Originally Posted by
AlmostTrick
This is mostly a newbie problem, since they often don't know what they fit, or even what they necessarily want/need. In this case actually riding the bike is quite important... much more so than the minor differences in details between manufactures and models that many noobs end up fretting over. The "solution" would be to only buy what you could try... even if it means choosing from less options.
That's what I did with my first few bicycles ... and then, once I knew what I wanted, I didn't need to test ride as much anymore.