Like you, I had trouble finding bikes with small enough frames to try out. Unlike you, I had a number of great bike shops willing to help. One of them had a very small bike that would likely fit. They held it for me for two weeks, when I was next in town, for me to try. I had to put a deposit on it but they agreed that if I did not like the bike it would be refundable. Nice, eh?
Another bike shop actually built up a bike for me to try. I did not have to pay anything.
Another bike shop said they would order in a bike for me and if I didn't want it, they would just sell it to someone else. No issues.
As a result, even though I am only 4'11" tall I was able to try several different very small bikes and actually had a hard time choosing between some very good choices.
Sorry that you do not have more cooperative bike stores in your area. I shopped in two areas. One was in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Given the large metro area I can understand that dealers would not be too worried about being stuck with something they couldn't sell. But I also shopped in Iowa City, Iowa, which is a midsized town. The dealers there were equally cooperative.
Oh, and every bike store was willing for me to go on as long of a test ride as I wanted. I just had to leave my drivers license and a credit card and go. For miles and miles.
Good luck.
Last edited by goldfinch; 05-30-11 at 10:12 AM.