Road Cycling - Road test bikes - Results = Buy?

I just saw a thread about someone "road testing bikes". they were feeling "guilty" about taking up people's time at the various LBS.

Well, I've bought a few bikes, but never because of a road test. I researched and reviewed specs and geometry to make my decision. I've never been "swayed" or given much thought to road tests because they are too short or on "new tires" riding in a geeky area or some other distractions.

Tell me about how you choose your "road bike"?

I'd really like to know about the people buying $1000 and up bikes, does the road test "sell you"?

You have to test ride or more times then not,you'll end up not happy.Research,compare and test ride.

Like you Richard, I look at the specs and geometry to make my decision as well. I don't depend too much on the road test, I do road test after I'm 99% sure what I want just to reassure my decision.

Being I just bought my first road bike, I took a couple on a test ride. I tested a Specialized Allez Ellite and the Cannondale R800. I went into the rides thinking I wanted the Cannondale because of the better frame and nicer wheel set. After riding both I found the Specialized to be a way nicer ride. I was told it was because of the saddle and the carbon fiber seat post. So, I bought the Cannondale and got a better saddle and carbon fiber seat post for it. I love it now! The thing that sold me on the whole road bike concept was taking a clipped in test ride. The extra power was amazing, so that is what sold it for me.

My bike shop won't even allow customers test :(

My bike shop "insists" that customers ride the bike before buying. The owner said that he preferred for me to ride the bikes before buying. If my shop would not allow me to test, I would not allow myself to spend money there.

I test rode several bikes before buying. I did research for bikes in my price range beforehand. Before riding I was convince that I would end up purchasing a bike from the Trek line. However, after test riding, I was much happier with the fit of the Lemond's (I have short legs & a long trunk). Had I not done the test rides, I would have purchased one of the Trek bikes and probably been unhappy about the fit.

Sorry... I had to pick the "lame" selection because I think there are a variety of ways one uses a road test in their buying decision and not all were listed. Anyways... here's how I usually use road tests. I have two types of road tests. The first is used as research into what bikes are available, how they compare to one another, what components generally feel like, etc... In these tests, I ride a LOT of different bikes and usually from anywhere between 30 minutes to about an hour each. This will usually allow me to prune to a list of a dozen or so bikes. I will then research each bike's reputation and individual selling points, owner's comments, price, etc. I may go back for a few more test rides on those bikes to confirm specific attributes I want to focus on for each bike. Usually after a couple of iterations (normally not more than three), I will have two contenders. I then do a final test ride between the two possible choices. I try to make each test ride at least an hour long to get an idea of long-term feel and confirm or deny any lingering suspicions I may have about the bike itself. I know it's not going to be absolutely conclusive but it's the best I can do. At the end of the "ride-off", I'll go home, make my decision and come back to buy. If it's a bike off the showroom, I generally just leave with it. If I had been testing out a demo or someone's personal bike and mine was something special that had to be ordered and built, I'll make sure to do a final test ride of the actual bike before taking it home.

I just purchased a Trek 520 ($1000) from my LBS.

They didn't have it in stock, so no test ride. But from reading
the info on the Trek website, and based on what I know to be important to my comfort on a bike, I knew it would be a good fit after a few changes: switch from road to mtb crank, pedals with a larger platform, and a different saddle. Other things, like reach to handlebars, could be altered by flipping or replacing the stem.

I haven't got the MTB crank on it yet (and riding the narrower 105 road triple only reinforced my view that I need the wider MTB crank), but the reach and overall comfort and stability are about what I expected. I may flip the stem to raise the handlebars.

For a 1st bike, there is nothing better then getting fitted for a bike at your LBS, a test ride is the only way to know what your are looking for, and how the bike feels to you. However, I dont think you really know what you are looking for, or how the bike should fit you, or if the bike does fit you until you have atleast 1000 miles on the bike. I know i made minor changes on the bike every few hundred miles for the first year.

Once you have purchased a few bikes, and know the size / geometries of your bike, the test ride becomes less important.

Joe,
You are 100 % correct, if I would have known what I wanted, I would have only one bike instead of two. Now that I have what I want, I still "need" the other bike for other purposes. Like most people do, I have spent the last few months learning a lot through the wallet.

One of the bike mechanics wrinkled his nose at me this morning for putting and adjustable neck on my Bianchi. I wanted to raise the bars up a bit. When I noticed that Lance had a similar type neck on his bike while watching "Road to the Tour" today, I didn't really think much about the bike mechanic anymore.

Lance who?

Originally posted by shokhead
Lance who?

Until a few months ago, I had not been on a bike in 20 years. Even I knew who Lance was. My mother hasn't been on a bike in my life, she knows who Lance is. My 74 year old granny hasn't been on a bike in 60 years. She knows who Lance is. I think that if we dug up my great-grandmother, God rest her soul, she would probably have known who Lance is.

Shokhead, I KNOW that you are joking, else I wouldn't have told you about my mom, and my old granny. :) :) :) :)

For those with dimencia, parkinsons, amnesia, severe lack of exposure to any form of media, sports magazine, or other news source. I believe these days, they are calling him:

Lance Friggin Armstrong

BTW, There was a really good show about Lance today on "Road to the Tour". My sincere hope is that he makes it SIX in a row, and not five.

I've found road testing bikes to be very valuable. Even though I do a lot of riding, I am looking to purchase my first road bike, soon. Of course I've read a lot of reviews, read all the forums, and talked to local roadies. but when I actually rode, tne thing that surprised me the most was that I could feel significant differences between the bikes I've ridden, in comfort and responsiveness. I've gotten a 'feel' for the difference between aluminum and steel, and the various geometries. i've learned what seems to fit me, and what I prefer aesthetically in a bike. Even more valuable, though, has been getting to know the various bike shops and their staffs. I can say now that I will probably be buying a custom bike at a local shop that does not have the lowest price on the one I want, but that has convinced me that they know their stuff and will treat me right in the future. it's been an real enjoyable couple of weeks, and I've ridden almost a dozen different road bikes at five different shops, and returned for repeat rides on a couple of my favorites. I'm having a ball!

As a side note: do not let the bike get stolen while on a test ride! :P The last shop that I worked at, we had a man and lady ride up on a tandem, park it outside (without locking it, it turned out), and come in to see what we had.

Well, we didn't have tandems to offer. They went back outside and the tandem they rode in on was gone. The worse news is that it wasn't their tandem, it was a tandem that they were test-riding courtesy of another nearby shop. NOT good. I went and tore around on my road bike for a little while, looking for the tandem or anyone who'd seen it, but I didn't find it and I don't know if it was ever recovered or not.

Went for lame response: after having bought several bikes I've got the dimensions down.

Bought my road bike from my "L"BS (there local to my original home in UK, not present location in Norway) and selected based on phone conversation with them about relative merits of bikes they carried. I knew what I wanted in performance & size. This is really no different than going in and talking to them without trial (what I probably would have done anyway).

Have been very happy. Would do this again with pretty much any stock road bike. Only time I'd do something different would be for full fitting for custom frame.

My first bike I took it out for a long test ride. It was funny, the bike shop was actually starting to think I stole it!!!!! My latest bike is custom ti, hard to test prior to purchase.

Snowblower

When I bought my first road bike I went to a trek dealer.Stand over it he said. Looks good .After about 400 miles I wasn't happy,did some research about proper fitting. This bike was a 56 cm frame and I am 5'7" tall!I went to another LBS and got properly sized to a 51 cm frame. What a difference. I have had the bike for 2 years and love it. The moral: Get properly fitted and support your local bike shop (one that fits you and allows test rides)