Specialized bikes - need opinions

[Sadie]

I have a Specialized Sirrus and I love it!

[kimikaw]

Gotta jump in with another vote in support of Specialized. This fall as I looked at bikes I was looking between Trek and Specialized. Decided on a Specialized Dolce (compact sport) road bike (once I narrowed the brand/LBS, it was between Vita and Dolce and in my case decided on the traditional road styling). Decision was a combination of things - knowledgeable bike friends also seemed to think the component set was a bit better on the Specialized. But it really came down to the LBS. The three Trek dealers I visited turned me off, and I felt right at home at the LBS with Specialized.

In fact we like them so much, that my hubby just also bought his first road bike from them - a new but former year model of a Specialized Sequoia, on which they gave him a great deal.

[featuretile]

I have a 2008 Vita sport which is equivalent to the 2009 Vita Elite. I can't compare it to the Trek because I have not ridden one. I really like it. I am 57 years old and also did not want the drop handlebars, but wanted a lighter bike that could keep up.

I looked up the 2010 models that you are looking at and have some suggestions. Do you live in an area with hills? The Comp model has a 12-25 cassette and the smallest chain ring is 30. The Elite and the Sport have smaller chain rings and the cassette goes up to 32. My bike has a 48-38-28 ring and the cassette was 12-25. It was too hard to get up the major hills, so I changed the cassette to 11-28. That works great. It seems like the Comp could use a cassette change before you buy it (if you have big hills). On the other hand, the lower models with the 32 cassette seem like granny gears that you would never use.

I also changed out the 700x28 tires to 700x25 tires. That really increased the speed of the bike.

The reason I am telling you this is that you could potentially get these things changed before you bought the bike and perhaps you would not have to pay as much (or anything) since the components would not be used. I would talk to the LBS about making changes before you bought the bike.

[ciao_bella]

The Comp model has a 12-25 cassette and the smallest chain ring is 30. The Elite and the Sport have smaller chain rings and the cassette goes up to 32. My bike has a 48-38-28 ring and the cassette was 12-25. It was too hard to get up the major hills, so I changed the cassette to 11-28.

Featuretile, I live in Michigan, and there are no major hills in my area, in fact Michigan is fairly flat most places, which is good news for me . I have to admit that I'm not that sophisticated when it comes to bicycle components, so I'm a little stumped about what you mean about the cassette/ring numbers. Is the VITA Comp I'm looking at not good for hills? Is one of the other VITA models better for hills?

Thanks for all the great input ladies!

Ciao

[featuretile]

If you don't have any hills, the Vita Comp gearing would be great for you and you would not need to change it. I live in the Santa Cruz mountains, and no ride is flat and some are really steep. I learned about the gearing ratios from people on this forum because I did not understand them either. The cassette is on the back with 7-10 gears. The crank is on the front with either 2 or 3 gears. The smallest one on the front and the largest one on the back give you the low gear ratio. In my bike they are both now 28 giving a 1:1 ratio. If the one on the back is 30 and the one on the front is 25, it is harder to pedal uphill. If the one on the back is 26 and the one on the front is 32, it is so easy to peddle (granny gear) that it will feel like there is no tension and you probably won't use it much. You find this info in the technical specs on the website for each model. I still would ask for the skinnier tires, though. It makes it act more like a road bike with the easier to ride position. It's a really comfortable bike and goes quite fast.

[Lemongrass]

My first post!

I have a Vita Comp 2009 model - bought it six months ago - and I love it. I chose a flat bar as I have arthritis in my neck and need to keep my head in neutral position. The Vita fitted me just fine (I tried a Giant CRX and a couple of other bikes first).

I've found it very reliable, had no problems with it except for a few wonky gear changes which can probably be traced to the rider herself! The gears are fine for rolling hills which is all I have around here.

I ride about 150kms a week (sorry, ladies, I can't convert to Imperial measurements off the top of my head). My longest ride was 100kms. It does get a bit tiring with your hands in the one position all the time, so I try and vary that a bit on my longer rides.

And one more thing - the swirly patterns on my model are lovely to look at!

[Jo-n-NY]

We are a Specialized family in my house. Son has the S-works; dh Roubaix Pro and I a Ruby Pro. For me before getting the Ruby, I had the Sirrus because at the time I wanted something like a road bike, but I was not ready for the drop handle bars. A couple years later I got the Dolce Comp then a couple years after that dh suprised me with the Ruby. He works in a bike shop and has been in the industry for over 30 yrs and feels Specialized gives more for the buck.

~ JoAnn