A plea to all buyers

BigAl

I apologise in advance if I sound like your dad or a grumpy old man. But I am both (not your dad, obviously.)

I've fairly recently returned to MTBing after a layoff of a few years of only riding occasionally and I can't give you an encyclopaedic knowledge of the current market. But I can give one piece of advice that always applies. Please, please, please try-out lots of bikes before you purchase!

The guys here will give excellent general advice and should help you avoid buying something awful or unsuitable. But when it comes down to a choice between similar specification Giant/Spesh/trek/etc £600 bikes they can't tell you which to buy. Ride them and the choice will likely become obvious to you.

When I bought my current bike (Giant Anthem) I tested quite a few. Most were 'okay, nice enough'. I hated the Scott Genius (a very well regarded bike), I loved the Anthem and also a SC Blur which was twice the price! My choice became a no-brainer.

Would you buy a car without test-driving it? Or for that matter a pair of trousers? Why should a bike be any different?

People of my age will remember the advertising strap-line 'one instinctively knows when something is right'

FishFish

Thanks dad.

benpinnick

To be fair it's a valid point, but the Scott is a marmite bike. Loved or hated in equal measures. Personally I tried one and loathed it.

felix.london

Specialized Rockhopper, eBay, never tried it

Nukeproof Snap, bought frame off internet, never tried it

Trek Session, ex-rental from LBS, never tried it

Votec V.SX Enduro, frame off internet, never tried it

...and my first mountain bike Some Random Frame That I built up in 1988, never tried it and my 2nd mountain bike in 1990 (and to this day the only brand new bike I've owned) was a Ridgeback 601LX and I think the guy in the shop told me to sit on it, then stand over it with some nonsense about standover height...but you guessed it, never tried it

croptonboy

Do you regret any of those buys felix?

felix.london

Croptonboy wrote:

Do you regret any of those buys felix?

Love em all although the 'hopper's looking a little sad and unloved since the Votec got built up

Kowalski675

BigAl wrote:

Would you buy a car without test-driving it? Or for that matter a pair of trousers?

Bought my most recent bike (seven grand) without test riding it. Then spent a shedload more modifying it, still before riding it.

You can test drive trousers? :shock:

mcnultycop

I'll join in.

First bike since rediscovering MTBs. Trek 4500, tried it. Actually was too big, but only realised after a year or so.

Canyon, didn't try it, love it.

Scandal, bought frame only so didn't try it, love it.

croptonboy

That's the thing, with bikes like Canyon, On-One, Vitus and such, they get great reviews but you don't get to ride them before you buy them generally.

The Rookie

BigAl wrote:

Would you buy a car without test-driving it?

2/3rds of new car purchases do not involve a test drive....poor choice of simili!

markhewitt1978

BigAl wrote:

Would you buy a car without test-driving it? Or for that matter a pair of trousers? Why should a bike be any different?

Yes; I've bought two cars, both brand new, didn't test drive either.

BigAl

The Rookie wrote:

BigAl wrote:

Would you buy a car without test-driving it?

2/3rds of new car purchases do not involve a test drive....poor choice of simili!

Simile.

80% of statistics are made up on the spot.

For all of you that bought a bike without trying it, or any of the alternatives, you may have got lucky. Or perhaps there was a bike more suited to your needs and budget you missed out on? It's your money; what do I care what you do with it?

But I'll stick to trying out bikes/cars/clothes before I shed my hard earned.

97th choice

BigAl wrote:

It's your money; what do I care what you do with it?

enough to post a plea on an internet forum about it.

BigAl

97th choice wrote:

BigAl wrote:

It's your money; what do I care what you do with it?

enough to post a plea on an internet forum about it.

Fair cop, guv'nor

pesky_jones

Kowalski675 wrote:

You can test drive trousers?

I think that's what changing rooms are for

I test rode one of my bikes, bought the other without test riding so I'm on the fence!

supersonic

I'd never buy a big brand bike at this price anyway - almost all have awful forks.

But I agree with trying of course.

pesky_jones

Seeing as the comments here generally dissagree with the OP, here's a good example

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12946218

BigAl

Pesky Jones wrote:

Seeing as the comments here generally dissagree with the OP, here's a good example

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12946218

Link corrected:
http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=10002&t=12946218

Spotted that earlier.

Not my type of bike so I just looked up the price. Holy cow, that's a lot of money to spend on a bike you don't like :shock: . Hopefully he learns to love it.

Kowalski675

Pesky Jones wrote:

Kowalski675 wrote:

You can test drive trousers?

I think that's what changing rooms are for

Yes, I know you can try them on, but I've never heard of anyone being allowed to take them out for a test drive, lol.

croptonboy

That's why you always ask what the returns policy is

rockmonkeysc

Bought my Anthem on ebay, no test ride and I love it.
Spent a huge amount on my Nukeproof Scalp pro without a test ride but you try getting downhill demo bikes, they just dont exist.
As for the car test drive thing. I gave my car buyer mate several grand and asked him to get me a nice, family car with a big boot and a diesel engine. I just got a text asking if a mondeo was ok. That went well as well.

sgtpepper1969

I bought my Voodoo Bokor without testing it but I did read a lot of reviews before buying & it was £375 brand new in the box so it was a no brainer really & I love it apart from the white grips which I've replaced.

shindig

Buying without a test ride can be a hit or miss. but you can minimise the risk of your purchase being a miss.

Best thing to do is take measurements of your existing bike, i.e Seatpost length, top tube length from centre of stem to seta post centre (Effective TT) wheel base etc. Get the head and seatpost angles from online. Then read magazine and USER reviews on your target bike (i.e mtbr, bike radar and single track forums) and compare the different measurements. if you know what you like and don't like about your existing bike then you can compare it to you prospective purchase.

My first internet purchase : New specialized enduru 2002. Liked it but it was never quite right. Spent loads on trying to get it right. created a big spare parts bin though. Went through 3 sets of forks, 4 stems and handlebars, brakes etc.

Second internet purchase was a Rocklobster 853 team tig in 2007. it was ok, but never quite got on with it. felt like a gate.

I then figured out what I liked and didn't like about my existing bikes (top tube length, head angles etc.), ordered a Santa Cruz Nickel frame and robbed my spesh, rocklobster and parts bin to build it. Love this bike .

Bough a Cotic Soul frame to replace the rocklobster and used the parts bin for it. Love the bike.

Then bough a Santa Cruz Butcher frame for a knockdown price from leisure lakes based on the fact that I loved the Nickel. Used the remaining parts bin (and new Lyrik fork) and love that bike too. I did order an Orange Alpine 160 frame, but cancelled that after finding the Butcher.

Now I have three bikes built with component all to my spec. and I like them all.

Of course, at some point I will start upgrading again....

chrisw333

I think in an ideal world you would test a bike.

BUT, if you're talking a beginner,maybe someone who hasn't ridden a bike for a few years, maybe several years, then frankly I don't see how they would be able to tell by a short ride, particularly round a flat shop car park, whether a bike fits, let alone whether the geometry etc suits them. I'd bet most would decide fit on how much seatpost is showing and the rest on how nice the bike looks / pricetag.

I think real beginners either need to place a lot of faith in the shop staff, or do plenty of research and just take a punt.

supersonic

You can gain a lot of info about comfort and fit from a quick try.

Kowalski675

chrisw333 wrote:

I think in an ideal world you would test a bike.

BUT, if you're talking a beginner,maybe someone who hasn't ridden a bike for a few years, maybe several years, then frankly I don't see how they would be able to tell by a short ride, particularly round a flat shop car park, whether a bike fits, let alone whether the geometry etc suits them. I'd bet most would decide fit on how much seatpost is showing and the rest on how nice the bike looks / pricetag.

I think real beginners either need to place a lot of faith in the shop staff, or do plenty of research and just take a punt.

As a total newbie I could still feel significant differences between the bikes I test rode. You might not be able to express it all in the correct jargon, but you can tell which one feels best for you.

chrisw333

I dunno. Not everyone can.

And what feels right in a car park probably won't feel right on a rocky trail.

I know someone who tried a couple of bikes and came out with a 22" frame. It was ridiculously too big for him for mountain biking, but felt ok when he tried it out as he was used to big bikes when he was a kid.

I'm talking total beginners here and it's my guess, left to their own devices, many would pick the wrong size if it was just a quick try round a car park.

supersonic

It has to be done in conjunction with the staff though, if a quick ride. They will take feedback onboard, make alterations etc. Then see how it feels again.

chrisw333

supersonic wrote:

It has to be done in conjunction with the staff though, if a quick ride. They will take feedback onboard, make alterations etc. Then see how it feels again.

And we're back to trusting shop staff. Sometimes you'd be better off relying on sizing guides than shop staff - obviously this is where a really good lbs comes in though.

I'm not saying don't try, of course you should if you can. I just think it's ambitious for a newbie to make a call on how something feels when they don't really know how it should feel!

Someone on another thread dismissed a bike because the forks felt funny when he bounced up and down on them in a shop. He then proceeded to give advice based on the conclusions he had drawn from that exacting fork test.

chrisw333

and I certainly wouldn't have picked my roadbike size from my first sit on it, it felt really odd. Turns out the size is perfect, I just didn't know what perfect was!

markhewitt1978

Maybe now, after like 18 months of riding I'd have half an idea if a bike was any good, but even then without taking it out for a proper ride i.e. 30 miles plus it's still not easy.