How to try and buy a bike

[Puny but determined]

I'm wondering how people now manage to buy a suitable bike. I am a small woman, not as young as I was, looking to buy a new touring bike. Leaving aside the choice of bike (not as much choice as some other' normal' people) my problem seems to be that, even in normal circumstances, I cannot see how anyone can try/compare/buy a bike! I have studied reviews and specifications until I'm blue in the face but find that anything suitable is likely to be only available at least 200 miles away and in any other option 200 miles in an opposite direction. I don't want to buy online for obvious reasons (I tried it once but had to pay the return postage AND I couldn't try it outside and dirty the wheels..) I find this a bit of an insoluble problem. Unless I get in the car/train and drive hundreds of miles I can see no other option. How do others manage?

[Jdsk]

I don't think that you've missed much... there are several experiences like that in the archives and no clever solutions.

Where are you?

Jonathan

[NUKe]

you don't mention budget, but Thorn/SJS cycles have a good policy of 30 day trial on their bikes and you can return for any reason. They are are also very good at sizing people either remotely or when Covid subsides in person
The sizing information is contained in their brochure. They also seem to have a good range of smaller frames with shorter top tubes

https://www.thorncycles.co.uk/

[chris_suffolk]

Similar issues when I bought my bike a few years back, but some retailers were prepared to get in a bike I was serious about. Just had to convince them that I would buy it unless there was something a really didn't like about it, as they didn't want unsold and used stock if they could avoid it. How much you 'stretch' the truth if you don't want it is up to you.

Some shops, including 2 near me, were prepared to allow test rides, but only in the dry (which is fair enough I guess)

Seems an odd state of affairs, as you wouldn't buy a car without a test drive, even if they then ordered the car in for you if out of stock. I guess they can sell enough bikes anyway that it's not an issue to most retailers.

[rotavator]

When Covid restrictions are lifted, I would go to Harrogate and try out some of Spa's bikes. They are very relaxed about test rides so you can take a bike out for a few hours. If you live a long way from Harrogate, you could include it in a mini-break, say to York, to make the journey more worthwhile.

[slowster]

...I have studied reviews and specifications until I'm blue in the face...How do others manage?

I buy online. In the past I have made the occasional mistake and bought a bike that was less than ideal for me, but that has become less and less likely with increasing experience and knowledge of what does and does not suit me.

For me the value of online research is being able to weed out bikes that are a non-starter. In that respect I am not looking at the marketing blurb or the puff pieces in a magazine review, but rather at hard numbers and the frame in particular. So I need the frame to have ideally a 72 degree seat angle to make it easy for me to get a leather saddle (with its short rails) far back enough. 73 degrees is OK, but then I need to have a much longer layback post, and there is not a wide choice of them (very possibly none if the frame takes a seat post other than 27.2mm diameter). On a touring frame I also want no/minimal toe overlap, which similarly rules out a lot of bikes, especially some US brand tourers which often have toe overlap if mudguards are fitted. I can usually quickly calculate how much toe overlap I would have with any given bike/frame. These two criteria alone tend to result quickly in a fairly short list of possibles for me. If a frame will not allow me to get the position I need, the specification of the rest of the bike is irrelevant.

Since you are small, the above two criteria may also be quite important to you, possibly more so because designing smaller frames without toe overlap is trickier than for the medium size frames I ride. Similarly many manufacturers also use steeper seat angles on their smaller frames, which will not suit some riders.

As for reviews and comments online by owners of a particular bike, I try to gauge whether I am likely to share that person's preferences. In other words, how likely it is that their opinion of a bike is a reliable indicator of what I would think of it. In that respect comments from owners on an internet forum can be very helpful if I know that based on their posting history I have a lot in common with that person in terms of what they like in a bike (and ideally they are a similar height/weight to me, take the same frame size, and like the same sort of cycling as me).

Lastly, I buy frames rather than bikes, because I prefer to build the bike up with the parts I am familiar with and like. Buying parts individually can be more costly, but it can also be cheaper if it avoids having to spend money on parts to replace those that come fitted as part of a bike's standard specification but are unsuitable for me (it also can save money and future hassle if you eschew STI shifters, which I do).

It's a lot easier to choose a bike if you have strong preferences/minimum requirements and you know in advance what they are and can quickly determine if a bike fulfils them or is likely to do so.

[Bonzo Banana]

One thing I noticed about the older or cheaper bikes is the use of a quill stem especially where you have an angle adjustable stem means its far easier to get a good bike fit and even adjust the bike from a relaxed more upright riding position to a slammed low handlebar height for riding fast in only a few minutes. Yes quill stems are heavier but they do make fine tuning the bike fit and trying different bike fits much easier.

[Puny but determined]

Thank you everyone for your replies. I live near Taunton and have actually been to SJS Cycles to try a bike before (off the peg rather than custom made) and wasn't desperately impressed. Perhaps I was unlucky. My next plan is indeed to have a mini break in Harrogate and try Spa cycles! I'd happily pay up to about £2,000 if it was the right bike. As to online and specification, I'm pretty hot on gears (Somerset is hilly) but the geometry often defeats me. I have a very comfortable road bike but of course the geometry is entirely different. I certainly don't have the skills to buy the frame and build the bike although I can see the attraction of someone else doing this for me, although I worry that a bike is more than the sum of the parts and that, having spent a lot, I might still end up getting it wrong. I do know someone who did just that.

[rotavator]

I should also have said, especially if you are travelling so far, to phone Spa first and ask them what demo bikes and stock frames they have in your size. I see from their website that the Ridgeback Expedition is out of stock, but that is probably true everywhere, however, they are listing Surly LHTs and DTs with 26" wheels which might fit you. (Smaller wheels make sense for smaller bikes for smaller folks, that much I do know )

Seeing that you have a good idea of what you want, make a list of features that are essential/nice/to be avoided at all costs and take it with you so that you can check them off on the day.

Another touring bike shop that you could try is Oxford Bike Works, which is about 4 miles from Didcot station https://www.oxfordbikeworks.co.uk/. I have never used them but I have read positive reviews.

[eileithyia]

Another company to look at might be Hewitt's in Leyland, another place you could visit once lockdown is lifted and not too far to travel across to Spa so you could make a long weekend / bit of a round trip to visit both?

Not used them myself for a bike but know plenty who have done so and are happy with their purchases.

https://www.hewittcycles.co.uk/

[Puny but determined]

Thanks again. Ridgeback Expedition is the one I ordered up on line. The smallest size was too big by a mile!

[slowster]

I have a very comfortable road bike but of course the geometry is entirely different.

If you have a road bike that is very comfortable, that is probably your starting point. The geometries of road bikes and tourers might be different as regards handling and steering (head angle, fork offset, wheelbase/chainstay length), but as regards comfort the differences in geometry should be irrelevant. Comfort will primarily be determined by the relative positions of your three contact points: feet, bum and hands. That means first the position of your saddle (height/setback) with respect to the pedals/bottom bracket, and then the position of the bars/brake levers with respect to the saddle.

If you know what the geometry of your road bike is and the measurements for saddle height and set back, and for handlebars/stem, you should be able to quickly determine if you can replicate your position on a different frame, and know in advance for example if you would need Xmm more spacers under the stem or a stem that is Ymm shorter.

I would expect you to have no difficulty getting your saddle in the same position on most touring bikes as on your road bike. Since you need a small size frame, I suspect that your biggest difficulty might be minimising toe overlap, because of the larger tyres and mudguards on a touring bike compared with a road bike. 531Colin, who designs Spa's frames, has frequently mentioned this issue in many previous threads, e.g. see here including the photograph of one of his short test riders on a prototype small frame.

I live near Taunton and have actually been to SJS Cycles to try a bike before (off the peg rather than custom made) and wasn't desperately impressed.

What was it you did not like about the Thorn?

Ridgeback Expedition is the one I ordered up on line. The smallest size was too big by a mile!

In exactly what respects was the Ridgeback Expedition too big?

The Ridgeback Expedition is a flat bar tourer. Does your road bike also have flat bars? What make, model and size is it, and how tall are you?

[simonineaston]

...come to Bristol (circ.s allowing) and you can try one of my Moultons.

[horizon]

I live near Taunton and have actually been to SJS Cycles to try a bike before (off the peg rather than custom made) and wasn't desperately impressed.

What was it you did not like about the Thorn?

If someone says that they are small, looking for a touring bike, have £2000 to spend and live in Somerset then the answer is Thorn.

Something is seriously amiss here or the OP has a requirement they have not yet disclosed.

[Tigerbiten]

If your old bike fits you well, why don't you gets ALL it measurements.
Then write them down, either as a list or on a drawing of a bike.
Add to it what gears, brakes, saddle, bars, etc, etc you would like.
Then send all that to the bike shops with an explanation of exactly what you want if for and your maximum price.
Then see if the shop can set up a bike to match your measurements and equipment list at what price point.
That will at least give you an idea of what's out there that may fit you.

Luck ........