StFS

Hi.

I hope I'm asking this in the right place, if not I apologize.

I'm going to buy a new bike next week and I've been looking at the selection where I live. I belive I've narrowed my selection down to the two models mentioned in the title, the Trek 8.5 DS or the Specialized Sirrus Elite Disc.

Here are the specs for each of them:
https://www.specialized.com/is/en/bik...litedisc#specs
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes.../model/details

I've briefly tried out the Trek and liked it a bunch although I admit that I'm very new to this and this will be my first proper bike. I used to have a crappy mountain bike so I guess anything even remotely decent would feel good to me.

I haven't had the chance to try out the Sirrus but I've heard good things about it from friends. The store that has them where I live is moving and will open up tomorrow and I'll go there and check it out.

The cost of the two bikes is similar I think although I haven't gotten a quote for the Sirrus. My friend bought his for around $1200 and the Trek seems to be going for $1100. The Trek price includes a 25% discount since it's autumn but as I said, I don't know if there might be a discount off the Sirrus as well but I haven't heard from the store. So there is a chance that the Sirrus will be cheaper.

But price put aside, can anyone provide their expert opinion on these two bikes? Which one sounds better? Anyone have experience with them?

I have a feeling that the Sirrus is more of a road bike and the Trek more of a multi-terrain, is that true? I'll be using the bike to commute in town but it would be nice to be able to get a little dirty once in a while. Would the Sirrus be bad for that?

Anyways, any and all advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,
Stefan Freyr.

Essex

I have Giant Rapid which is similar in some ways to the Specialized. I also have a MTB. I can take the hybrid a tiny bit off the trail, but it's really not that great as the frame and road-like tires transmit a whole lot of vibration. The MTB soaks up a lot of the bumps and I can be aggressive about it. If I were contemplating doing commute and trail I might be looking at a cyclocross bike.

That said the upright hybrid is a whole lot faster than the MTB (which has slick tires) and would be my choice for knocking around town and light abuse. I am assuming that you live in Iceland...and if that's the case I would get something with knobby tires which are better for slush and crummy roads.

Phil85207

I think either bike would do you a great job. I would ride both and talk to the folks selling and get a feel for the kind of service you can expect. I get my bikes where I get great service, but thats just me. Good luck.

StFS

Thanks for your reply. I should probably note that the "off roading" I mentioned probably won't be that big of a deal. To start with I want to use the bike for getting to and from work so currently I'd much rather have a good road bike than MTB. However, the route I take does have a tiny stretch of dirt and some curbs and stuff so I want something that can handle that.

And yes, I'm in Iceland.

manutd

I have a sirrus and I think its great.... but I would suggest a Tricross from what you have described your needs to be:

https://www.specialized.com/ca/en/bikes/road/tricross

btw, the two bikes you are comparing are totally different. The trek has suspension and 38 tires while the Sirrus is a Hybrid with 28 tires. totally different rides. The sirrus will be much faster but the trek can go anywhere.