Trek 2.1 or Giant Avail 1?

[Pan Dulce]

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 ).

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!

[Running Mommy]

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.

[Ana]

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?

[Pan Dulce]

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.

[Running Mommy]

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

[bikecanada]

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.

[TxDoc]

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.

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