Originally Posted by
ChowChow
She/he can always ask bikesdirect.com for sizing, before purchasing. That's if she/he does purchase from them. With her/him
price budget, I don't really see much options as to a new bike. What can she/he get for a new bike from the LBS? It is better for an inexperience person to go to a LBS, but to do that you need to have more money. At least I didn't try to lean her towards a Walmart or Target bike.
People do seem to get really mad when someone brings up about online purchasing.
For small riders, simply
asking about sizing isn't going to help. I've been down this road more times than I care to count. As an average sized male, I can walk into any shop in the world, point to a bike, purchase it and ride it away with no more trouble than getting the saddle height right. Fit...the holy grail of bicycling...isn't a problem for most average sized riders, no matter how often people say that 'fit is everything'. For the average sized person, as long as you are in the ballpark, minor adjustments are all that are really necessary.
Small riders can't do that. Fit
is everything for them and, often, they can't find a bike that's even in the ballpark. Often, as is the case with the GT above, there are warts that are hard to get past.
I, frankly don't care about on-line purchasing but there are some practical problems with suggesting it for someone who asks the question "What bike for me?" and states that they are "absolutely new to biking". Lets say that they order a bike from on-line. The bike comes in pieces. Remember, this is a newbie with no idea how the mechanicals on a bicycle works. They probably can't just slap that puppy together. They'll have to go to a bike shop which is going to charge them $60 to $100 to put it together. The $300 bike just became a nearly $400 bike.
Then they ride it. Say it doesn't fit. Back to the shop to have them disassemble the bike, pack it and ship it back. That's another $60 to $100 for the disassembly, perhaps another $50 to pack it, and another $50 to $80 to ship it back to Bike Direct. The cost of the bike has now jumped to over $600. An extra $300 is a lot to spend for a test ride.
By the way, I'd give the same advice if Scotiascotia were looking at used frames. If you have to ask the question of "What kind of bike for me?", you shouldn't be looking at used bike. Get thee to a bike shop, Scotiascotia! They will help you through the process. It may cost a little more but it's worth the slightly extra cost. And they'll help you keep the bike running smooth.