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$2000 budget for something to ride in city/suburbs

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Thread replies: 53
Thread images: 10

Hi, just trying to see what you guys think would be a fantastic bike to ride on the street without being a full-blown racing bike. I saved up a fair amount of coin for this and am looking to ride it for hours each day.

Pic related is my current contender (Specialized Sirrus Expert Carbon X1), but I just don't know whether I should go for a heavier bike with thicker wheels.

Open to any and all recommendations.

Sorry for nub, thanks in advance for responses
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don't waste your money on a carbon sirrus.
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>>1086596
There's no reason spend that much on a commuter bike unless it has a Rohloff (may not even be that expensive) or a motor.
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>>1086601
This fucking hell OP just get a cheap commuter bike
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>>1086600
>>1086601

Thanks for your responses. My cyclist friend told me that I should look into internal gear systems like the one you mentioned, as the conventional, external systems are subject to going out of whack.

I did ride the Sirrus with the carbon frame and it is very nice, like effortless. I won't be "commuting" as much with it as I will be riding for pleasure, but I don't really want to go full racer, nor do I want a bike that's too unwieldy. So the Sirrus seemed appropriate.

What exactly is it about a carbon Sirrus that would be a waste of money? What would be a better use of money?
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>>1086607
This purchase isn't so much about getting from point A to B as it is about buying a bike that I can enjoy riding around town. I live in city/suburban setting and will for the forseeable future, at least 10 years.
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>>1086596
>$2000 budget for something to ride in city/suburbs


It will get stolen. Buy something cheaper. Unless you plan to never let it out of your sight.

My suggestions are:
-unless your roads are russia tier or you live in a very snowy area, you don't need thick tires. I manage just fine even with 25mm in semi-russia conditions with a -10/+30 continental climate
-definitely do get a flatbar, it's much more comfortable and relaxed for riding in the city
-mudguards are a must
-heavier bike in and of itself is a detriment, but because you don't want an expensive bike that will get stolen, get aluminium, rather than garbon
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>>1086608
>What exactly is it about a carbon Sirrus that would be a waste of money?
Because carbon is significantly more expensive than aluminium for extra stiffness and less weight that doesn't matter if you're not racing.

If it's a fun bike and not just a commuter then then you may not want an IGH as they are heavier and less efficient and I'm going to assume you won't be riding when the weather is shitty or locking the bike up in places that a derailer could get knocked. That said if you're not someone with a lot of maintenance experience (or you just don't like to do it) an IGH will require less maintenance than derailers and are usually easier to set up.
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>>1086611
>>1086613

OK, thanks again so much for the insight. I would actually not plan on letting the bike out of my sight.

The point about carbon is valid. I will have to put some serious thought into whether I really care about the thing being super light. I just plan to ride the bike so much that I don't want to be left thinking "damn, I wish I had just bought the upgraded version".

For the record I rode a plain aluminum Sirrus for 2+ hours a day for the past week in a suburb, loved it. Then I tested the big boy carbon version today and was blown away.
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>>1086616
Well, you must have your own ideas and reasons for biking but here's something...

I was initially just a bike commuter that wanted to get into more biking. So, I asked /n/ for advice on which bike I should buy, thinking I was going to get a hybrid. But then /n/ heavily shilled for a road bike. So I got one and I don't regret it in the least.
So maybe just consider getting one and maybe going on your bike trips out, outside of the urban area.
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I suppose something like the Shinola Bixby would be an option but I don't know how much of their bikes is good engineering vs. craftsmanship and aesthetics
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>>1086596
Buy a gravel bike, equipped with
700x40 (38 to 42) tyres
shimano alfine 8 gear hubs
road levers + inline/cyclocross levers (pic)
road calipers
you'll get a fast bike, comfortable for commuting, several hand positions and with a IGH that are amazing for city riding.
also, at that tyre width, you'll have no worries about pinch flats or anything like that.
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>>1086626
>Shinola
A great brand if you like overpriced fashion accessories that are cool and patriotic because Detroit is the home of American industry (ignore the fact that none of the components on their bikes are made in the USA). There's nothing special about their engineering or craftsmanship, it's all about aesthetics and branding - a perfect example of a Veblen Good.
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>>1086663
I went to their store and this is the vibe I got. I couldn't really take it seriously anyway when I found out that they are literally a fashion accessory manufacturer.
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Here's what I got a few years back, Raleigh Revenio 2.0. About $700 new back when I got it.

Is it the best bike ever? No. Is it the fastest, or the easiest to carry stuff on? Nah. But for me, it's a nice balance of speed, cost (so I don't have to freak out about it getting dinged up) and weight.

It's pretty comfortable, but I only go about 10 miles each way to work. I've done 50+ mile rides on it, it did fine. It was a nice step up for me from my previous beater, but not to the point where I couldn't justify it.
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>SRAM x1 "we literally cannot make front derailleurs to save out lives" shit
>>
OTS

Really. I have 5 bikes (including a high end carbon racing bike) and I ride my 1980s steel ten speed road bike more than my other 4 bikes combined. And my favorite kind of riding is cruising around the city on the paved trails and city streets.
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>>1086596
Aluminum Diverge (E5 frame, any make) if you're going with Spesh. I have a personal preference for the Diverge Elite DSW.
>https://www.specialized.com/us/en/men/bikes/road/performance/diverge-elite-dsw/119017

Great all-rounder for A to B to C-ya later on the weekends.
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>>1086626
What if you don't know shit from shinola?
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>>1086626
Why even bother asking /n/ when you just want to spend as much money as possible without taking in any advice.

Just got waste your money on whatever you want mate.
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>>1086596
fuji jari, spec diverge, raleigh tamland/willard etc. If you want to ride for hours daily on roads you want drop bars, let's be real. The kinds of bikes I listed fit comfortable tires (30c-40c+) easily and dont have race geometry, they're very comfortable. When you realize all the other things that come with riding for hours daily (apparel especially) you wont mind having a few hundred left over in your 2,000 budget. Like others said, you won't listen though.

I bought a similar "gravel" bike and ride it about 3,000 miles a year as a commuter and for fun when I'm in town for about $800. Over a couple years I've spent hundreds on clothing, shoes, pedals, etc. You will too and for all I've said you'll probably still get a weird expensive hybrid and wear gym clothes. Your loss.
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>>1086668
Alu frame, carbon fork, rim brake, 2x? road bikes with cheaper components are a lot of bike for the money. There has been one in our family for maybe 9yr and it gets used well. Feels v. fast compared to disc touring/slicks mtb/cyclocross even. Road rim brakes feel very refined and confident compared to all others, easy and cheap to maintain. Fine for group rides, unladen commuting. Weak in the portaging dept. (no rack mounts?), a little awkward on the trails and in the mud, but that's the cost of a fast bike.
>>
OP here, thanks for the responses. Will check out all of your recommendations. I'm sorry if I came off as a cunt, I really should be open-minded here. It's just tempting with the money I saved to buy this badass Specialized complete package thing but it could very well be overkill and it definitely does not take into account the necessary accessories to ride a lot.

Fwiw, I still have not made any purchases, so I will investigate everything ITT and make a decision.
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>>1086596
how about a decent touring bike ?
relaxed geometry for comfort if doing distance, bulletproof components and frame, and the ability to carry pretty much everything. i think a well set up touring rig is perhaps the ultimate commuter, city, and leisure bike, just a good all round machine.
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>>1087037
seriously this bike is sick tho
>>1086715

>that orange paint job
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>>1086668
not bad.

I recently got a bike after not riding for 7 years - went for a merida cc300 - works great so far.
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>>1086611
aaaaa flatbar fucking sucks

I'm sure this depends on the person, but I used to get a lot of wrist pain when I had a flatbar bike from holding my hands rotated like that for a long time. Now I just use the hoods 99% of the time in a much more comfortable position. Flatbar doesn't offer anything that you don't get with drops.

I'd at least get some of those bullhorn extensions for the hand position. Might want to chop off an inch or two from the bars too; I find that most hybrid type bikes come with bars that are much too wide for most people's shoulders.
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>>1087225
You can get a similar position to hoods by using bar ends/extensions on flat bars. Flat bars have the advantage of being wider and offering more leverage and control, drop bars typically go up to like 440mm. Also a flat bar bike can end up being cheaper (due to the controls), significantly so if you go for hydraulic disc brakes.

Drop bars have the advantage of being more aerodynamic so you can go a bit faster/use less energy for the same speed and having multiple hand positions natively for more comfort on long distance rides.
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>>1087225
This is how I feel about drops. It's a meme that they're uncomfortable.
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>>1086596
Isn't that just a flat-bar gravel bike?
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OK, so I considered everything mentioned in this thread, but I actually did end up going with the Sirrus Carbon Expert. It's awesome, I've been riding it 20+ miles daily since I bought it. So far I'm not regretting anything, but feel free to call me a faggot

Pic related, the bike (yes I did remove the stickers after this pic)
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>>1087355
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>>1087037
GET A FUCKING OTS, they ride nicer than any modern bike and thieves don't want them so they can be left locked up unattended (thieves will still take them if they aren't locked well but they won't cut a thick lock for them)
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>>1089099
this really triggers me
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>>1089099
>>1089108

fwiw I spent $1560 on the bike
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>>1089099
Nice bike anon fuck the haters, you enjoy it, you can afford it, so that's all that matters in a bike. It's not theirs
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>>1089111

+1

wouldn't ever buy this bike, but if you can afford it. enjoy it.

it beeing overkill still means it's a stupidly decent bike
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>>1089099
>nearly $2000 on a hybrid
>leaving the shitty default pedals on it
good job living up to the stereotype
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>>1086596
>Fantastic bike to ride on the street, $2000
I'm you.

I bought a Spot Ajax (look it up) 5 years ago and I'm pretty happy with it. Full garbon is a waste of time if you're not racing, but it's nice in the fork. The Acme / Ajax frame is appropriate to the task, good looking, and OK-ish value.

The Alfine 8 hub is perfect for us, cheaper and stronger than the Alfine 11, quieter and more efficient then Nexus or other hubs. Never given my any trouble. Derailleurs are not as good for this sort of work.

The Gates belt drive has been a disappointment, and I just replaced it with plain chain today. Thought it was a maintenance-free winter bike solution, but not so. I might get a Dutch style full chaincase next time.

Plain canti's will stop you just fine, but hydraulic disks feel sooo much better. Don't cheap out like I did; crappy hydros are a huge time-suck and I had to expensively upgrade them anyway.

I added studded winter tires, puncture-resistant summer tires, full plastic fenders, dyno-hub setup (SP PD-8, Philips lights), and a O-lock with optional chain. I had to import some of that stuff from Europe, but I would not be without it for every-day practicality. That lets you just hop on and go, day or night, rain or shine, just like a real vehicle not a flakey toy.
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>>1089134
Not op here. I considered those spot bikes. What sucked about he gates belt drive? Yours is setup essentially like a citi bike for people who actually own and like bikes which I respect but it's a little sad- knowing how much my city spent per bike they could have gotten thousands of these instead of the 45lb clunkers they went with.
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>>1089123
This. I expected better OP. Enjoy your "zertz"
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Hydraulic dick brakes are stupid unless you're doing serious cx/gravel or mtb and all of you know it.
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>>1089260
Cable discs are junk and hydraulics don't cost much more. If you want to argue that disc brakes in general are unnecessary then fine but I personally will never ride rim brakes again.
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>>1089260

you apperantly never tried them.
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>>1089260
i have a mechanical disc and hydro disc bike and mechanical is so fucking awful

not worth the money to ugprade to hydraulic sti though
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>>1089462
what kind of mechanical calipers do you have?

I had some shimano cx 77s that were terrible, but I also had some hayes cx pro mechanical calipers that were excellent
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>>1089262
>>1089462
>Fails at setting up/adjusting mechanical disc brakes
>"THEY'RE JUNK!"
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>>1089489
No, they're just shit. The dual piston ones are passable if you must use cables (for example if you have brifters, because the hydraulic ones are stupidly expensive) but you're still transferring that force through a cable. Hydraulic is just so much fucking better and when they're so cheap there's no reason (other than mentioned above) not to be using them.
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>>1089569
>I haven't used a mechanical disk brake since 2003
>they're junk!
dual piston is pretty much standard on basically anything entry level mech disc equipped bike and has been for several years, and hydro for drop bars still isn't exactly what I'd call "cheap", at least not compared to retrofitting a bike with a pair of hy/rds if you absolutely CAN'T live with spyres
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>>1089599
> hydro for drop bars still isn't exactly what I'd call "cheap"
The Hylex is expensive compared to flat bar hydros so I'll give you that. Plus if you're running discs on a drop bar bike then you're unlikely to be using down tube or bar end shifters. So, I'll revise my statement to say that running drop bars is the only time that cable discs are excusable.

>dual piston is pretty much standard on basically anything entry level mech disc equipped bike
If we're talking mountain bikes then that's simply untrue. CRC only actually has like 5 bikes with cable discs and they're all single piston because for the cost of dual pistons they can just slap hydraulics on them.

For the CX bikes CRC doesn't really have anything low end and most have hydraulic, the few that do have cable are single piston. As for the cheaper disc road bikes, they do indeed have Spyres.

But yeah, cable discs are shit, it's just unfortunate that hydraulics are currently too expensive for lower end drop bar bikes. That's the only reason they're used, because they're cheap. It's a compromise.
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Don't forget to price extras like panniers, rack, lights and fenders. I had over a decade of reliable daily riding from a surly cross-check, my 2c.
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>OP asks for advice but has a plan
>OP gets tons of great advice
>OP goes through with his plan anyway and ignores the advice.

i have seen this happen so many times on all different types of forums / message boards.
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>>1090915
He just wanted reassurance from us that he's making a good decision, not actual advice. And when he didn't get it his defense mechanism kicked in.
>what do these nerds on the internet know anyway, this bike looks so awesome in the pics I can already feel how much fun I'm gonna have riding it
Thread posts: 53
Thread images: 10


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