Price Paid:  $950.00 at Camden cycles - Lond

Favorite Ride:
Phoenix park loop

Bike Setup:
Mostly standard kit, though upgraded groupset last year. New forks and front wheel - went for a skinnier soft comopund 23c but with Dr sludge tubes - so far so good1

Summary:
This is a great bike and streets ahead of my previous Ridgeback Speed. The only issues I've had were with the wheels. They're not meant for anything other than smooth tarmac - espcially if you're tipping 95Kg like me...

Original groupset was a little soft and quickly wore out - though to be fair I do a lot of 'torquey' stop/start riding round the city

Strengths:
Lightweight, fast, great ratios, great geometry

Weaknesses:
Those damn wheels! I've replaced the front following a collision with a car :-/
Rear has been re-spoked. Maybe it's the roads in Dublin - Used it in London no probs for a year!

Price Paid:  $850.00 at Cycleways Dublin

Favorite Ride:
Specialized Sirrus Sport

Bike Setup:
Front and rear racks

Summary:
Nice bicycle. Big problem with wheels, all spokes kept popping. Shop redit wheels which stopped this but had a lot of problems with truing of wheels. Changed wheels and hubs 6 months ago for slightly heavier set and everything is much better. Hubs and drive shaft went after 4,000 miles

Strengths:
Comfortable, reasonable value for money, after sales service

Weaknesses:
Wheels, spokes and hubs

Similar Products Used:
Hybrid Specialized Sirrus Sport

Price Paid:  $499.00 at Bloomington Cycle

Favorite Ride:
Specialized sport a1

Bike Setup:
Factory except I put a different specialized seat on there. The factory seat was very uncomfortable.

Summary:
This bike is head and shoulders above my old ride which is a GT Palomar mountain bike, which I have had tons of problems keeping the gears from slipping. I decided I needed a road bike because I never went off road and I am mostly a commuter and recreation cyclist. This bike overall fits my needs. It is fast, it is a cross bike with an up right riding position it is lightweight and very easy to ride.

Strengths:
Lightweight. The gears are very precise. The tires are very strong.

Weaknesses:
In the month I have had this bicycle there has been some squeaks and some noises which concern me a bit. I think my wheels may need a bit of truing as they seem to be rubbing my break pads a bit. This is all stuff that a trip to the repair shop would easily correct.

Price Paid:  $479.00 at richardson bike mart

Favorite Ride:
20-40 miles on rolling country roads (paved) with moderate to strong wind

Bike Setup:
replaced the stock tires (75-100psi) with some faster ones (115-125psi).

Summary:
i love this bike. at $479 it's a fantastic value. it's light and fast with a much cleaner and more efficient design than other bikes i looked at, for example the treks. i hardly ever have to think about it while riding; it's well-suited to my riding style and simply feels like an extension of my body, a compliment i've never paid to other bikes.

Strengths:
clean, efficient design, light weight, stiff ride, precise handling, excellent gear ratios. easy to stand up on hills, a big plus.

Weaknesses:
it is lousy off road or on rocky dirt roads. this is mainly due to the stiff suspension and hybrid style tires which are standard.

Similar Products Used:
this is my first hybrid, other bikes used were road bikes.

Price Paid:  $750.00 at Cycleways, Dublin

Favorite Ride:
Killarney, Co. Kerry, Ireland

Bike Setup:
Got new stem fitted as the factory stem is very low and it cannot be adjusted.

Summary:
This is my second Sirrus bicycle within the space of 12 months (unfortunatly my first Sirrus was stolen!).

I think its a very comfortable bike, nice and light which makes it easier for me as a commuter to haul my gym/work gear into the city every day circa 25km daily round trip.

My main complaint would be some build quality issues and Irish road usage. Irish roads can be quite bad for cyclists, and the back wheel seems very weak for "tough terrain". If you have nice smooth roads, you're on a winner.

Strengths:
Lovely ride, extremely light and comfortable.

Weaknesses:
Both Sirrus bikes I've owned had identical problems with the back wheel. It appears to be very weak and after a few visits back to the bike shop, the shop eventually admitted that Specialized was having problems with this back wheel. Essentially I needed all the spokes replaced. This problem might be more acute in Ireland due to the bad road conditions.

Not 100% happy with the gears, they slip too easily in some scenarios and can be noisy. Easily fixed but can be annoying when it keeps happening.

Similar Products Used:
Specialized Sirrus A1