let me just ask some clarifying points:

I am not a very experienced biker, so maybe this will explain why I also fail to understand what you wanted from the LBS guy. You asked the LBS shop for a specific size bicycle for you to try, they got it for you, and when you arrived to try it out, he offered for you to take it out and ride it, is that correct? Why didn't you do that? That would seem the reasonable thing for a customer to do.

I would have thought that the best way to test out a bike's fit would be to take it for a ride. How much could you learn by sitting on it stationary and not turning or moving? Probably not the whole story of how good the fit would be. Maybe this is why the guy was also unsure of what you wanted to do.

I guess asking to put the bike on a trainer is not *unreasonable*, but it might seem like a strange request without some explanation from you. I would not know why you would want to put it on a trainer (this is a bike for going on the road, right), so perhaps this guy didn't as well. So I too might see it as reasonable to offer to hold the bike instead while you sit on it.

It sounds like there was a lack of communication from both sides -- you not saying exactly what you wanted to get out of the test ride, and him not understanding and asking you more questions about what you wanted. i agree it could have gone better, but maybe you also had unrealistic expectations of what other people should or should not know to offer you without more information!

If you don't tell people what you desire or expect, how can you expect them to fulfill your desires? perhaps you could explain more from your side that would show how it was a strange experience?

thanks.