Originally Posted by mleess
Thanks for the advice. If I'm spending close to $1000 on something, I want to do what I can to make sure I'm buying something that I'll be happy with. Like the other day, I test rode the Felt f-80 but in a 58, not in a 56 (which is my size). Then I rode the Felt SRD 92 (more of a comfort bike) in the proper size. The 2nd bike felt much better, but is it because of the bike or because it was the right size? Hard to tell. I understand the shops' problem. Space is limited and they can't have every size in every model on the floor ready to go. But it does make it harder on the consumer. I'm about to just spin a roulette wheel and buy one of the five that I've been reading up on a lot.
Ya, how'd you like to have a LBS tell you that you can't test ride that $1000, $2000, $3000 bike other than on a rim trainer in the store? Our local Trek dealer has lost sales to 2 of my friends both upgrading from MTBs to roadies. Both bought bikes, spent nearly $2500 between them, but both bought bikes from another shop simply due to the fact that they weren't allowed to test ride. The other shop pretty much required them to test ride..oh well...