Originally Posted by
banerjek
There are no guarantees in life, but your odds of getting things right are increased when you control what you can rather than just taking it on faith.
But see, you are begging the question here. I believe that your odds of getting things right does NOT significantly increase when you do even a proper test ride.
Originally Posted by
banerjek
You can tell a lot from one ride, and one thing you know for certain is that if you liked your experience, there is at least one configuration that will make you happy -- frankly it doesn't matter why. Besides, even a n00b can tell if they prefer race or comfort road geometry and notice marked differences in the rides you'll get from different frame materials.
I disagree. How would you know a rather agreeable initial configuration on a 1 hour test ride would translate to a pain-free 5 hour century? This is even more true for the n00b, since s/he doesn't have any experience to draw up on.
Originally Posted by
banerjek
If the test ride doesn't matter for a n00b, geometry doesn't matter. Normally, I'd conclude that if such is the case, more people would buy recumbents. Except 'bents typically cost more. That's undoubtedly the main reason you don't see more of them...
Geometry certainly does matter. What I'm saying is, you are either new or experiencee. If you are new, you don't have experience, so you cannot really decide based on a quick test ride because you barely even know what it should feel like. On the other hand, if you are experienced, you already know what you want.
People don't ride 'bents for a variety of reasons. For one, if the entire Saxobank team rode on 'bents, I would bet my whole life savings that the sale of 'bents would jump up.