Originally Posted by
bdcheung
Bad decision on the shop's part: my LBS always takes a driver's licens and/or credit card before they let someone stranger off on a test ride.
Back when I started working at my old shop about 5yrs back, no one ever asked for anything when people would go out for test rides - and we would encourage people buying high end stuff to go for at least a half hour ride! No word was ever handed down from the boss, but as the high end-side of our buisness grew, all of us who worked there slowly started asking for ID more often. However, even when I left (last year), there were still plenty of times I would send someone out on a $2K bike and not bother. Even after hearing stuff like this, I still have mixed feelings - I am guessing the number of bikes that are stolen via shop test rides is trivial compared to those stolen out of garages/bikes racks/left leaning against the side of the building, etc.