Confused by my LBS - Hybrid Sirrus or Genesis Cross

[millypops82]

Hey all,

Sorry for all the threads. Am just getting more and more confused the more I do my research and the last thing I want to do is fork out 800 quid on a bike and regret it.

Halfrauds was perhaps the worst experience I have had. Rude staff, they know nothing about bikes, dreadful.

I had settled on the Sirrus Comp as bike of choice, then went to my LBS to look into saddles, tyres, panniers etc. They were fantastic, yet after talking with them, they recommended the Genesis Velocity. Looked online when I got home and can't see it. Think it was like the old Vapour. Is a cross bike (I think that is what they call it). Sorry for lack of technical language however they said it was a way to get into dropped bars yet also have the comfort of a flat bar position since they had brakes on the flat part of the bar and you can ride in an upright position, as well in the more traditional road bike way. Tyres they will change to what I want - the more knobbly ones or the 28 road slicker road tyres.

So does anyone have an opinion? The Sirrus Comp was lovely, but the Genesis also looked like a nice bike as well, and could help initiate me into the world of dropped bars. Or does a cross bike try and be everything and achieve nothing? Are the LBS trying to sell me the bike since they can't get the Sirrus in? I don't want to ride on a ridiculously uncomfortable bike and therefore give up riding it all together. Am going to using it as a commuter bike in bristol as well as longer trips on the weekend leading to the London to Paris trip.

Thanks all.

 

[Sittingduck]

Cyclocross bike

Don't really see the point in getting a Cyclocross bike and having the tyres swapped out for thinner road tyres... might aswell just plump for a road bike in the first place The brakes are different too - they'll be cantilever style.

If it was my £'s I think I would stick with the Spesh Sirrus!
Tell you what... mail me your voucher and I will go to the shop and buy it on your behalf... I am a great spender of other people's money

SD

 

[scook94]

If you're not going to be taking the bike off-road then a cyclocross isn't the best option.

 

[youngoldbloke]

+1 to points above - are you sure the LBS isn't confused? As you say, the 2009 Genesis cross (short for cyclo-cross, Google it) bike is the Vapour, (not Velocity), at around £850. Is it an old model they are trying to get rid of - hopefully at a big discount? If you are not going off road at all, I dont understand why they are recommending it, although I can see it would be good for rougher cycle paths, tow paths etc. (but so would the Sirrus) If you are now looking for a road bike with drops, there is great choice out there in that price range, and you are into a whole new ball game. You would very soon get used to the brake lever positions - 5 minutes, say! Drops will give you a much greater choice of hand positions anyway, but a extra pair of levers on the flat area of the bars is just going to get in the way.

 

[Plax]

I'd stick with the Specialized Sirrus out of that list if I was you. Looks a cracking bike. You can always go for drops later on. Any excuse to buy a second bike is what I say!

When I switched to drops it was a funny experience. Didn't feel right at all. After my first commute though I had got used to it and now much prefer the drops. Got to say though that I found a drop bar bike harder to find the best set up for me than I did the hybrid (I have a GT Nomad Sport and a Dawes Ultra Galaxy).

Edit - those brakes along the flat part of the dropped bar bike are called "suicide levers".

 

[youngoldbloke]

Both look to be good bikes. The Sirrus has roughly equivalent spec to the Vapour, though with a triple rather than double, possibly giving a wider range to the gears. I'm sure both would perform well. Personally I would check out their respective weights and if it was lighter, or nothing in it, probably opt for the Vapour, but thats because I'm very much of the roadie persuasion .....

 

[bonj2]

...Sorry for lack of technical language however they said it was a way to get into dropped bars yet also have the comfort of a flat bar position since they had brakes on the flat part of the bar and you can ride in an upright position, as well in the more traditional road bike way....

What i'd recommend is that you spend a while on a quiet road just riding along in different positions on the drops. Do a bit of accelerating and braking, riding along - fast and slow, and a bit of manoevring. If you still don't like it, or you know you aren't going to get on with it, then go for a flat bar road bike - but the likelihood is that you'll find it a bit weird, but will find the range of hand positions you can achieve interesting - this variety will transpire as comfort on longer rides - but you may also find that you don't really need to use the tops much.
What a lot of riders find is that you only normally want to use the tops when going up hill, when you aren't going to need to be braking anyway as you are going slow enough to have time to move your hand position should you need to stop or slow down for something (or more likely just stop pedalling for a bit).
Personally i use the tops so rarely i don't even bother taping them - i usually hold the corners for climbing which are actually as far back as the tops, just wider apart.

 

[TheDoctor]

Edit - those brakes along the flat part of the dropped bar bike are called "suicide levers".

Sorry to have to correct you, Plax, but the newer sort work really well. It was the old ones (1970s and '80s) that were suicide levers as they had all the braking properties of a teflon-coated fish.

 

[Black Sheep]

Sorry to have to correct you, Plax, but the newer sort work really well. It was the old ones (1970s and '80s) that were suicide levers as they had all the braking properties of a teflon-coated fish.

the extension levers, indeed - i managed to get a set to work really quite well and the bikes new owner is quite happy with them.

 

[millypops82]

Tricross wins out for me!

Thanks for all the messages.

Seems that my LBS guy (he said he needed glasses!) wrote down Velocity instead of Vapour on my form, hence the confusion. It was the Vapour 09 model.

To be honest, whilst the Sirrus Comp does seem like it will be faster - in reality, I quite like the idea of a slightly comfier bike that is sturdier so if I go through Ashton Court, bike paths etc, I won't have to worry about it as much. As a newbie, don't think the speed issue will make much difference to me - however, punctures might!

I went back to the Spesh shop and am pretty settled now on the Tricross Sport. Seems to tick all my boxes. Will give me the chance to try drop bars, will be good for the commute on the roads, can attach panniers and mudguards to it (unlike many road bikes) and also serve for the Paris to London run. I have looked online and seen there are issues with the brakes for some, but think that has been solved.

So looks like I have finally made my decision. Spesh tricross 09 in small. Will let you all know how I get on with it and thanks for all the comments again.

 

[Sittingduck]

Nice bike I reakon... hope you're very happy together!

 

[ianrauk]

Tricross Sport, a good choice imvho.. what you may need to do is swap the tyes over for something less knobly for your commute/Paris trip

ps, when you get the bike.. don't forget to post some piccies in the piccie section

 

[Arch]

Sorry to have to correct you, Plax, but the newer sort work really well. It was the old ones (1970s and '80s) that were suicide levers as they had all the braking properties of a teflon-coated fish.

Also, the modern bar top brakes can be added as a post purchase mod, if needed, there's no need to choose a bike just because it has them.

 

[youngoldbloke]

+1 - Nice Bike! Let us know how you get on with it.

 

[Plax]

Sorry to have to correct you, Plax, but the newer sort work really well. It was the old ones (1970s and '80s) that were suicide levers as they had all the braking properties of a teflon-coated fish.

I forgive you. I'm obviously still traumatised by my "teflon-coated fish" experience .