2008 Sirrus for Touring?? Is this OK?

BMG100

Hi,

My job is ending in July so I am planning on cycling from Calais to Austria, via Switzerland. I will be camping most of the way so will have the typical camping load.

I have a specialized Sirrus and I am wondering on the capability of the frame to withstand the weight of the gear. I will be upgrading the wheels to 36 spoke, Mavic rims, DT spokes and better hubs. I am concerned that the frame is not strong enough for this even though the guys in the bike shops say it would be ok. However most guys in bike shops in London have no idea what they are taking about I find!

Any opinions? I am toying with disaster and should I get a more suitable bike?

Cheers

amaferanga

Should be fine with the upgraded wheels. I toured with camping stuff for a bit on a Giant SCR2.0 which I'd say is probably comparable to your Sirrus in terms of strength.

dilemna

I have a Specialised Sirrus Sport 2002 vintage when they first came out I think and have commuted regularly on it 30 miles a day and toured widely. I have racks front - low loader and rear. The frame is certainly strong enough although I wouldn't go over board as it wasn't designed to be a load lugger such as a Roberts, Surly, Thorn or other touring frames. It is still pretty capable though as mine has proved. The guys in the bike shops have advised you correctly. Does the Sirrus still come with rack braze on mounts front and rear? You are going the right way with decent hand built 36H wheels which will make no end of improvement to how your bikes handles and rides and IMHO are the minimum spoke count for cycle touring with any load. They hopefully will be very strong and last for years. Mine came with deep section Alesia 32H rims which were heavy and with the factory wheel build spokes kept breaking. The hubs were a bit cheap and cheerful as well. I now have mavic Open Pro cds on Campag Chorus 36H rear and 32h front wheels. I have Armadillo All condition Tyres 25C at rear and 23C at front although if you are fully loaded up you might prefer a 28C rear for more surface area of tyre on the road and an ever so slightly stronger wheel as more rubber around it. I don’t know if you would get any larger tyre on it as there might not be enough space in the frame. As the Sirrus frame is aluminium and aluminium can be unforgiving compared to a steel frame I have fitted a quality suspension seat post which again transforms the bike. I now wouldn't ride a bike without one especially when clocking up the miles. Go for a decent rear cassette such as Ultegra 12-25. If you are a reasonably fit cyclist you won't need anything lower than 25T if you have the triple up front with inner 30 ring. Otherwise fit a cassette with a 27T lowest sprocket at the back or a compact road chainset. It will all depend on how fit and an experienced cyclist you are. Given you are no doubt going to climb a few mountains in Austria or Switzerland you might be better off with the lower gearing of a compact chainset especially if you are carrying a lot to up a mountain col. Try to travel as light as possible, you will thank yourself for it. I think the current Sirrus has road gearing for commuting probably around town so may be a bit high. I ditched the original Ritchley chainset as the non drive side crank snapped, I wasn't injured. It wasn’t that great and weighed tonnes compared to the Ultegra triple 52-42-30 I replaced it with even with half the left crank missing. So my Sirrus is a lot lighter than when I bought it and has much better components. I also fitted bar ends to the handle bars and decent clipless SPD pedals. If you don't already have a tent consider the 2 man Vaude Taurus Ultralight at 1.85kg. I have one it is brilliant. It is really really easy to put up and take down. About £180. It packs really small and is light very light.

Will you be climbing the Grossglockner in Austria the highest pass in Europe? The small San Bernadino pass is stunning as well as the Stelvio pass which has 49 hair pin bends on top of each other - watch out though for wanabee racing drivers as it was featured on Top Gear. I already knew of it in spite of TG.

Good luck with the planning.

Alex

NFMC

I have a Specialised 08 Sirrus Pro (which I love)!

Anyway...I've never toured on it but I used it with a child seat on the back for many many miles last summer. My son was about 2 and a half stone and I'm a chunky 16 and a half and it was absolutely fine with the wheels provided when I bought it.

kernow montpelier

I toured French alps on a 2005 Sirrus Elite a couple of years ago. I carried 32kg of baggage and suffered no breakages etc... HOWEVER ...really wouldn't use it again in those conditions without changing the gear ratios. My lbc suggested that they had tried changing rings/block for something more mtn friendly on a Sirrus before and the derailleurs didn't cope. They suggested that changing to Ultegra would be needed. I didn't and it was hard work.
Have a good time.