Originally Posted by Tim_Iowa

Unfortunately, I think that's the crux of the problem. You say to yourself "At 5'4", I don't consider myself "extra-small"."
But bike sizes are designed around dudes, even though women are shorter on average. Even Liv, Giant's women-centric subdivision, uses the same notional sizes as their men's bikes.
I wish they would just use an actual measurement, like inches or cm.

Otherwise, I like that bike. Specifically, I like that you chose the rigid fork instead of suspension. The suspension forks on budget bikes are really heavy and poor-performing. You saved a couple pounds with the rigid fork.