Trying before you buy

sagefly

My girlfriend is looking to get a proper bike for her commute to and from work. She started with a Dahon folding bike and now has the ubiquitous Brompton. Both have given here neck and shoulder pain and this has been attributed to the riding position.

She decided to go the whole hog and get a proper girls bike, no top tub,e narrower bars etc but wants to try before she buys to make sure the bike she goes for is going to work out.

Can anyone suggest a novice friendly store that can offer a test before you buy option in London?

many thanks in advance.

bails87

Does she really not need a top tube? I think that's just a relic from the days when women were expected to wear long dresses and not reveal their ankles!

Can't help with any specific bike shop recommendations, but just thought I'd make that point. Although Specialized concept stores offer a 24 hour test ride, I'm sure there are a million other bike shops in London that do too.

sagefly

Your right, she wants a top tube but apparently the women's bikes have a shorter tube, my error.

Thanks for the advice, we'll have a pedal around a few shops on Saturday and ask the questions

Cheers

H*Bomb

I got my MTB at Evans at Waterloo - they were quite helpful. Tried a few road bikes from Cycle Surgery and Evans at Liverpool St, but didn't buy. Ended up getting my road bike in a sale at Mosquito on Upper Street in Angel - they were very helpful and had some good deals.
Where in London are you looking?

kelsen

There a Cyclesurgery and Evans within a stones throw of each other at Spitalfields with a comprehensive selection of bikes. Both should allow test rides. Plus, the market's a nice place to hang out afterwards.

jeremyrundle

I don't know why people assume that asking for a test ride before buying is odd, or even why people ask should I ask, would you buy a car without a test drive, my bikes are £1k plus each, some spend less on a used car, you try a suit/jacket/trousers before you buy, who spends hundreds on a bike without trying.

My local shop, will swap any part over if you ask, sus, bars, wheels, so you end up with what you want, doubt if halfords would, find a good small independant.

sagefly

I live West and she lives East so there is pretty much no set area to look around in.

It will depend on the bike and as importantly the attitude of the staff at the bike shop.

Thanks for all of the suggestion

jeremyrundle

sagefly wrote:

I live West and she lives East so there is pretty much no set area to look around in.

It will depend on the bike and as importantly the attitude of the staff at the bike shop.

Thanks for all of the suggestion

Attitude of the staff, who is paying, you or the staff :!: :!: :!:

sagefly

SWMBO will be paying.........................

kelsen

JR, you must be a keen hiker cos you have a knack for rambling!

jeremyrundle

kelsen wrote:

JR, you must be a keen hiker cos you have a knack for rambling!

Oh gosh, I did not appreciate that there were rules set out as to the amount you were able to say here, I thought the idea of a forum was to "communicate", sorry.

kelsen

jeremyrundle wrote:

kelsen wrote:

JR, you must be a keen hiker cos you have a knack for rambling!

Oh gosh, I did not appreciate that there were rules set out as to the amount you were able to say here, I thought the idea of a forum was to "communicate", sorry.

Oh, don't apologise! You're entitled to say as much as you want. I absolutely agree that the idea of a forum is to communicate, except if you read back to some of your comments, they're not particularly coherent in the context of the thread and come across as somewhat random. Just communicating my observation...