Trek 2.1 or Giant Avail 1?

Okay, the pick is down to the Trek 2.1 and the Giant Avail 1 (my budget went up slightly due to family generosity + a 10% sale :D).

Any personal experiences? Any comments on which is better component/frame size? I'm torn - visually, I like the 2.1 but the people don't treat me very well there. The Giant dealer treats me like gold. :) That alone would make me go with the Avail, but something always brings me back to the 2.1..

Anyway, I just wanted to get opinions and see if anyone had any experience with them, or any opinions on components.. thanks everyone!

which one rides better, and fits you best?? THAT is the one to go with..
Tho it is important to have a shop that has your back, and is easy to deal with.

I was lucky and tweaked my bike (that initially didn't fit, or, rather, had the wrong components on it--saddle, stem, etc) but get the one that feels the best!

Also, could the shop that has the GIANT order you a Trek 2.1 in the size you need? :)

You know, they just carry Giant, but I never thought to ask if they could order me the Trek. Can they usually do that?

They both feel great to me. And the shop 'having my back' is a huge +++ to me. It just about evens it out to me.

If they are not a Trek dealer, they cannot.
I get that question all the time "can you order any bike I want??"... sorry.
Becoming a dealer for a specific brand is a tedious process, almost political. And you cannot become a dealer just to sell one bike.
Tho that doesn't neccesarily hold true for the small niche brands. But usually even they have minimums.

edit to add.
I am a Giant dealer, so some may say biased. But in this case (as is always with me) I say go with the bike that really calls to you. BUT like you even said, having a shop that has your back is HUGE! So if you like the Giant enough that you will not have buyers remorse, and pine for the trek after the fact, you may want to go with the Giant. You have to decide. I just know from past non lbs owner experience that as a woman, having a shop you are comfortable in is HUGE. You want to look forward to when you have to take the bike in for tune ups and such. You want to enjoy your time and interactions with your lbs, not dread them.
OTOH- if you feel that by buying the Giant you are missing out- get the trek. They are both equally great bikes. You can always buy the trek and pay to have it serviced at the other shop. We tell people all the time to shop around, and to buy the bike that speaks to them, sometimes it's from us, sometimes it's not. But we welcome them back, and help them with whatever they end up purchasing regardless. (keep in mind that if the Giant dealer has been spending a lot of time with you, and you walk in with a Trek they may be disappointed. It's human nature, but they will come around.)
Hope this helps

I have the Giant and I really like it. However, I don't have a lot of experience with road bikes (this is my first one and I've had it for about a year). It fits me well though and it feels really comfortable on medium length rides (about 80kms). I do feel that it has a more 'comfort' feel to it rather than a race kind of feeling. However, it still holds up well in group rides, maybe beginner-intermediate level group rides.
It also comes with rear eyelets so that I can do some light touring, and put a rack on it if I want to.

Definitely both are good bikes. I go with the treatment/service you receive. I looked at the Specialized line, but that dealer didn't give me the time of day, so I went back to the one(Giant/Trek/Fisher dealer) I've dealt with in the past, they always treat me like I'm one of their best customers. Consumer service is #1 in my book.

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Originally Posted by Running Mommy

Becoming a dealer for a specific brand is a tedious process, almost political. And you cannot become a dealer just to sell one bike.
Tho that doesn't neccesarily hold true for the small niche brands. But usually even they have minimums.

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I know this is totally off-topic RM - but I'm curious about it and I figured you could explain the current bicycle market to me a bit, and did not want to open another whole thread :)

In the last two years I noticed that several shops in the area have decided to reduce the number of manufacturer thay are dealers for. Unfortunately, high-end European bikes (Bianchi, BMC, and friends) were often the first to be dropped. For example right now (2009) in our area we are down to one BMC dealer and two Bianchi dealers - while in 2007 we had like 3 and 6. Other brands (US makers included, unfortunately) have been dropped as well. It seems that most places settle for the higher volume selling manufacturers like Giant, Trek, Specialized, and a few high-end makers, for example the shop 'around the corner' is a Cervelo and Giant dealer - and they can order custom Moots and Waterford on request. Until two years ago they also had Bianchi and Litespeed in stock - and were able to order Look and custom BMC models. But in '08 they dropped all of those because they said it required too much investment upfront.
And it's not just our area, I noticed the same back home in L.A. last time I was there, so it's really sort of happening everywhere.

What I have been wondering is what the rationale behind this change is. Did the manufacturers start asking for higher # of purchases, i.e. if you want to still be a XXX dealer then you need to buy at least so many more this year than last year? Or is this just tied to the increase in prices, and so even if the number of bikes you need to stock is the same - the actual value is like 40% higher? Or is this maybe an attempt by the shops to protect themselves from repercussions of the recession, I guess shop owners predict that they will sell less bicycles in '09 and '10? Or a combination of all of the above and more?
And the 'selective' reduction that affect certain manufacturers more - is this because European imports are more expensive (Euro against Dollar), or because they sell less, or is there more to the story?

edit -
ps: this year I did buy a Giant for the first time and so far I'm liking it... so be happy :)

Thanks for all the help guys. I was leaning towards the Giant but I was second guessing myself. I went to ride the Trek again and yep - all wrong for me, I just felt wrong. Probably because the guy kept insisting I was a 56cm and, though I don't know much about road bikes yet, I'm pretty sure that is too big for me at 5'6". ?

Soooo.. I'm test riding a Scott Contessa tomorrow, just to make sure. But I asked them to hold the Giant for me. Hopefully it'll hold up if I decide to do some races down the road.

I know in my area, every LBS has carries only one brand - except Trek also carries Gary Fisher but I'm pretty sure that doesn't count. I wish we had a Bianchi dealer in these parts, we don't as far as I know. :(

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Originally Posted by Shivonick

I was leaning towards the Giant but I was second guessing myself. I went to ride the Trek again and yep - all wrong for me, I just felt wrong. Probably because the guy kept insisting I was a 56cm and, though I don't know much about road bikes yet, I'm pretty sure that is too big for me at 5'6". ?

Soooo.. I'm test riding a Scott Contessa tomorrow, just to make sure. But I asked them to hold the Giant for me. Hopefully it'll hold up if I decide to do some races down the road.

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Isn't it peculiar how we have mental blocks against things we are trying to decide? :p Sometimes it takes a few rounds to figure it out (even though in your mind, it may already be decided--you just have to discover it since so many factors influence a decision!)

Yeah, 56 sounds waaaay too big for you...maybe good for someone who is 5'11"..... Just curious: what size Giant did they put you on?

Yay, that sounds terrific :) Aren't you excited to get a new bike? :)

Good luck! Let us know your test ride goes (and which bike wins your heart)!

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Originally Posted by Shivonick

But I asked them to hold the Giant for me. Hopefully it'll hold up if I decide to do some races down the road.

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It should ;)
I have not tried the Avail but I did test ride a Defy which I'm told is the same thing - and it looks like a pretty good bike :)

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Originally Posted by Ana

Isn't it peculiar how we have mental blocks against things we are trying to decide? :p Sometimes it takes a few rounds to figure it out (even though in your mind, it may already be decided--you just have to discover it since so many factors influence a decision!)

Yeah, 56 sounds waaaay too big for you...maybe good for someone who is 5'11"..... Just curious: what size Giant did they put you on?

Yay, that sounds terrific :) Aren't you excited to get a new bike? :)

Good luck! Let us know your test ride goes (and which bike wins your heart)!

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I know! I knew this was to be a big purchase, and with two young kids, I'm not exactly rolling in the dough, so I wanted to make sure this was 'THE BIKE' and that it would hold up to whatever I may want to do in the future.

Giant put me on a small, which I believe is a 50 or 52? The guy at Trek just based it off standover height, which I don't believe to be that accurated, given the smaller geometry and sloping top tube of the frames I was trying. Right?

TxDoc and bikecanada, thanks for the reassurance on the Giant. I sure do like the teal color on the Avail 3 better, but I prefer the shifting on the Avail 1 so that's what I'm going for.

Thanks SO MUCH for all the help and reassurance. I don't know any riders in town, so it helps to hash this out with you guys and it makes me feel like I'm not alone. :)

Ok to catch up and answer some questions..

Shiv- Trek and Gary Fisher are one in the same. Bontrager is also a trek product- ie; non trek shops cannot get them.

As for the sizing.... ARGGHHH to shops that base their sizing on standover height- NEVER do that!!!!!! With the new geometry that most road bikes have these days you really need to look at effective top tube, and overall reach.
To give you an idea, go on wrench science dot com and go into their fit gallery. You have to make an acct, but it's easy and free. Then do a fit on yourself- have someone help measure you. Plug in the numbers and then look at the overall reach and related numbers. Those are really helpful in finding the right sized bike for you.

Ok and TX....
Yes a lot of shops are streamlining what they carry. We were a Bianchi dealer last year, but this year they wanted a 25k commitment. We don't have the market, so we had to drop them. The larger companies also tend to have much more favorable credit terms, while the small guys are all COD or credit card up front. So for shops that are cash poor (like ours) it makes it hard to justify carrying the brand. Also it is a very tough environment for the small independent bike dealers. Margins are low on bikes, and getting lower on accessories, so it is very tough to be profitable. Most of the saavy owners are narrowing their focus and then going deep. So you will prolly see less "stuff" in your lbs. We just can't afford to have so much "fluff" laying around taking up space and $$. We are constantly evaluating our inventory mix, and are dropping "skus" (products) that are sitting too long.
So anyway, that is why you are seeing a shift in your lbs. They are kind of forced to in order to stay alive.

Okay I rode the Scott Contessa, and I love it, so I'm kinda back to square one! :p

It sounds like you have a lot more test riding and decision making to do ;) Is the Scott at the shop you really like or are the Giant and the Scott at different shops?