How important is a test ride to you?
 

Inspired by recent arguments, and somewhat suggested by Roadwarrior, go for it!

I've always done extended test rides (usually by encouragement of the shop). However, I would be willing to buy after a short test ride of a few miles.

No way in hell I'm buying without a test ride any more than I'd buy a car without a test drive. Yes, there are many variables such as proper fit, tires, and the like that make a huge difference. But you can rough fit close enough and make some educated guesses as what you like and what you don't.

Besides, the test ride is an important part of falling in love with the bike. I've never wondered if I had the right one.

I don't buy bikes anymore, I build them up. But, if I did buy one at an LBS I'd insist on riding it. You wouldn't buy a car without driving it. You wouldn't buy a plane without flying it. You wouldn't buy...oh, you get it.

On a scale of 0-10, probably 0.01. Waaaay too many variables.

I was really confused when that thread came out with all those people saying that test rides do nothing and they're a waste of time. It directly contradicts the hundreds (maybe thousands) of posts saying "ride everything you can before buying". All I know is that in one day, I road a Giant Defy Advanced 2, Defy Advanced 3, Felt Z5, Synapse, Orbea Onyx and a low-end Roubaix. The Giant Defy Advanced 2 was the most comfortable and lively out of the entire group. I could feel a difference, however, I'm new enough to not be able to explain why. Was it the geometry. Maybe. Though the Defy Adv. 2 was better than the 3. Maybe it was the wheels. Maybe it was just the setup. I don't know. What I know is that I could feel a difference between them all AS THEY WERE SET UP, and I would have bought the Defy 2 based on that, if I had that cash that day.

With all that said, I will most likely end up with a BD Ti when the Force comes out.....which I will not have test-ridden before ordering.

Seriously, what can you possibly conclude from even a 2 hour test ride? I can think of no less than 20 variables that can influence your conclusion.

Without talking about component differences, since some people buy their bikes and ride them as is:
Were the bikes set up completely the same? Saddle position, reach, etc. etc.
Were the tires pumped to exactly the same pressure?
Were the roads exactly the same?
Were wind directions exactly the same?
Did you get tired (mentally and physically) as you went from bike to bike?

I could go on and on...

This oughta be good...

BTW...my take was (and this comes from many many hours in front of customers) defining what you are planning to get from the ride. There are many more riders buying at the entryish level (under $1,500) coming off bikes that did not fit, some by a lot. It's not hard to get someone on a properly fit bike and have them immediately tell you it feels great. That can happen in minutes.

I have three friends who have sons that race for a paycheck. They have all changed bikes at least twice. None got a "test ride". It didn't matter. I also got paid to ride a bike. Once it was set up, it didn't matter. I'll go with our experiences and those of my ex-teammates.

If it matters that much, Bikesdirect would cease to exist and they sell a lot of bikes on line.

You never buy the last bike you ride because it wore you out the most. ;)

We do, at our place try to control the weather as best we can...LOL...;)

I spent most of my junior years buying secondhand frames and components, so I never test rode a bike back then. It wasn't a problem, and now that I know what geometry I need, I'd be comfortable not test riding a bike now. Add that to the fact that I love to tinker, that makes me a perfect candidate for a Bikes Direct bike.

I will always advocating test riding a bike before buying it. That being said. I have bought a bike or two without riding it, but the cost was minimal and if you are knowledgeable enough, you can be pretty sure you'll at least fit on a bike and the rest can be altered - to a degree. (If you are spending mucho moolah - It is your money you can do what you want) But I'd rather test ride to be safe.

The last bike I bought, I travelled about 150miles round trip to a dealer who'll let me have my way with the test-ride. That dealer (store manager), in San Diego agreed that I could bring my own wheelset and saddle/seatpost to use on the test ride. He also agreed that I could ride the bike about 30miles or so.

I rode the bike, liked it, bought it and brought it home right after my ride.

The pricing was also excellent.

And he threw in an upgrade stem.

I voted "I don't need a test ride", but mainly because I bought my Orbea Orca and had it built up without one. And I trusted the shop that was taking my measurements and doing the fitting. However, when I bought my Tarmac I did take a short test ride, unsupervised and out of the parking lot. I do think shops should at least offer short test rides, regardless of how useless they might think they are.

Most airplanes (and almost all new ones) are purchased without a test flight.

To be fair, I can see why a newcomer to the sport would want to test ride a bike. Even an expert such as Roadwarrior can't tell how flexible a person is, and some recreational road riders like to ride upright and in the wind while others like to fold themselves in half for aerodynamics.

Werd.

It was important for my first bike; it wouldn't be critical if I bought another one.

Test rides were great for the first bicycle I bought - It helped me experience the subtle variations between different materials, geometries...

That said, since I purchased that first bicycle, I have not test ridden any frames before purchase/acquisition. One was a warranty replacement (different model due to the first being discontinued), one I bought for $100 on craigslist, and one I could tell by the geometry it would be fine. I have not been disappointed yet.

And my next frame, likely to be purchased later this year, also likely will be bought without a test ride, as the supplier does not have a physical shop.

If you're not an expert at geometry charts, a test ride can help you figure out how the bike will fit you. Subtleties in handling and performance are more difficult to figure out from a test ride, even a long one.

I acknowledge there were differences in the setup, but probably didn't make that quite clear enough. And I'm sure the setup on the Defy 2 could have been duplicated on the others. The Defy 2 did have better wheels, however, with a little extra cash, that can be fixed on the others, as well.

I'm not saying the test ride is crucial for everyone. I'm not saying it can't help some people, especially noob's like me. The test rides I did showed me there are differences, and I'm sure many can be duplicated through the setup. For me, trying to get back in shape after many years, it was helpful just to get the feel of different bikes. Forgot to mention the Tarmac that I rode. It seemed extremely responsive compared to the others. It almost begged me to ride it hard. I can't explain why. I'm guessing geometry. None of the others gave me that feel. Could whatever made it ride that way be transferred to the Felt? I doubt it. I got the feeling that was a geometry thing, and for that, the test ride helped me learn.

Yes, it was most likely a geometry thing. That's what I miss about my Tsunami. It almost felt as if the bike did what I wanted it to as quickly as I could think it. My Allez is a tad sluggish, probably because they leave room for bigger tires. It's a tiny difference, and I do believe that the difference is even tinier when comparing like-minded frames (Tarmac to Madone, Allez to Defy, etc.).

Interesting... I am not going to do the final setup. I am doing a frame fit and my recommendations to the customer will be based on the type of riding they want to do and their budget and finally their body dimensions. I explained this before...the thing that we can do that most others cannot is actually show them how we arrive at the size.

When we fit them, the bike's dial in settings (stem angle, seat position, shifter location, SRAM shifter adjustments, etc) we do, indeed check rider flexibility and factor that into the final setup. On a roadbike everyone comes in for that final tweaking and we have multiple sessions that the rider can choose, one of which is free to a new bike purchaser.

I think it depends on what you consider long and short (a minimum of 2-3 miles sounds about right to me though more wouldn't be turned down). The bike that I bought off craigslist (and any future one I buy from there I will also) I test rode to make sure it was in good shape. Just a couple of miles to shift through all the gears and stuff and accelerate and brake a couple of times. Any shop that wouldn't let me test ride, I'd feel uncomfortable with shopping at (it would just make me feel like they were trying to hide something from me). However, if I were to buy online, I obviously wouldn't have a problem with it. All the mods I'd have to do to it to make it fit would probably kill any cost benefit I got by shopping online, but I do like to tinker a bit myself. If I wasn't sure what style or geometry suited me (which will be the case when I move from my rigid mtb modded for commuting/utility with front/rear racks and fenders and drop bars and aero levers to my first true road bike in the - hopefully - near future) a test ride to see if that's really what I was looking for would be expected (again unless I was going to take that blind leap with an online purchase). The thing is I get a better deal by going online to skip out on some conveniences. I see a test ride as one of those things I miss out on (like help and support for knowledgeable sales staff), and I expect to pay less for missing it.

I remember when I bought my bike five years ago I did short test rides of about six bikes. The look of the bike had little or nothing to do with how the bike felt. I tested a $6,000 Serotta. It had some kind of shock absorber built into the rear drop outs and did a good job over speed pumps but other than that, I wasn't all that impressed. Then, I rode a Calfee at half the price. The Serotta looked better but didn't ride nearly as nice as the Calfee. I then tested a Trek, Felt and a few others I can't even remember. I bought the Calfee.

I would never buy a bike now unless I had a chance to ride it first. Unless, I was already familiar with how the bike feels.

You wouldn't get married without trying it.................

I feel that a test ride gives you exposure to what the bike has to offer and will tell you quite a bit about the shop and the staff.