help with which bike to buy

[sueg]

I am looking at buying either the Giant Avail Alliance, the Bianchi Dama Bianca, or the bianchi vigorelli. Does anyone have any pros or cons they can share?
One of my main concerns is the Giant has a compact crank (FSA Gossamer Mega Exo 34/50) and some people have told me I'll never get up hills without a granny gear.
Thanks

[sundial]

Hi Sueg! Welcome to TE.

I don't have first hand experience with the models you are asking about, but I will share my personal experience with the bikes I have bought. I bought what was the most comfortable. I didn't buy the fastest, most popular, pretty, or state of the art stuff--I bought what fit me and my budget. Then I asked my bike mechanic the pros and cons of the bike and what the quirks were of that particular model. I would then take it out for a good spin and determine if it was a good fit for me.

As for the compact vs. triple, it depends on your riding habits (the mileage you'll put in) and the terrain (hilly, mountainous or relatively flat). I have both a triple and a compact bike. The compact shifts cleaner and I'm less likely to drop a chain. Depending on your cassette, you may only lose maybe the bottom 2 lowest gears that you would have on a triple. My compact is a 11/28. I prefer to ride this bike on flat to hilly terrain. For the really steep hills with double digit grades, I have the triple with a mountain cassette so I can get the lower granny gears. It is my winter/early spring training bike. I can climb the steep hills on my compact but I have to train for it.

I hope this offers you something to ponder and when you narrow down your choice, keep us posted. Buying a new bike is really fun!

[fidlfreek]

Sueg -
Hi I am selling my 08 Dama Bianchi if you are looking for one for a short person (I am 5'2) See the For Sale section if you're interested. I chose the Bianchi because for the price it gave me the best components. Shimano 105 components felt to me to be much much better that the lesser quality Shimano Tiagra or Sora components. I don't know what components the Giant comes with, but thats just something to consider. BTW, I'm getting rid of her only because my apartment is small and I bought another bike not because she's not a great ride. Her triple was just overkill for me living in flat Texas!

Here's what I think about the gearing issues. Having ridden both a triple and a double I can say that I wish my first bike had been the 34/50 gearing. On a compact (thats what a 34/50 is called) after a while you can always change out your cassette (the small gears in the back) as sundial was talking about for something that gives you the ability to go slower or faster (see these custom cassette options http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/k7.html). Remember, you can even have different cassettes for different times of year (or terrain) but this gets slightly more complicated...but you could have an 11-28 (nice and wide - so fast and slow options) and then a 13-32 (gives you even more slow gears!). It is a simple thing for your LBS to swap out cassettes. And they are only around $100 depending on material, grade of components etc.