I consider myself a member of the very vocal "Steel is Real" crowd. I just like the feel of a steel-framed bike over any aluminum bike that I've ridden so far. I noticed that you mentioned the FX is a WSD model; there is also a womam-specific Coda model - the Coda Femme. Unfortunately, the Femme model is only available as the base Coda and therefore has Acera components which are a couple of steps below the 7.3's Deore. I also noticed that the Comp model has a carbon fork so it will probably feel somewhat different than the Sport's full chromo frameset. Regardless I would suggest giving the Coda Femme a test ride - the Acera group works fine IMHO. I have an 8-yr-old Acera derailleur that works as well as it did new. Plus the $90 in savings could go toward those little extras that we always want for our new ride. Have fun and ride safe!