Originally Posted by
shelbyfv
I expect that most people who are concerned about a test ride are not experienced enough to make any rational judgement based on the test ride. Folks who have been riding for awhile and have experience on multiple bikes will have a good idea what they want as far as geometry, frame material, etc. Saddles, tires, stems and bars are all easily changed and would not be a reason to choose one bike over another.
Not true at all. Just take a look at some of the high quality bicycling magazines like Velonews and their ride results and comparison tests. Those people do nothing but ride and evaluate bikes for a living and use some sophsicated equipment to measure differences.
It also isn't especially true with more modern materials like carbon fiber where builders can do all sorts of special things laying up the material. Two bikes can have identical geometry but ride entirely different. The same can be said with metal by doing things like varying tube sets.
Then there are bars, stems, seaposts, and saddles. How can someone tell without actual riding?
The more experienced the rider, the more obvious these differences are.