"I'd be keen to hear other solutions apart from returning the bike/post or stumping up for a torque gauge."
I had problems with my carbon seat tube slipping in my carbon frame. I was in danger of stripping/busting the seat post bolts. This product is designed for this specific problem and did the trick:
http://www.tacx.com/producten.php?fl=true&language=EN&lvlMain=18&lvlSub=66&lvlSubSub=222&ttop=Carbon%20assembly%20compound
I have 550 mi on my 2007 Giant OCR C0 since mid December, and I love it. I like the "braze on" front dérailleur, inside the tube cable routing and such. My only complaint is the "lawyer lips" on the front vertical drop outs.
Giant TCR bicycles seem to be good enough for T-Mobil...
"The magenta-coloured squad not only clinched the overall teams classification for a third successive occasion - and the fourth in their history, they also took three stages (including both long time trials, at Rennes and Montceau-les-Mines), and also held the yellow jersey for four days."
Tailwinds!