Biscayne05

That's what probably Gilbert asked before he signed to BMC but money talked in the end

ls01

Thats cuz you never wash your hands kid,sticky finger prints all over everything......

ls01

odor doesnt count

djb

without even talking about 3k or more bikes, a few years ago I wanted to get a cross bike to replace my old touring bike. My fav store changed policies to "no test rides" unless you paid for a weekend rental (that would apply to a purchase). The alu framed bikes I had read up on were still a mystery to me in terms of how they would feel on the road--twitchy? very harsh? etc. I just didnt know---and these were $1500 bikes more or less, not many thousands.
Ended up finding another store where they were more than happy for me to ride it, for the time I wanted, just had to leave i.d.--like a car test drive.
Needless to say, after a few test rides that quickly showed me how the bike felt, enough for me to know I liked how it rode, I got the bike there simply because of their policy. I would have liked to buy it from the store I had previously bought numerous bikes for myself and my family, but the other place got my business because of their open policy.

I realize there are factors of inventory, but especially with a bike of this price range, I was quite surprised.
Although you guys are talking of not wanting to buy "untested" bikes of umpteen K prices, for me I still wasnt going to spend 1600 bucks without a test ride.

Dave Mayer

I've been on several test ride junkets with my bike cronies. Prosperous guys in their 50's who show up (unnanounced) at high-end shops looking to try out the latest and greatest. We've never been turned down. We fly around at warp speed on a series of bikes over mixed conditions, and most of the time, someone pulls out their Platinum card. The interesting thing is that we have never bought the bike we originally wanted to try, but always committed to something else, based on the superior ride. It may not have been the lightest or newest or most expensive model, but simply it had a better ride.

Tip to bike shops...there is no way that anyone shoudl commit to an expensive bike without a ride. And if you do offer demo bikes - set the bike up correctly! Most (!) of our test rides have involved getting off after a block, and fixing the indexing on the rear derailleur. Misaligned brake pads, creaky BB's and seatposts etc. do not help the close.

garysol1 

Extremely Panther is just another level up the ladder.

jsutkeepspining

hahaha


Gary: yeah panther is damn strong. There's a certain point where the local strong guys just don't compare to paul.

jsutkeepspining

also gary does spin have the new s-works shoe in stock yet? Mine are starting to fall apart, and i might be interested in a new set.

tspeters

Garysol1 "gets "it". At the end of last season I was ready to upgrade from my hybrid to a rode bike. I was interested in a Bianchi but only planned on spending about $1000 (which would be an aluminum frame). My LBS rents Bianchi's so I talked to him about reserving a aluminum Via Nirone for an afternoon. He said if I was interested in purchasing just take it on a test ride for an hour or so no need to rent it. After the ride I was stoked. We discussed CF bikes and Bianchi had their new entry level CF Vertigo bike coming out but none in stock yet. The LBS let me test ride his personal bike a CF Infinito with carbon wheels, ceramic bearings, carbon bars, seat post, and SRAM Red. (Probably $5000 -$6000 as prepped.) Again just take the bike out for awhile no problem. After that I couldn't "settle" for the Via Nirone. (And the LBS would have given me a deal on a lightely used demo Nirone for $750.) Jumped right over that, the entry level ($1900) Veritgo and ordered a $3000 version of the Infinito. If all he had in stock were the less expensive bikes without anything to compare, I would have purchased the Via Nirone. I wouldn't buy a bike I couldn't test ride.

oldbobcat

I'm saying that a shop knows its clientele, and if it knows that it's a slim chance a customer will walk through the door looking for an $8000 bike, then it's pretty stupid to put an $8000 bike on the floor. You guys think that all a shop has to do to be more successful is cater to your whims.

Sure, come in and test ride our bikes. That's what we're here for. Even better, buy one someday. But don't tell us you're not going to by a Madone 5.2 because we don't have a Cervelo S5 to compare it against. We're still trying to sell our last 2011 S3.

big john

I last bought a bike after a test ride in 1989, I think. It's just too hard to find something I'm interested in in my size. I'd love to ride an EVO, might even make me want one.

It's just as bad with mtbs, maybe worse because it's harder to buy frames.

Gluteus

It sounds like you have a great attitude towards customers (that god knows, can be a real pain in ass), and a great shop.
Too bad you're in Ohio

hhnngg1

No, that's good business. You want some outrageously high-end bling item to show that you've 'got the good stuff', even if pretty much nobody buys it. High end stores use this all the time - you actually think Tiffany intends to sell thousands of their $750,000 multidiamond holiday necklace that's on display front and center next to the $200,000 pair of diamond earrings and the $350,000 diamond ring? Heck no, but they're sure as hell glad to make a sale of a $8000 ring as a result of you seeing them as the 'top end' of jewelry. Even in cheaper stores, you always have a higher 'reach' model that's really not aimed to move, but aimed to impress if you're doing your sales right especially in items with high sale value.

You can still put that $8k bike up front but be reasonable about letting it out on test rides. No problem in denying customers the test ride of the uberbike for something like that - if they take offense at that, that's their problem and likely a customer you're better off not hassling with. I do however, think an LBS shoots themself in the foot by not allowing test rides on bikes the customer specifically is interested in buying. Why not order online at that point? (It will definitely be cheaper online.)

mustang1

Last month I went to LBS to test ride a bike. The purpose of test ride was to convince myself the bike was not worth buying and I would dislike it so much that I would get it out of my mind for good.
But the test ride was so good that I ended up buying it.

RoadMike

My local Giant dealer has at least two of each model of performance bikes that Giant makes from Advanced SL down to the Aluxx frames. they aren't all the most current model year, but they don't need to be for me to get an idea of the differences as they are close enough. When I went to buy my bike they encouraged me test ride both the Defy and TCR advanced, which were the models in my price range. Those guys are awesome. Ever since I bought my bike there, they have let me demo pretty much anything I want for whatever time I need to evaluate whether I want it or not. It's a pretty good policy, because I normally end up buying the things that I take extended demos on.

garysol1 

What size? Ill be in the shop today and I can see what we have? I havent ridden in the new one yet but I hear that there are some big advances over the previous years shoe.

manutd

I took a Roubaix SL3 pro out for a test ride last year in toronto and the shop didn't ask for ID or any collateral to hold or anything. I could have never come back and I really don't think they could have caught me.

Of course, I didn't steal the bike (I later bought a SL3 expert from my local shop at a much better price) but I was surprised at how easy it was to walk out of the door with a $5000 bike. They even gave me a helmet to wear (I forgot mine, I had my shoes at least)

Kudos to the shops that allow test rides. I know that my local shops don't always have the highest (s-works) models in stock to try but if you order one I know they said it isn't a commitment to buy.

Sidney Porter

It doesn't even need to be high end. Bike stores don't usually stock what they don't think will sell quickly. I went into the Felt store the other day looking for the felt f95 jr (650c kid's road bike) and/or the F24 (24inch tires kids road bike). They had neither in stock. But could order it. These are less than $1000 bikes. But obviously not a lot of demand. But most people don't even know they exist.

Although they had 24 inch tired kids mtb. Personally I think most kids would get more use out of a road bike than a mtb. (redline makes a kids cross bike, fuji also makes kids road bikes I have never seen any of them in stores). You see the little mtb all the time in stores but they are $300 not $800.

whitemax

They don't always know their clientele. I remember being at a shop getting ready for group ride when this Asian guy walks in. Says he has 5k in his pocket and was just at another shop ready to buy a nice bike. The owner being the jerk he is, ignored him, prolly seeing him as an Asian guy who was not going to buy anything. Well, the guy bought a Merlin that day because the owner gave him professional attention and allowed him to test ride the bikes. Turned out to be a strong rider too. New business walks in the door everyday and the owners are just stupid to miss out on it.

whitemax

In my OP, I indicated that I fancy those S-Works shoes (especially in Red; cool ad with Boonen, "Hey my eyes are up here"). Don't reckon I'll ever be able to land a pair because no one here has any to try on. For $400, I need to feel sure they'll fit. So....ordering online is out too.

garysol1 

I wear a pair of 2011 S-Works shoes and ill tell you what..... They are worth every penny. It is by far the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. Light, stiff, good looks and the Boa system is tops.

7bmwm3gtr

There's too many factors too consider as to whether a Bike Shop will put a high end bike in their inventory.

My bike shop in San Francisco carries more than 10 bikes that cost over $6000 and a couple with 5-digit price tags. The highest I saw was a $13,xxx but it was on sale for around $11k. Majority of them are S-Works and Wilier.

In fact, they will be the first bikes you will see when you enter the door, and they're on the floor and center racks.

whitemax

I'm with ya mate. I just have to be able to try on a pair before I can commit to buy them. For the dealer I referenced in the OP to refer me to a customer of his to try his on just doesn't cut it. Doubt he wears my size anyway.

roadwarrior

So you are suggesting that a shop would have to carry six of these bikes so they could have one in your size to ride. Then they all get ridden and the shop has to sell them at a deep discount because they are basically used bikes. That is a lot of bikes at around five grand a pop to carry in inventory when they might sell three of four a year.

roadwarrior

We will stock a few. Like Madone 7 with Di2 TCR SL (a couple) with ISP. Problem with that bike is that we are not cutting the ISP for anyone until it is sold. EVO.