxLucius

The Sirrus Elite should be nicer than a Trek 7.3FX as it is more comparable with the 7.5FX. I'd head over to Al's Cycle Solutions, Chelsea Bicycle, Master Bicycle, Echelon Cycles or Bicycle Renaissance and see if you can ride a Jamis Coda Sport.

https://www.jamisbikes.com/usa/review...ORT.jpg?id=271

RollCNY

I own a 2010 Spec Sirrus Sport, which was very similar to the current Elite. Rode it 1400 miles last year. When I saw it in the bike shop, I fell in love, even though I was only looking for pedals at the time. And the pedals ended up fitting it great.. haha

Things I can definitely say: the 4 position stem is really nice to perfectly tune handle bar to seat positioning. The grips and bar ends were nice but got replaced (as did almost everything as I am a tweaker). The bike feels speedy on the road even as new, but I did go to narrower tires over time, first 28s then 23s. The rims have been solid, stayed true, and only broke a spoke once when I did something really stupid. Really comfortable bike, took it on one 86 mile ride, and one 75 mile ride with 5000' of climbing, and many many many 50 mile rides.

My only negative is that the stock gearing is kind of dumb for a bike that doesn't go off road. To be able to get 28-32 combo is to me really silly on a road focused bike. The stock crank on mine was really cheap, stamp steeled, no ability to remove rings, and got replaced with a road crank almost immediately. The bike cries out for more top end, and that really helped. But it brought on a shifting night mare that took months to fix, but that's a thread of a different color.

I know nothing of Treks, just that lots of people ride them. In the end, My Sirrus was not road speedy enough, and is now a single speed knobby tired off pavement bike. Still love it though.

Triaxtremec

I to ride a 2010 Sirrus Sport, I changed out the wheels to easton's and 700X23 tires and love it! My friend has the trek 7. something and its rides a lot harsher than my bike with the narrow tires.

jeff_pdx

If you do a comparison on Specialized's website, you can see that there are significant differences between the Sirrus Sport and the Elite:

https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/.../52890,52889,0

A couple of the most important are that the Elite has FACT carbon forks and the Zertz frame inserts, which will give you a smoother ride.

I was trying to decide between the Trek 7.3 and the Sirrus Elite too. I rode both bikes, but the deciding factor ended up being the way I was treated at the Trek LBS vs the Specialized LBS. I ended up buying the Specialized Sirrus Elite Disc. The only caveat that I have is the standover height on the Sirrus is taller than what you'd expect from the frame size. I'm 6'0", with a short inseam (31"), and a medium frame was too large (standover height of 806mm - 31.73"), so my toes barely touched the floor when straddling the top tube. I had to go with the small, which has a standover height of 774mm (30.47"). I also had a custom wheelset built (Velocity Deep-V 36h) to help support my XL body

RollCNY

For what it is worth, the 2010 Sirrus Sport has the carbon fork with the inserts, so the two folks that chimed in supporting the 2010 Sport are riding a very similar bike as the Elite. So we are appreciating the same thing.

For some reason, Specialized watered down the Sirrus for 2011 with the aluminum fork on the two starting models. Somewhat tarnishes the fact (at least to me) that the Sirrus is a nice handling flat bar road hybrid, and not a budget starter hybrid.

Franky

i traded a specialized "expedition sport" in on a specialized "sirrus elite" because i wanted more bike...i.e. more gearing options, flat bars and more of a road feel with the tire size and lighter frame. as u describe the globe i think of the Expedition type bike i traded, riser bars, thicker tires, more neighborhodd cruiser. I think it is like comparing apples with oranges when comparing the sirrus with the globe....different.

I too do a lot of research on things i buy before I buy, typically the trek compared to a sirrus elite is over priced and to me compared to specialized not the quality compared to specialized. I got the sirrus elite for 630.00....i am real happy with it.

Contrary to the thread title, "I love my specialized", but "each to their own".

dolanp

The Sirrus Elite is a nice bike. They lowered components overall from last year so it's similar to the 2010 Sport as others have mentioned. I would choose it over the Trek FX 7.3 personally if you can get them for about the same price; it has a carbon fork which is nice.

I chose a Trek FX 7.2 over the Sirrus Sport personally just cause I liked the bike itself better. I did not want to spend a whole lot on a hybrid cause I was afraid I might want to trade up to a full road bike if I got serious about it. In the end you just have to ride them both if you can and then pick the one that feels better. You really can't pick a bike just by internet research, although it can narrow down the choices. If the decision is close, choose the bike shop that seems to have the better customer service.

Exit3

This is the one thing that is still bothering me with the Sirrus. I have pretty much the same dimensions. 6'2" with a 31 in. inseam. I just can't seem to wrap my head around needing a small frame?? Is there that many 7 foot riders buying the large frame?

Fizzoli

I'm 6 foot maybe 6'1 and have the 2011 large Sirrus Sport. From what I've been told standover height is a very overrated and ineffective way of sizing your bike. Why would you buy the small?

jeff_pdx

It all depends on how comfortable you are with your feet not being able to touch the ground while unpedaled and off the saddle. The main thing is being able to get on and off okay and not falling over when coming to a stop unpedaled. A good LBS can help you make the right choice in size. I rode around for about an hour on an indoor track, with various adjustments being made to various sizes, and a small ended up being the best fit for my body size. Standover height isn't "as" important as it once was, but it is still a good starting point.

RollCNY

It looks like there were some minor geometry tweaks from 2010 to 11, but my 2010 Sport is an XL frame, I am 6'3" with 34.5" inseam. No trouble with stand over. If I had had the opportunity to ride a large, I prolly would have gone that route to get more seat to bar drop (which may have prevented me from building a second bike.. haha), but the XL has not been an inconvenience.

Exit3

I'm just considering the 31 in. standover height. The design lends itself to a high bar.

Sirrus Rider

Like others have said you just haven't dug deep enough. There are a number of pics of my '07 Drop bar conversion on this forum..

Exit3

I meant to say the new 2011 Elite. I was looking to see real world pics of the black and white. From some angles I likes it, but not so much from others. I didn't want to stand in the shop for hours walking around the thing and I hate the generic backgrounds on the websites. Bikes look much better in these real pics on here. Of course, right after I did the OP, I did see a few other threads with decent shots. I still keep going back and forth on if I would rather the ability to ride rougher terrain with the Utopia or the speed of the Sirrus/FX.