04-25-2016, 10:15 AM
My hybrid's from King Street Cycle, and my experience those... eight? years ago? was similar to taylortbb's. The test rides especially helped me settle on the style and, eventually, the model I was interested in. I went in not knowing what I wanted beyond "Not a mountain bike, no matter how awful Erb St is." and I came out with an understanding of the range of styles available, what to look for as someone with my height and wingspan, and a bike that fit what I needed and what I wanted.
And I'm still riding it today. (only when the weather's nice. I'm a fair-weather biker)
If you don't mind non-new, nothing beats the value of the secondary market (kijiji, especially). Might be harder to get in a test-drive if the seller doesn't have the wrenches so you can adjust it, or the willingness to allow you out of sight for enough minutes... And, if you're still in a research mindset, I wouldn't recommend diving through the listings. Definitely a "I already know what I want, let's see if I can get it for cheap" purchasing experience.
And I'm still riding it today. (only when the weather's nice. I'm a fair-weather biker)
If you don't mind non-new, nothing beats the value of the secondary market (kijiji, especially). Might be harder to get in a test-drive if the seller doesn't have the wrenches so you can adjust it, or the willingness to allow you out of sight for enough minutes... And, if you're still in a research mindset, I wouldn't recommend diving through the listings. Definitely a "I already know what I want, let's see if I can get it for cheap" purchasing experience.