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Buying without trying?

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  • September 18, 2015 at 11:49 am #24822
    I am a human

    How many people here have bought a bike that they didn’t first test ride? Have you ever regretted doing so?

    It seems that getting a chance to test ride a bike outside of the big brands is fairly hard work, either involving long trips to the one shop that stocks them, or happening to know someone who owns one already.

    Obviously the likes of Ribble and Canyon are online only so is a test ride really that important?

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  • September 18, 2015 at 2:06 pm #860073
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    sergius

    Both my bikes I’ve bought
    Both my bikes I’ve bought without trying (or even seeing in the flesh).

    The Cube was my first road bike and I knew f’all about bike fitting at that point. As a MTB’er you just buy a suitable size frame, adjust as required and off you go. I hadn’t realised road bikes were any different.

    I ended up getting a bike fitting 6 months after buying the Cube and then getting a shorter stem and narrower bars – but this was as much about core-strength and flexibility at that time tbh.

    My Rose I bought with a much greater knowledge around bike fitting. I knew what sizes I needed, and also used their bike fitting tool on the site. I ended up buying a slightly bigger frame than I would have normally done (58 vs 56) but the geometry is very different as it’s a endurance bike and the front is much higher than the Cube. With the Rose, all I’ve tweaked is the saddle height and layback – rest has been perfect.

    September 18, 2015 at 1:36 pm #860071
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    Rod Marton

    In answer to your questions:
    In answer to your questions: yes, and no. But to do so you have to decide exactly what you want the bike to do, and have the experience to work out from the dimensions whether it will do the job well and be comfortable. I’ve been riding a long time: I know my position and what bike will suit me. But even after this there are those intangible properties which don’t come from measurements, and for this I’ll look at reviews – or better still, talk to someone who rides one.

    This has worked so for me so far, but if you haven’t got the experience to know what will be right for you, go and have a test ride.

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