Originally Posted by
dabac
Well, the OP did say he was planning to seek a bike out IRL, which would give him at least something of a chance to judge fit before purchase.
But a pootle down the aisle or round the parking lot won't be enough to expose those weaknesses that are literally more likely to appear "further down the road", like a rear axle failing, or the floppy fork becoming apparent.
Broken axles and forks can be replaced. Fitting an 17" frame to somebody 6'4 is a more difficult problem.