Road Cycling - things to look for on test rides

so i'm committed to picking up a new ride (currently riding a steel 99 marin vicenza with campy veloce) but haven't decided what yet. i'm planning on riding just about everything in my price range (under $2000) this weekend. its been a while since i've shopped for a bike, and actually bought the marin over the web w/o riding it and have been quite happy. i'm logging enough miles to upgrade, and don't know where to start.

what are the most important things i should look for when test riding bikes? how sure can you be after only riding for a mile or so on the fit / ride quality? are there any things i should definitley be on the lookout for - positives and/or negatives?

thanks. i'll let you guys know what i narrow it to and see if anyone has any additional comments. thanks in advance.

matt

Fit is the most important thing, you can change everything but the frame size. Take some measurement off the old bike and see how easy they will be to duplicate. Make sure that you get a complete group on the bike, some manufacture will mix and match part to keep the cost down.
As for the test ride, make sure you bring you shoes, paddles and short. After you have the bike in mind ask for a longer ride. My LBS have demo wheels that he uses for just this reason.

i always like to ride to or ride just before the test ride. that way you are warmed up and have something real to compare it to.

take the turns aggressively. bikes of different angles and forks <rakes, etc> will have different handling characteristics. if you are like me, you aren't going to change out too much after the purchase....

make sure they adjust the seat to how you like it <fore, aft>

realize that wheels can make a huge handling and ride difference. make sure the tires are pumped up to your liking.

even ride a bike a little higher than your price range to see the difference. that will lessen any buyers remorse later. you are currently riding a very good bike now, so unless you want to go in a different direction altogether you might me splitting hairs.

but the shopping part is definitely a great part of the overall experience.
enjoy.

when I was buying my bike, I went on about a 20-30 minute test ride. I changed the gears alot, to see how well suited the ratios were, I took really aggressive turns, and I tried with all my might to flex the frame while riding (you know, big-gear, uphill sprinting...). then, On the way back, I just rode easy and paid attention to the ride, and how it handled pavement irregularities and tried to find a really comfortable position. you see, my biggest competitors were polar opposites: a (steel) lemond alpe d'huez, or an (aluminum) trek 2000. they were almost exactly the same price, but were completely different, and I wanted to test the differences.

so maybe find out what the published differences are on the bikes that you like, and then pay attention to those things...see if they make a difference to you when you ride the bike.

One item to ensure is that all bikes you ride have the same tire pressure. Have the shop set each bike's pressure before you go out. Even 10lbs difference can make a huge difference in perception. I always tried to ride at slightly higher pressures- 115-120lbs to call out frame harshness. I think if you ride lower pressures sometimes you cant feel the difference in materials/designs as well. Not that you need to ride at those pressures after you buy- thats for you to sort out....

A smile.