I’m in love with my road bike! Here’s my full review of the Giant Avail 3 road bike. It has a women specific design, is comfortable, fast, and has smooth shifting – all in all, it’s a quality road bike for less than $1,000.
Joe and I went bike shopping recently. Joe had seen an ad for a Giant Rapid for a really good price. I was not crazy about drop handle bars so the appeal of the Rapid was its flat handlebars. We had both shopped at Cap’s Bicycles before and knew that they also sell Specialized and Trek so we thought this would be a good place to start. Joe read some reviews online about the Giant Rapid and they were all very positive. Determined to take our time and do our homework we set off, with Billy (our Yorkie-Poo) in tow. He often comes for bike rides with us, in his Axiom Premium Pet Basket (reviewed here).
Related: Review of one of the greatest value-for-money road bikes, the Specialized Allez Elite 2014
Winter is a good time to buy bikes because the prices are very good, but sometimes the selection can be limited, which was the case for my (small) size. I test drove the Rapid and thought it was a nice ride, but wanted to try some other bikes for comparison. Since I wanted flat handlebars the selection was even more limited. I decided to try drop handlebars and noticed a very beautiful Giant Avail 3 in my size. Not only that, but it was also a women specific design – bonus!
I took a test ride on the Giant Avail 3 and immediately fell in love with the bike. It was comfortable, I really enjoyed all the hand position options, the shifting was very smooth and the second brake levers were brilliant. The seat is comfortable. Best of all she is a fast, fast girl. So much for taking our time – I wanted this bike and I wanted it now!
I have not regretted my choice for a minute. Here’s my bike on a lovely ride we took on the Point Grey bike route in Vancouver.
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I have done many commuter rides on the Giant Avail 3 and she is wonderful. So much faster than my old commuter. Her acceleration is the best of any bike I have ridden. And she looks great too! Here she is, dressed in her winter Bike Wrappers (high visibility reflective wrappers that protect your bike and protect you too – read our review here).
My Giant Avail is just a joy to ride. I highly recommend the Giant Avail 3 to anyone looking for a quality road bike for less than $1,000. Great value for money.
My Giant Avail is a beautiful bike!
My Giant Avail has Shimano Sora gears
My Giant Avail has Tektro TK-R312 Giant Specific, Dual Pivot brakes, which work really well
Front brakes on my Giant Avail
The stock Giant Avail saddle looks great and feels good too
The Giant Avail has quick release on the wheelsRead on … Joe can give you the technical specs below:
This is Joe … the Giant website will tell you:
“Group rides or solo sessions, centuries or triathlons avail gives you the confidence to take it to the next level. The lightweight and comfortable ride quality of Avail comes courtesy of its premium aluminum frame, designed specifically for women riders with Liv/giant’s 3F philosophy. Its road-taming technologies include the distinctive OverDrive steerer tube, which is oversized for improved handling and slightly taller for optimized endurance positioning.”
It’s all true!
This is a great bike for a very reasonable price. Took it for a spin myself, even though it is not exactly my size. It handles like a thoroughbred – FAST, and responsive. A little on the stiff side for me, but Maggie loves it. If you’re looking for a road bike under $1,000, definitely give this one a test ride.
(For more product reviews, see Average Joe Cyclist Product Reviews.)
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Technical Specs of the Giant Avail 3:
FRAME | |
|---|---|
| Sizes | XS, S, M, L |
| Colors | White/Turquoise/Champagne, Black/Purple/White |
| Frame | ALUXX-Grade Aluminum |
| Fork | Advanced-Grade Composite, Alloy OverDrive Steerer |
| Shock | N/A |
COMPONENTS | |
|---|---|
| Handlebar | Giant Sport, Women’s, 31.8 |
| Stem | Giant Sport |
| Seatpost | Giant Sport, 30.9 |
| Saddle | Giant Performance Road, Women’s |
| Pedals | Caged w/ Toe Clip and Strap |
DRIVETRAIN | |
|---|---|
| Shifters | Shimano Sora |
| Front Derailleur | Shimano Sora |
| Rear Derailleur | Shimano Sora |
| Brakes | Tektro TK-R312 Giant Specific, Dual Pivot |
| Brake Levers | Shimano Sora w/ Tektro RL720 Top Bar Levers |
| Cassette | Shimano HG50 11×32, 9-Speed |
| Chain | KMC X9 |
| Crankset | Shimano Sora, 34/50 |
| Bottom Bracket | Shimano, External |
WHEELS | |
|---|---|
| Rims | Giant S-R2, Double Wall |
| Hubs | Giant 24/28h |
| Spokes | Stainless Steel, 14g |
| Tires | Giant S-R4, 700×25 |
Sound s like a bike I should tbink about – how about size ? Most bikes i ride the break Le ers Are too wide for my little hands …
Lucy lee
Hi Lucy. I asked Maggie about this, and this was her reply: “Honestly, I find the levers on the top best. The drop levers are a little big for me, and I have average sized hands.” BUT what you can do, Lucy, is get the bike shop to put spacers under the levers. They don’t last forever, but while they are in place, they really help. I agree with Maggie – bike manufacturers do NOT seem to have figured out how small women’s hands are. Even on the WSD bikes, the levers are usually too wide. It’s a very serious flaw, given how important brakes are. And from what I’ve seen, it’s across the board – NONE of them get it. The brake levers are ALWAYS too wide. I suspect there are no women in the bike design workshops …
And for me the HB stem is always too short – even on a women’s bike. I need a level top on a drop bar, shallow drops and short reach brake levers. Road bikes just don’t fit me well enough.
Hi Lizbeth. I agree that the HB stem is often very short, with the result that some road bikes make me feel as if I am about to fall over the handle bars onto my nose. I don’t like that super aggressive slant. Have you tried what they call relaxed geometry bikes? For example, Specialized does a few variations of those, such as the unfortunately discontinued Sequoia, which was one of my favourite bikes. These are especially designed to be more level and comfortable. They don’t necessarily have to be women’s bikes – some of the men’s bikes are quite comfortable. Maggie loved my Sequoia. Just a thought … although then of course there is the battle to get the brake levers right. Bear in mind that most things on a new bike can be swapped out.
I appreciate the review, but wandering how this bike compares to the Specialized WSD bikes? Which I have heard great things about from others.
Hi Lona. This is a very, very tough call. Personally I LOVE Specialized road bikes. I think they have lifted them to level of speed and elegance that is something like Olympic ice skating – just plain awesome. But Giant makes great bikes too. I think it comes down to personal taste, and how your body fits. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND that if you are going to spend close to $1,000 on a bike, you take a lot of bikes for good, long test ride. It will come down to what works best with your body.
Have one of these myself – awesome ride. Agree Joe that it is kid of a stiff ride. Not going to make the obvious ribald comments about why that might be attractive to some lady riders … BUT seriously is there a way to soften out the ride? Because other than the stiff stiffness (which is good in some contexs but NOT when you are on a rough road in tights) this a near perfect bike for me. Of course, I am just yr average jane cyclist, not a pro or anything … but I cycle hard and fast, leave most of the men in my dust 🙂