Test rides are usually short, and you have so many things to think about that getting an accurate impression can be difficult.
First, remember that a new bike will feel different from an older bike. These differences are most apparent to your contact points — hands, feet and seat.
Saddles, for one thing, have changed dramatically over the years. You should seek to find one that works well for you — not what anyone tries to force on you. If you already have one you like, just swap it out from your old bike to new. If not, it’s a good idea to find a shop that will let you do more extensive testing to see how it feels.
Before taking a test ride, use the measurements of your old bike (assuming it fits you) to duplicate your position. Check seat height, reach to the handlebar and saddle setback (the distance from the seat’s front tip to the center of the bottom bracket axle, using a plumb line).
By having a nearly identical position, you can get a better feel for how the new bike actually rides. A good shop will swap stems so you can alter the reach, but once the fork’s steerer tube is cut, handlebar height can’t be altered too much.
Stiffness and Stability
Now for riding characteristics. There are so many variables in the way a bike feels that subjectivity is part of the process. Let’s begin with two important factors, stiffness and stability:
The best way to test a bike for stiffness is to put it in a fairly large gear — say 53×19, or maybe 50×16 in a compact crankset — and accelerate from slow speed or stand and power up a hill. Either technique will expose insufficient stiffness in the bottom bracket. The bike may feel squishy or the chain may rub on the front derailleur cage. Some riders don’t mind this degree of softness because they rarely ride in ways that expose it, but others can’t stand it.
Stability is an issue on descents. It may be impossible to do a test ride where you go fast enough to see if the bike shimmies. But even in a parking lot you can ride no-hands to check how solidly it tracks. And you can take some corners fairly fast to see if it lays over predictably.
On the test ride, go through this checklist:
- Is your position comfortable? Do you feel too stretched out or hunched up? Is the handlebar too wide or too narrow?
- Are your contact points comfortable? Do your sit bones feel supported on the saddle, or is it too narrow? A shop should be willing to substitute for the saddle on a new bike so it doesn’t become a deal breaker.
- How does the bike behave? It may feel quicker than your old bike, but beware if it seems to have a hair trigger.
- How about compliance? Find some rough pavement. Does the bike chatter and jolt, or actually seem to buffer the impacts?
Finally, stand back and ignore everything but your own basic instinct. Does the bike feel right? This is a tremendously subjective judgment but an extremely important one.
Buying a new bike is always fun, but a little scary, too, because it’s a hefty investment that you want to last for several years. Do your research, do your test rides, and it’ll be nearly impossible to make a bad choice.
Good points. I might add caution when buying from on-line only sellers. I researched all aspects of a new bike not available in LBSs, compared geometry to my exiting bikes, tripled checked everything (unfortunately no local bike available to examine),,,then bit the bullet. . Anxiously awaited its arrival. Carefully unpacked the bike (photographed each step of unpacking in case I needed to repack it). Assembled the bike, and took it for a ride. Was very disappointed in, as your article states, “how it felt”, I was able to return the bike under the 30 day trial, but lost a total of $350 shipping costs.
it;s pretty hard
i would just say , try to get the setup adjusted for your own needs
then ride it, try to notice whatever you can
maybe there will be something huge, either good or bad, that can make the decision
you are not going to get subtleties though, period.
it takes me about a month and 2-300 miles
I bought a new bike recently and I loved it on the test ride. I loved it for weeks after that. I still like it, but it was not until I had ridden around 300 – 350 miles on it before I began to sense certain changes that were needed. I’ve had this experience repeatedly — a short test ride at the bike store does not really give enough information to let you know how a bike is going to feel in the long term.
Great points! I also check to see if the toes of my shoes hit or rub the front wheel on sharp turns, such as 180 degree turnaround points on narrow roads.
Although a test ride may not give you all long term details on a bikes fit or ride, it can help determining some.
When I was looking at upgrading from an older Kestrel carbon frame, and had decided on a Trek Domane, the test rides gave a lot of helpful insight….there are so many “series” within a bike family, that only a test ride can help one decide what is best.
In my example, I started with series 4 carbon Domane, thinking that a much newer carbon frame would be better than a decades old kestrel frame. It had the same feel and ride that I was looking to upgrade from….Then tested series 5 Domane and found the ride is what I was looking for without breaking the bank and going for a series 6 or higher….
The bikes usually come with “standard” setups that the bike shop will try and fit you to accordingly, and from a previous article about fitting, I went to a certified fitter and needed to change some components like stem and handlebars to get ideal fit. The local bike shop fitting is all by manual methods which gets you to the best place they can, but I have learned what comes standard from LBS may need changing by real professionals to fit your specific body attributes.