Originally Posted by
velopig
Never really believed in test rides. Do the research and pick the product best suited to your needs. If it is a endurance bike all the manufacturers make one pick the model best suited. It takes a while to fit the bike and get used to its characteristics. Used to ski competitively and it took a day or two to adapt and learn how to get the best from a pair of skis. Not short test could determine that. Same goes for bikes.
I have never skied competitively, but I have skied all my life and I am a decent skier. I have skied a lot of different types of skis over the years and i agree with your assessment completely. It is a great and very helpful analogy as it gives me a perspective i can relate to. I have skied enough to be able to perceive small differences but evaluating what I think about the differences takes time. I suppose I have ridden bicycles more than I have skied, but not at the same level and I have not ridden as many bicycles as I have skied skis. And particularly not ridden different bicycles with an eye to performance differences. I think I would need to spend quite a bit of time riding different bicycles repeatedly under a variety of conditions and for extended periods of time and then talking about my perceptions with knowledgeable people.
Do they have demo days for bicycles?