Specialized Sirrus vs Low Low End Road Bike

[7rider]

I have only about $600 to spend on a bike, although what I really want is a road bike. I was just in my LBS and they suggested the Specialized Sirrus (flat bars) as a good compromise, but they also had a K2 road bike at about the same price. I've never heard of K2. Assuming they both fit, I have 2 questions:

A) Is there any benefit to buying a mid-range hybrid vs. a low-low end road bike given that it's for fitness riding around the park (20 miles max), other than personal preference for flat bars vs. drop bars (and of course, the color)?

B) Is K2 any good?

E-bay is okay if you know exactly what you want and are familiar with the product. But you can't test ride a bike from Ebay (you usually can from Craigslist, however, if you did want to try used).

Every bike rides differently. For fitness riding, a flat bar road bike like the Sirrus would be fine. I have a flat bar road bike for commuting and I think it's great. K2 mountainbikes used to be ProFlex, which were good in their day. I don't know how their roadbikes are.

What's most important is that you like what you buy. Take both bikes out for a ride. See which one you like more - how they shift, how they handle, your position on the bike, etc. You can also try different bike shops and different models. There should be plenty out there for you in that dollar range.

[HipGnosis6]

For the record, I LOVE my Sirrus. I picked it because I didn't feel ready for drop bars, but now if I was on the same budget (mine was about the same as yours) I think I would consider the Specialized Sequoia which can be had for about the same dollars.

I'm reluctant to reccomend K2 anything. They're a ski and snowboard company, not a cycling company so you're bound to be buying a rebranded and marked up bike...

[baskingshark]

Thanks all for the responses.

I decided against buying used since I had no idea what I was looking for in terms of frame size etc.

In the end, I bought the K2, which was on sale at $500 (LLBean has the same model on their site for $649, so I knew it wasn't a "fake" sale). It felt great, but then as a complete newbie, I don't really have any idea. All the other road bikes they had in stock were pretty much all over my price limit, so I took risk.

HipGnosis6 - I hope your concerns about the K2 brand will not come back to haunt me!