Until I saw this poll, I never thought about it. I've never test ridden a bike before buying it, whether I got a frame or a bike. In fact, when I experimented with geometry changes (using a Compact frame), I used measurements off of Giant's website to decide which frame to purchase. I bought the first Cannondale without knowing anything about it, bought my first race bike without even knowing the name (Basso), and didn't hesitate in ordering the newest Cannondale framesets (until they started with CAAD designations) as soon as I was able. My mountain bikes were also pretty much sight unseen and for the first few bikes I had no idea how long top tubes were.

After a few years I'd guess at the efficiency of the frame based on the materials, any tube specs revealed in articles, and weight. Now that's a bit hard to do because no one boasts about their lay up processes, but for steel and aluminum my guesses were pretty good.

I bought a number of frames that I didn't like and either kept them as backups or sold them right away. They were all geometrically similar/identical to my primary bike but they were more flexible. Panasonic DX-5000, Specialized lugged carbon (Allez?), Cannondale 3.0 road frame, one or two others.

The only bike I bought based on prior experience is our Cannondale tandem. One of the guys at the shop had a tandem and we went on some rides. When my then-fiance and I were looking for a tandem, I decided to get a Cannondale because it was "stiff", and tandems make the stiffest frames feel noodly.

cdr