Picking the right bike

Now that I've been riding 3 years and have a better understanding, I'm really glad I chose to get Giant Avail Advanced over Trek Madone. I own a few Trek bikes, specialized, Fuji and Giant. When I tried Madone in 2011, I couldn't really express why I didn't like it. The reason is simple, I didn't know anything. With only 1 year of road riding, my skills sucked, my strength sucked and my understanding of handling sucked.

As my fitness and skills improve, I started to notice how the bike handles on different roads and conditions. For example, my Specialized Dolce is a good bike, but a couple of things make it uncomfortable on longer ride over 60 miles.

1. the stem is too long, which causes me to keep my arms straight. After about 40 miles, my hands start to feel numb. When I go into the drops, it's difficult to generate max power.

2. the aluminum frame transmits more of the road vibration, which causes soreness of my shoulders, back and neck. I've ridden 4 centuries on the Dolce. Half way through, I started having numb hands and a tight back.

3. it's difficult to get an ideal position on the dolce. this could easily be fixed by getting a shorter stem and pushing the saddle back a few millimeters.

Even with this minor fit issues, my Dolce is far more comfortable than the Madone I tried. Back then I chalked it up to the lame saddle on the bike, but now I know better. The Madone is very stiff, but it also transmits much more road vibration. Many of the roads around central MA have potholes, dirt/sand, or need to be repaved. I tried adjusting the saddle forward/back, but it didn't help. When I returned the Madone, the sales people tried to convince me to get a bodyfit. Even if I had switched the stem to a shorter one, changed to shallow drop bars, changed the saddle and lowered the tire pressure, it would still transmit more road vibration to my body. I'm sure for someone that's tougher, the Madone would be fine. For me, Madone is too harsh. Even though the Madone responds immediately to the rider, it's also unforgiving.

My giant Avail advanced 2 in contrast isn't as stiff as a Madone, but I can ride a double metric with zero fatigue. Last year, I rode King's Tour of the Quabbin double metric with some 7HW friends. At 98 miles, we were averaging 20mph and I felt great. There was no fatigue and my hands were never numb. Around mile 110, I started to cramp, but that was due to hydration.

I'm 5'3", 140-145lbs and stocky. My arms and legs are shorter than average, so a relaxed geometry is a better fit in every way. Picking the "right" bike isn't easy, and it's not really a science. The only good way to pick the "right" bike is to test drive some.