Quote Originally Posted by nscrbug View Post
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.