evand

I currently hate it. I am trying to get into a few longer rides 65 mile range.

I don't think this is the bike.
I picked this one up late 2011 fitted a few items recommended here all excellent ergon grips and bike computer. Not shown also ergon pedals.


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The frame creak and squeeks and makes horrible noise

The low gear doesn't cut the hills I ride up.

The disk brake is never ever adjusted right too loose and it is weak or to much and it drags.

I feel like I am riding slow from this bike and it will never cut a long ride.

Something in the geometry kills my man junk.

I tried multiple expensive seat the only one that I can tolerate is my el-cheapo walmart schwinn noseless. I have never had this problem before. on any bike. I even did iron butt rides on a motorcycle for many years. I think its the frame fit.

SlimRider

Has it been professionally tuned?

How tall are you?

What's the size of the bike?


- Slim

evand

i am 6'3 34 inseam and have about 3" over top tube while standing.

SlimRider

What size is the bike?

Three inches sounds like a bit much, to me...

Has it been professionally tuned?

no1mad 

Sounds like the frame is too small to me as well. You've got the saddle lower than the bars on a bike that begs for more of an aggressive posture.

evand

no these noseless seats sit you different.
This is with stock seat.
The bike is the correct size XL


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I also noticed all the 2012 models have a different fork steel or carbon, 9 speed drive train and no more disk brakes offered. These are my main complaints.

2011
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...jsp?spid=52894
2012
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/bc/...name=Multi+Use

SuperDave

That seat belongs on a kitchen stool, not a bicycle. The positioning is completely wrong. If the seat being so low gives you an efficient pedaling stroke, then the frame is far too large - I suspect the frame is the proper size and you're nowhere near adjusted to an efficient position.

It's not the frame creaking - it's the things which interact with the frame - bottom bracket, headset/stem/handlebar joints. One or more of them is loose, indicating the bike was poorly set up originally or hasn't been maintained since. Stuff comes loose on bikes.

The ergonomics are all wrong for long rides. You must be almost vertical on it, with the seat so low and handlebars so high. I can't imagine it being comfortable ridden any farther than the nearest convenience store. You're not going to be comfortable on a long ride until the seat is at least level with the bars, which is the relationship this bike was designed for.

Start with a real seat. Your dealer needs to start from scratch and properly fit you to the frame - it sure looks like that was never done. The bike as is looks like a Jamis Earth Cruiser, when it's supposed to be a true flatbar road bike. No wonder it's uncomfortable. With an efficient ergonomic setup, you'll find the increase in pedaling power and comfort to be huge, and the gearing will all of a sudden be more than up to any hill short of the trunk of a tree.

badger1

^^^^ This, full stop.
Here (somewhere in here!) is a picture (not very good, sorry!) of my Sirrus, which is properly set up for road riding ... routinely do longer rides, including a couple of 'century' rides, on it ... no problem at all. OP, if you really are wanting to do rides of 65ish miles, you really do need to have the bike completely re-configured, else you'll either be unnecessarily slow and/or in a world of hurt (probably both!).

fez_

badger, what kind of bar-ends are those?

Sirrus Rider

What he said... Here is my '07 Sirrus DBC




That nose-less saddle is better off as part of a bar stool or on a worksman mover. Secondly make sure the frame fits you otherwise nothing you do will make it feel comfortable.. Like others said it's things that are attached to the frame that creak. I even had the odd "thunk" that was solved with a light coat of grease to the seat rails.

badger1

Fez, just the stock Spec. ones ... they work well with my Ergon grips. They came with the bike (a 2010 Sirrus Comp). I think they're still available (called 'Overendz' or some such), though there's lots of similar ones available after-market.

nymtber

That seat is WAY too low, and the stem is jacking your handlebars up far too high. Get a proper road saddle (the stock saddle on my 2009 is comfy once my butt is broken in for the season), set saddle hight properly (slight bend at knee when pedal is at its lowest point), and maybe get a stem that has a 0 degree rise.

Here is my 2009 Sirrus, I really need to flip the stem or drop the stem, or something, but its not horrible. Just a little lower would give me a little more aero, but still keep me comfortable and more upright. Most of my long rides are around 20 miles, so I am not worried...

evand

Love the pics. I am going to order a selle anatomica or ISM road saddle. I am unfortunate as most saddles cause me issues and throbbing pain.
Back to the shop I can't take these brakes or noise anymore.
Great pics. I am ordering fenders and a rack once I figure out this bike.

Igo

There is no way in hell you are going to peddle 65 miles with your legs stroking out over the front of the seat rather than astride the seat. That's coming from a 5 times IBA certified motorcycle rider.
Get the bike sized then get a Park Tools manual and adjust that thing. If the frame isn't sized for you, then you have everybody's permission to start from scratch.

SuperDave

Like the brakes - that's a hint - saddle comfort is greatly affected by minute adjustments. Especially seat angle. Unfortunately, this is an area where you need to become an expert yourself as the process can be pretty involved - teeny adjustments one at a time, for quite a while, until you get it dialed in. Of course, your particular anatomy may indeed be unique enough to require something special, but wear out the possibility of adjusting the seat to your needs first.

For the first couple months I had my Jamis, I could_not_stand the saddle. Couldn't get comfortable - it either crushed my....uncrushables, or I slid off it. That's when I learned how big small adjustments were. Once I found the sweet spot, I was in business. I've put 15000 miles on that saddle since.

a1penguin

Get a new seat. There are several online sites that can help you with DIY fit. sheldonbrown.com probably is good place to start. Bike frames have changed a lot in the last 10-15 years; not ever bike has a horizontal top tube. Seats are often 6-8" above the the point where the top tube meets the seat tube. Look at the pictures in the "What Bike do you own" in the Road forum. Generally the height of the seat is at/above the height of the bars on road bikes. You are not going to enjoy riding long distances on a bike that has a poor fit.

I'm not a fan of my hybrid (not sure why yet) and don't think I would want to ride it for more than 20 miles. I see TONS of hybrids used for commuting at work, but I rarely see hybrids when I go out for a weekend ride and real cyclists pass me.

There's nothing wrong with having multiple bikes. Perhaps you should test ride a few road bikes at your LBS to see the difference. Or if your friends have road bikes, try them out. I am slower on my hybrid. Not only is it heavier than my road bike, but the upright riding position and arms stuck out for the wide bars are less aerodynamic.

If your bike is creaking a lot, you might want to get it real tune up; they are about $75 around here.

SuperDave

Truth. I'm a lifestyle rider (car-free), not a recreational one, and a hybrid is better suited to my needs. A few years back, I bought a Jamis Quest and tried it for a while on my normal commute, a 7-mile run I did 5 days a week so I was intimately familiar with it. The Quest was 4mph faster than my Coda at the same level of effort on level road, and even better uphill and into headwinds. It was just such a compromise for all my other needs that I chose to sell it to someone who could use it properly.

zerogravity

From the looks of your bike, it isn't at all set up for climbs or speed. You saddle forces you to move your legs in front of you instead of the sides and because it is so wide, you other leg muscles are worked UNNATURALLY. Im a firm believer in getting a proper fit for your bike. It IS everything. You can put band aids on it with a cushy saddle and ergon grips, but if your posture is wrong to begin with and you are over stretching or crouching too much, your problems will surface eventually. A lot of misconceptions on raising your bars to a more upright position will increase comfort. This isn't always true..if you are still reaching past your comfort zone, then you will still have issues. The saddle seems too low as well..this will create unnecessary energy while pedaling. Are you getting full extension when you pedal? From what i can gather, your bike is already too small for you and your saddle is WAYYYY too low. That will definitely create discomfort on long rides. No saddle in the world will help in long rides if you are not in the proper position while riding.

I was amazed too when i found out there was so much science behind riding a bike comfortably and efficiently. The rest of the stuff like brakes can be adjusted by the right bike mechanic or a rider with some knowledge. My front hydraulic disc brakes start rubbing after a rough Rock garden or big jump and all i do to remedy that is loosen the caliper from the fork, squeeze the brake lever and tighten it up. THis only happens when the bumps are too masty and the fork flexes. This doesn't happen with higher end forks.



So i guess what i am saying is that your bike needs some adjustment since you have about 3" over the top tube, and its probably out of the question to get the RIGHT SIZE bike for you, adjust your bike accordingly. ANother misconception people have is that they can put their feet down flat when seated on the saddle. This is the wrong. For proper saddle height, your legs should be almost fully extended when at 6 o'clock while riding and barely touching the floor with your tippy toes when at a stop while seated. This alone will help you with long rides and climbs tremendously. WHen you stroke is fully extended, you are literally giving MORE POWER with less effort.

Well, best of luck..i hope we all gave you lots of ideas on how to fix your issue. I hope to hear good news soon.

evand

ok I am going to try a more traditional saddle. Trying to keep the little guys happy too. I ordered one of these up.


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I am now over 400$ in different seats. I hope this works.

no1mad 

Cancel the order and go to a Specialized dealer. Get fitted for a saddle. Let them know what you're riding and how you are using and wanting to use your bike for. They'll recommend a saddle that will fit both you and your needs.

erg79

Yeah, I'd stop trying to solve this problem on your own. I think it needs a complete look-over from a professional. You've said that the bike is fitted correctly, but you don't explain if a bike shop fitted you on it, or if you did it yourself, etc. Also, all of your other complaints make it sound like you'd be wanting to get a professional mechanic looking it over. Stop dropping your own cash on new seats and take it to a shop. Did you buy it in a local bike shop?

Dunbar

I don't know how everyone can say the saddle is too low. Saddle height is set by checking leg extension at the bottom of the pedal stroke (which we can't tell from a bike photo.) Nothing about that bike screams too big/small. The bars can be lowered by removing spacers and/or flipping or replacing the stem. If too much weight is being supported by your butt than that could cause comfort issues. For longer rides you want to more evenly distribute your weight between the saddle, pedals and handlebars. "Junk" pain can mean changing saddles or it could be too much weight being supported by your butt. Also, setting the saddle too high causes me chronic groin numbness on my road bike (so don't assume it's the saddle and not a fit issue.)

Igo

Don't do it.

Igo

Great start but he needs to finish by taking the bike to Specialized, have then pick a seat for him then fitting the bike to him as well. I saw the image of this bike in my head at work all day. They bike is wrong in SO many ways. Not to be offensive evand.

Igo

That saddle will kill zombies. Plus, this guy is 6-4 and his seat is 1 foot lower than the handlebars. Give EVERYBODY here some credit. HAhAHAHhHAhaaa