NEW BIKE !

[drfrank]

Dear All,

Some thieving scoundrel pinched my bike last night from work and I plan to replace it on the bike to work schem tax thingy.

Not being an expert on bikes I am after opinions on two bikes:

1) Felt QX85

2) Specialized Sirrus (? spelling)

I had a carrerra subway before and with the discount I am planning to upgrade, what are your thoughts on the two bikes ?

I use the bike to commute to work (10k), are front suspension forks worth hoing for ?

Any comments gratefully received


Frank

[anonymous-user]

the sirrus is very popular with commuters here, no idea about the felt. front boingy forks are always useful if your roads are anything like Bristol, you can really do some damage if you are travelling in poor light at hit a pothole... unless you have carbon forks which absorb a bit of sting from the road, suspension forks are probably a worthwhile factor.

[Seight_Returns]

I've had a Sirrus for my London commute (also about 10k) for the last 4 years and for the most part I've been really chuffed with it. Lack of a sus fork has never bothered me even though my usual ride includes half a mile or so of unpaved path - front wheel is still in good shape (back wheel has been rebuilt twice as a result of being driven into though!)

I'm going to try a MTB with road tyres instead but only becuase I fancy a change and I can get one cheapish via Cycle to Work thingy. I expect it to be slower but more comfy, but will give me a bike more useful for doing stuff at the weekend with my family.

Sirrus is a whole range of bikes from £500 to £1000+ whilst the Felt you state is a single model. Model range has changed since I bought mine, I had the one up from base model which is a mix or Sora/Tiagra with Avid Mechanical Discs. If buying again I'd avoid the Disc Discs and just go for ordinary rim brakes, pay a bit more for one with a carbon front fork and without the nasty plastic Shimano combined shifter/brake lever pods.

I know nothing about the Felt but I don't think there'll be much to choose. They're both similar frames with similar components bolted on. Suspect you pay a brand premium for the Spesh so you might get more bang for your buck with the Felt.

[DrMekon]

Re the Felt, where are the mudguards? Also, if you had a nice steel frame and big (>28) tires, there would be no need for a suspension fork. I'd go for something with drops too, so you can get out of the wind.

Something like a Ridgeback Voyage - http://www.ridgeback.co.uk/index.php?bikeID=151&am...

[drfrank]

Thanks for all the help !!

I would never have thought about the drop handlebars, I might consider it.

[Poloding Along]

Just another option for you to consider, how about a Merida Speeder T3. Is a bit more than the prices of the Felt that google threw up but it does come with your carbon fork and is onto an ultegra mech at the rear which is a fairly high level Mech, all in all a good package.
Also the Merida frames are really nice, they actually make the Specialised frames.
Any questions about it just ask and I'll answer what i can