Advice needed on Kona Dew vs Specialized Sirrus hybrids

zetty

Hello people,

would appreciate any purchasing advice as I'm finally switching from MTB to Hybrid (long overdue, I moved from a rural area to London 6 years ago and have stupidly been riding MTB up till now).. What would you recommend for 25 mile commute twice per week in London?

I've budget up to £500 and at this point have set my sights on Kona Dew and Specialized Sirrus.

Now, is it worth getting Kona Dew Plus 2013 instead Kona Dew 2013 if I have to pay £100 more? Are the difference in components worth it? These bikes seem to be heavily discounted at the moment and I have heard good things about the brand. Unfortunately I am quite ignorant when it comes to components, that's why I'm asking -- don't care much about disc brakes but I'm shifting gears a lot so smooth shifter and derailleurs might make a difference.

Regarding Specialized, I'd perhaps buy Sirrus Elite 2013 if only I wasn't allergic to white bikes.. The 2013 Disc version is black but costs £100 more and just stretches the budget too far.

How does Sirrus 2013, Sport 2013 and Sport 2014 compare to the Konas above? And aren't the Sirruses in general too "roady" for cycling on the often holed London roads and once in a while jumping on/off pavements?

I have also been told B'Twin Fit 7 to be a good option for the price, unfortunately they only have 51cm frames and with me being 190cm (6' 2.8") rider it seems to be a tad small. What is your experience with the frame sizes?

oneiroi

I can't comment with any great depth of knowledge. I do however have the 2014 Sirrus and use it for a 6 or 11 mile each way commute. It's been pretty good so far, can ride at a fair clip with it, and it seems to take my weight ok - 108kg + laptop/clothes/food in panniers. I'm about the same height as you and have 35" inside leg. I tried the large but found it a little too cramped - the XL is better. It's been fine on London roads, though the handlebars can get a bit buzzy on the more terrible road surfaces. Can't say whether it'd be better or worse than the Kona, but I'm happy with it.

As far as the components go, I've not had problems with the original equipment though I swapped out the brake blocks for ones that have a metal holder when the original ones wore out. I assume the more expensive versions have nicer components - and the Elite has a carbon fork which is supposed to help with the aforementioned buzziness.

zetty

Thanks Oneiroi, that's good to know Sirrus is faring well on London roads. Marketed as "hybrid" I supposed it should but it's said to be more of a road-type, and then after years on MTB and freedom to take whatever route desired including stairs, I realized I'm actually unaware of the limitations/surface requirements of faster bikes..

I wonder how many centimetres XL is. I am guessing 59?

oneiroi

It's 57cm I think.

I'm not sure I'd take it down stairs, though that's more me not trusting the tyres or wheels than it is the frame

zetty

oneiroi wrote:

I'm not sure I'd take it down stairs, though that's more me not trusting the tyres or wheels than it is the frame

Haha, absolutely not, I'm happy as long as I can quickly jump on n off the pavement without risking to damage rims

oneiroi

zetty wrote:

oneiroi wrote:

I'm not sure I'd take it down stairs, though that's more me not trusting the tyres or wheels than it is the frame

Haha, absolutely not, I'm happy as long as I can quickly jump on n off the pavement without risking to damage rims

The ramped kerbs arent a problem hitting them at full speed. Going down the sharp ones I lift off the seat slightly to let my body absorb some of the movement, and going up sharp kerbs I slow down ans (pitifully) bunny hop up. Not had any pinch flats or dented rims yet.

The one thing I'd bear in mind is that after a few months I am now wondering how much difference a road bike with drops and all would make in certain situations (provided I could still put panniers on it when necessary, anyway). It's surprisingly easy to maintain 20mph on fairly busy roads.

zetty

Speed is good thing to have for long distances but the traffic normally is so intense you can't really make those long speedy stretches, you keep running through jams and stopping at red lights. It actually all comes down to ability of gaining speed quickly rather than maintaining it.. Therefore I find good shifters/derailleurs most important.

Regarding drops, I just like the stability/control of flatbar more (not that I ever owned a dropbar bike but I have tried a few). Besides I am almost always watching what's happening around, standing up to check the traffic ahead etc. I find dropbars to impose more isolated, forward focused mindset which I can't get into while in the city. But to each their own I guess.

cookeeemonster

I had the sirrus sport a couple of years back and loved it for the time I had it (swopped it for a road bike though).

Best thing to do is go on a few tests rides - both the sirrus and the kona/anything else you like the look of. Evans and cyclesurgery are 2 among many which will do this. That'll tell you a lot more than a forum to be honest - it's not all about spec and the 'feel' could be a deciding factor.

Also - get disc brakes if you can (you'll know why after riding through a winter) and consider a cx bike if you can find one at a reasonable price - they're a damn good commuter option with the beneifts of both road and hybrid bikes (though I understand if you're not into drop bars)

zetty

Thanks CookeeMonster for your input.

Flatbar CX might be an option, yeah. But then I don't really see how it's much different to hybrids, perhaps more sports oriented / pro components?

Unfortunately my local Evans don't have the large frames in shop (that's for Sirrus, no Konas at all).. The 2 other local shops (Hendon) don't stock either. Of course it's far from the only options in London, I can travel further -- should perhaps try calling a few shops in advance and see if they got what I need in store. Although I normally can evaluate a product only after I used it for a while, I'd love to check out the posture/find the correct size. I am now concerned that although I'm 190cm (6' 2.8") with 85cm (33.5") inside leg, I may better be off with a tad smaller frame just to be able to maintain stable upright position when desired (e.g. when I am exploring unknown parts of the city which I do a lot as I always travel with my bike).

slowbike

Not sure what is more "roady" about the sirrus - my wife has one and we've ridden tracks & trails with it and my CX with no issues. She's also ridden 60+mile road sportives on it - with road tyres ...

25miles twice per week in London - sounds like it's all on roads or tarmac (in various states of repair) - so any bike that can take 28mm tyres would be sensible. Disk brakes are all the rage atm - but properly set up rim brakes are effective too.

Having ridden a flat bar bike for a couple of weeks commuting (last winter) I'm happy to be back on drop bars - but that's personal preference and my rides are long uninterrupted stretches - so "aero" helps more.

BigLights

The Sirrus' frame is, I believe, almost identical to the Alliez (a Spesh roadbike) in terms of geometry. I read that somewhere, but cannot back it up with data, so I'm happy to stand corrected if wrong.

I've had my Sirrus Elite since 2010, covering 15 miles of London roads every single working day of the year. I love it...it has proven extremely robust, nicely quick, lovely handling. I've swapped the wheels out for Shimano RS10s, and 23 tyres, and upgraded the brake pads. A highly recommended bike. The only frustration is things like the 'Millbank Sprint' or anywhere along embankment to be honest, where top speed is just not the same as a road bike....ie, on my Ribble Gran Fondo I reckon I can get an extra 3-4 mph with no real extra effort. But ultimately, for hooning round traffic laden London roads, it is perfect.

And I had been through a fair few bikes before I got my Sirrus.

slowbike

Well - the forks are completely different as are the rear stays - the Allez won't take 32mm+ tyres ... !
Not sure about the rest of the geometry as my wifes Sirrus is a different size to my Allez - but you could look it up on Specialized's website if you wanted.

"Top Speed" on a hybrid will always be lower than a road bike (or a cx) that has been set up correctly - because of the body positioning on the drop bars allowing a lower profile and therefore less wind resistance. But as you've said - in town that makes little difference as you're wanting to observe traffic more anyway.

supersonic

Can always try clip on tri bars on a flat bar bike for the long stretches. is often about making the bike work for you, despite what moniker the manufacturers have given it. Hybrids cover a huge amount of bikes - CX bikes are essentially hybrids.

zetty

@Supersonic

Didn't even know something like tribars existed.. Interesting stuff.
For now I'm gonna try out bar ends, something tells me I'm gonna love 'em.

cookeeemonster

zetty wrote:

Thanks CookeeMonster for your input.

Flatbar CX might be an option, yeah. But then I don't really see how it's much different to hybrids, perhaps more sports oriented / pro components?

Unfortunately my local Evans don't have the large frames in shop (that's for Sirrus, no Konas at all).. The 2 other local shops (Hendon) don't stock either. Of course it's far from the only options in London, I can travel further -- should perhaps try calling a few shops in advance and see if they got what I need in store. Although I normally can evaluate a product only after I used it for a while, I'd love to check out the posture/find the correct size. I am now concerned that although I'm 190cm (6' 2.8") with 85cm (33.5") inside leg, I may better be off with a tad smaller frame just to be able to maintain stable upright position when desired (e.g. when I am exploring unknown parts of the city which I do a lot as I always travel with my bike).

Regarding the bike size you need not being in the shop - if they have them available at any shop in the country or in their warehouse then you can order them in, takes a couple days normally. You can arrange two or three test rides at a time I think.

zetty

So I have received Kona Dew Plus and to be honest I am somewhat disappointed.

Few of the issues:
* Front disc brake fit the wrong way
* Tyre also fit the wrong way (thread points backwards)
* Deep scratch on the seatpost that won't let it to go into frame tube
* Extremely long brake cable on the front which also makes a rigid gigantic loop which I can't get straight
* Stem is not sitting straight
* No usable instructions how to assemble it

Now, I am not big on the technical side and prefer my bike to be serviced (I wouldn't mind doing it on my own but I am really busy and don't trust I will get it right unless I devote lots of time to it). I tried my best assembling it today but just couldn't get the disc brake right on the front, the wheel turns a half of revolution and then stops. I did check online videos explaining how to assemble bike from box and adjust disc brake but it doesn't help. I don't know if it's defect or that's me.

So all in all I think quality control isn't that great. I expect to be able to assemble a bike served for the end customer easily, it shouldn't be necessary to have a mechanic do it. Having said that, I did not try it yet, maybe it's a great ride if put together nicely. But I don't know how do I fix the front wheel in place though.. Can't get it to bike shop either as don' have a car. Not decided yet but quite probably returning it.

supersonic

Where did you buy at from? Did it say it would come ready to ride?

zetty

Ordered it online and knew there will be some assembly. I have tools and can change a blown tube but not much more. Just pointing out the apparent lack of quality control: the parts that were assembled, were not assembled properly. So it doesn't seem so unlikely that there couldn't be some kind of defect (probably disk brake related) preventing me to fit the front wheel right.

supersonic

Unfortunately this is the way 99% of bikes from all brands come in the box from the manufacturer - they rely on the dealer (home mechanic) to do a full check over.

There could of course be a defect, but I'd expect full manuals. I'd ask the retailer for them, or look at Park Tools website for comprehensive guides.

zetty

Just to conclude this thread, I have returned Kona for full refund minus shipping costs (£50) and bought a second hand (barely used though) Specialized Sirrus Comp 2013 for £450. Checked the stolen bikes registers and it's not reported as being stolen, so just a good deal.

And know what, it was definitely the right choice, couldn't be happier with the bike -- well, perhaps except for the design

The most amazing thing about Sirrus Comp is the lightness of it -- after handling MTB for years, this feels like a feather! BTW, the Kona was actually about the same weight as my MTB GT Avalanche 2.0, maybe due to bit larger frame. Not sure it's about weight only but I also find climbing hills way more easier than with my MTB, mostly almost effortless.

If anyone knows -- why is the shape of fork so different for Comp and Elite?