Commuter: Merida T3 vs. Specialized Sirrus Elite?

slymarques · June 2007

Hi,

Pls forgive a newby with simple questions, but wanted to hear feedback from owners or experienced cyclists about which commuter bike to buy.

I plan to have a 10 mile commute in London. I use to ride to work (about 6 years ago) on a MTB, which 1: was very heavy, 2: now sold!

I would like to start riding again with a bike which would allow me to commute to work and maybe the odd Sunday to go out for a long ride.

I'm about to use my company scheme of Cycle2Work (with Halfords) and have narrowed down my choice of bikes to:
- Merida T3 (œ579) - stocked by Halfords
- Specialized Sirrus Elite (œ499) - needed to be ordered

I have also looked at:
- Carrera Gryphon (œ369) - stocked
- Merida T2 (œ449) - stocked
- Merida i8 (œ529) - stocked

Also a factor in my decision is that Halford will offer me:
- œ50 worth of accesories if the bike is worth more than œ250 and they stock it
- œ100 worth of accesories if the bike is worth more than œ500 and they stock it

I really like the look of the Sirrus Elite but I would lose out œ100 worth of accesories for it, yet the T3 is a very nice bike too, but worth œ80 more....but with the œ100 worth of accesories back....I'm getting a headache just thinking about it....

Any advice, would be greatly welcomed.

irb10 · June 2007

Choosing a bike is never easy, there's just too much choice! I own a Sirrus Elite '06, and it's a great commuter bike - fast yet comfortable and practical (takes a rack and/or mudguards, should you want to use them). Merida is arguably a less well-known consumer brand which might mean lower residual value if you decide to sell the bike on in a few years, if that's a consideration. Having said that, I believe Merida are actually a big Taiwanese bike manufacturer who manufacture for many other brands, including Specialized (I think they actually own a stake in Spesh) and the spec of the T3 sounds pretty good, although I haven't seen one myself. Might be worth checking-out the availability of the bikes in your size, some of the popular Spesh bikes (such as Sirrus) do sometimes sell-out. Take them for a test-ride if you can, chances are you'll like the ride of one better than the other.

slymarques · June 2007

I did not know that shops would allow you to test drive them. Makes sense really. Another point is that (so I have been told), the Sirrus range will get a makeover at July. (Specialized will announce their new range.). Not sure what they will change though.....

I don't really plan to sell the bike later on, I just want the best possible bike (with accesories) that my money can buy today, with later room to improve on components if needed....

Any advice greatly appreciated....

onurbike · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">the Sirrus range will get a makeover at July.<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

You will actually find that they do that every July, they announce the make over for the model launching in September for the year after. Sometimes it is just the new2 colour of the frame or a major component change like removing the disk brakes from the Sirrus pro in 2007 models.

Baby elephants are faster than some riders from.... http://www.spokesgroup.com/

Unknown · June 2007

<blockquote id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by slymarques

I did not know that shops would allow you to test drive them. <hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">Generally they will, except at Halfords where they generally wont [V]

slymarques · June 2007

Thank you all. I think I might go for the bike that I like more the Sirrus Elite and forget about the accesories. I can always buy them somewhere else (a shop with better stock, etc).

Thank you for making my decision easier.

Commuter: Merida T3 vs. Specialized Sirrus Elite?

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