I'll stop drooling...

[softthings]

@maxxie, what are the differences in shifting with the shimano v sram? thanks!

[Cataboo]

Definitely - if your avail 3 doesn't fit or fits so badly that it makes you miserable and you don't ride because of that.. Then sell it and get another bike. But you shouldn't be considering other versions of the avail if that is the case.

One thing you may want to do is go for a professional fitting - and basically get told what the ideal geometry is for you. You of course are going to have to be able to tell the fitter whether you want to ride aggressively or in a more touring fashion, and that's probably something that you need to build up your core and get a lot more miles on the bike before you really know.

But once you get your fitting and know what geometry you need, then go find a bike that has that geometry. You seem focused on the cannondales and they are pretty and they're great bikes... but if they don't have a frame that works for you, it doesn't matter.

After my year or two of fiddling with bikes - I can look at a geometry table on a bike and tell whether or not I want it and if I'll like it. That's pretty much what you need to be able to do for your next bike before any of us can really help you decide which bike you want, and part of that is going to be test riding, but a professional fitting will also help. I know bikes that feel fine after 10 miles of riding can cause agony after 20-30 miles of riding...

So start thinking about - how do you want to ride? what distances do you want to ride? what material do you want to ride on?

And once you get to know what geometry or frame fits you, that really opens up the used or ebay market. I know you're going to be starting grad school soon, so money is going to be tight. Assuming you paid full price on your giant avail 3, I paid less for my full ultegra titanium litespeed that was barely used on ebay. I also paid less for my full 105 full carbon road bike on craigslist (it was an unused frame). I did luck out on both, and the litespeed took maybe almost a year of watching ebay - but it's definitely possible. Zen got her steel jamis aurora for less than full price of a giant avail 3 on ebay, and that gave her spare spending money for upgrading shifters, etc. I have a friend in idaho that just bought his wife a full dura ace 10 speed felt off of craigslist for $500. The frame is not exactly what she wants, but he'll either move the parts on her steel frame she loves or get her a full carbon frame off ebay. Even if he spends $500-1000 on the frame, she's going to have a full dura ace bike for about $1000-1500.


What part of your bike feels scrunched up? Top tube length or? you can try putting a longer stem on it, a setback seatpost might help. If you're having trouble finding the right gear - how much time do you spend in your little chain ring on hills? I usually barely use mine, so I switched the cassette on my surly to a 12-23 sram 8 speed cassette which gives me nice tight shifting, and I just shift my chain ring up front if I need more gears for a hill...

Triple vs. double.... I have 2 road bikes, and I have kept one as a triple just in case, and in some ways I really regret that... I love my compact double. As I've learned to spin,legs are stronger, I can get up pretty much anything with it, and I have a set of wheels with an 11-28 cassette on it for days that I know are really going to be hilly... But then, I don't live somewhere with big mountains. My compact double shifts so much better than the triple does. But I guess I know I can always put the 11-28 on my triple if I'm going somewhere with mountains.

[nscrbug]

My thoughts...

You say that you're not tall enough to ride the "Large" Giant, and the fact that Giant doesn't come in Large for women does present a problem. BUT...have you considered looking at the "Medium/Large" men's Giant Defy frame? I believe the Defy is the men's version of the Avail. Just something else to consider.

Also...you mentioned SRAM Rival being on one of the bikes you are considering. Like Shimano components, SRAM has a hierarchy to their component groups. Shimano's higher-end groupset from lowest to highest (in terms of quality and price) are - 105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace. SRAM's are - Rival, Force, Red. So...in terms of better components...I'd say the Fem 3 with the Ultegra group would be a bit better than the Fem 4 with Rival. But that's just my opinion. I'm currently riding a bike equipped with full Ultegra SL components, and it's great...but I'm fairly certain that my next bike (whatever that may be) will have SRAM Force (or Red if I can afford it) since I'm hearing that the Force groupset has been totally revamped for 2010 and is getting glowing reviews from everyone.

[Wahine]

Just another bit of input on SRAM vs Shimano shifters. My BF builds custom bikes for a living and works regularly with SRAM, Shimano and Campy parts. In his opinion, SRAM is a more elegant and mechanically simpler set up, making it mush less prone to failure. The engineering in the different levels of SRAM groupos is the same, what varies are the materials and the weight.

As for the different shifting, most Shimano shifters have essentially 2 levers to shift, the long front lever that is also the brake lever and a shorter lever behind it. To shift one direction you push the big lever in (both levers actually move when you do that), to shift the other direction you push in only the short lever behind the brake lever.

SRAM uses one shifting lever behind the brake lever. So you're not messing with your brake lever when you're shifting. To shift one direction, it's a short push in, to shift the other way it's a long push in.

I've used Shimano, SRAM and Campy shifters and I have to say that I prefer Campy, but that's way out of most peoples price range. Between Shimano and SRAM, I definitely prefer SRAM.

Hope that helps.

[Maxxxie]

@maxxie, what are the differences in shifting with the shimano v sram? thanks!

Basically, what Wahine said

When I was in the market for my road bike, I'd had a long history with flatbar bikes. Previously, the dropbar bike I'd had in high school had downtube shifters, so the concept of modern integrated shifters was foreign to me.

I found that on the Shimano bike, I had a tough time readily identifying which lever I was actually operating. Perhaps that's something that would've resolved itself with time and practice, but the test ride left me feeling very uninspired. I then test rode a SRAM bike (the 'dale), and shifting felt like second nature to me. There was no mental effort involved. It just shifted when I wanted it to shift, in the direction I wanted it to shift. This is particularly useful when struggling up a hill. The last thing you want to do is shift to a tougher gear just because you're too dumb to operate the damn shifter!!

My next bike will definitely be SRAM. I'm happy with the Rival groupset overall, though the FD leaves a little to be desired. My LBS swapped it out with a Force FD before it even left the shop, since it wouldn't change to the big ring at all (it kept flexing instead of actually shifting). My understanding of the differences between Rival, Force and Red is in line with what Wahine said - the differences are not in the engineering but in the materials. I'm not a weight weenie, so Rival is fine for me. That said, if a Red bike came along at a reasonable price, I'd go Red! I mean, if it's good enough for Lance, it's good enough for me, right?

Max

[Owlie]

My thoughts...

You say that you're not tall enough to ride the "Large" Giant, and the fact that Giant doesn't come in Large for women does present a problem. BUT...have you considered looking at the "Medium/Large" men's Giant Defy frame? I believe the Defy is the men's version of the Avail. Just something else to consider.

Not an option, sadly. I borrowed an older OCR3, M, and the top tube on that sucker was too long. Not overly so, but enough to cause discomfort. My bike may be a case of tweaking a few small things. I'm hoping that's the case. I'm not uncomfortable enough to not ride--I feel it toward the end of a ride and when I get off the bike.
Thanks for the breakdown on SRAM. BF's and his family's bikes are all Shimano, so I really don't have a comparison.
Catriona, thanks for the suggestion on the fitting. Any idea how much I can expect to pay? I'll also be calling the LBS, I think.

[Maxxxie]

Any idea how much I can expect to pay? I'll also be calling the LBS, I think.

I paid $150 for mine, and it was the best thing I ever did. It was done by a physiotherapist, not an LBS (ie he had no vested interest in selling me a new bike). My LBS does full fittings for $140, and I've heard very good reviews about the results. I've seen LBS's charge as high as $300, but it seems most charge around the $150 mark.

Cheers,
Max

[Owlie]

I checked with my LBS, and a full fitting costs $150. I figure I'll book it a little closer to break, because as of now, my plans are up in the air.