Canadian Man, is this the Giant OCR3 that you're talking about that retails for $800?
And are the Shimano Sora components that are pictured here the stock ones for the bike? I don't mind the look of the bike and for $800 it doesn't sound too bad. How are the Cromoly forks for stiffness? I'd prefer not to be bounced around the crappy roads here. And what kind of rims and tires are stock with this bike?
The other thing to keep in mind for me is that I'm quite short: 5'6" with short legs even for my small height -- can you say "Dorf on Cycling?"-- so I'd probably need to have the frame ordered (I don't think many places here in town carry smaller frames as part of their usual stock). The small OCR3 frame is 44cm and the medium is 50cm, which one do you think I'd need?
Also, what kind of price am I looking at for replacing those toe clips with clipless pedals?
I used to be heavily into mountain biking, but that was about 10 years ago, so I haven't kept up to date on the pricing of things and the advances in components. Gimmie a ball-park figure for the OCR3 with clipless pedals and shoes.
BTW, thanks for your help! This is great: being able to talk to someone who knows their stuff before I wander into a store with a "sucker" sticker slapped on my forehead.