Why is it that it’s almost impossible to get a demo of a bike. I’m looking to update after the Whyte debacle. I wanted to try a Specialized Stumpy Evo. Not a chance. Went into Fort Dunlop only to be told that I would just have to buy one. Sorry £4k for a bike and I can’t even try it!!!

I’ve managed to get a demo of an Orange 5 Pro and a Yeti 66 at Llandegla, and I’m having to travel to Surrey tomorrow to try out a Santa Cruz Tallboy LTc.

It seems that only the less mainstream bikes have demo models – Trek/Specialized/Lapierre/Cube etc nothing that I can find.

How do others buy their bikes – just by going on mag reviews, car park testing?

My lbs has demo models of lapierre and trek (Boneshakers in Harrogate) my other lbs is a Spesh concept store, also Harrogate, they have one or 2 demo bikes… £50 gets you a demo that is refunded when you buy the bike.

Specialized & Giant have demo days set up themselves every year, look on t’interweb for them

Orange & SC do a tour. Biketreks gets them a lot.
Afan for SC I think
Cube out of Whinlatter as for the others if I wanted to I’d find something. I think leisure lakes used to get bikes in for people at 50 quid a day but that came off the purchase price.

Generally been told if your serious then a LBS can get a test bike sent out if you cover costs/deduct from purchase price.

Back in the day (04) I demoed 7 bikes in 1 weekend at Keswick Bikes before choosing the one I wanted at an organised day.

Is the problem finding a demo bike, or finding one in your size?
If you’re in Surrey, try Head for the Hills in Dorking. Loads of demos there

If you can’t get a demo, buy something else.

Unless it’s an On-One, ‘cuz they its cheaps and approved on here. (Actually when I bought a road bike, Planet X spent longer with me on a turbo getting it set up than any of the LBS that I frequented at the time – and no there wasn’t a charge).

Might just be an availability thing ? Spesh (IME) can uauly ship out bikes to dealers for demo’s.

Well – just had a call from LBS (Leisure Lakes as it happens) – I was waiting for a Cube Stereo demo bike. They now won’t be getting any as they have all been pre-sold.

So people do seem to be willing to spend large sums of money without trying.

I guess I’ll be getting the Yeti SB66 as I have demo’ed one – I was just bigger wheel curious.

We have experienced problems akin to the ‘hire car’ phenomenon.

The demo bikes end up absolutely caned. They then require large sums spent on them to get them suitable for sale at the end of the season and the investment in the bike rarely pays back in sales.

Plus, no matter how you build one up it is the opposite to what someone wants to try, or the wrong size etc.

Some shops simply do not have the luxury of the margin to support this and by the same token, many brands don’t have the resources either.

Good exceptions to this have been Yeti and Ibis. They have both invested into great demo fleets and we can draw on them pretty well.

i went through the same dilema and ended up at Mountain Trax out near Swinley… you can ride into Swinley forest with a bit of map reading. They have a fleet of demo bikes and many were ones I was interested in trying including some near the top of my wish list. I think it was 30 quid and you could ride as many as you wanted over a given month. Obviously you had to reserve them in advance and not just show up. I ended up spending my money on a wedding this year so the new bike idea got sidelined but I can recommend them.

This let me ride most of the ones i wanted to try bar ibis and specialised camber. Head for the Hills in Dorking did me an Ibis (think Llandegla have a SLR demo) and eventually I tracked a Specialized down in south wales and tested it at Cwm.

Out of all of the bikes I was mostly surprised at how UNimpressed I was, I found many just werent me at all, despite others loving them. I’m so glad I did it and know where the cash might go if I get some for bikes next year!

The demo bikes end up absolutely caned. They then require large sums spent on them to get them suitable for sale at the end of the season and the investment in the bike rarely pays back in sales.

I do understand where you are coming from, but I just can’t understand how people can drop some serious amounts of money on a bike without trying it. I bought a brand new car for the wife, which was only a couple of grand more than the bikes I have been looking at, but I wouldn’t buy that without a demo. I’d be happy with just a run around something Follow the Dog at Cannock to give me an idea of how they handle, sizing etc.

i went through the same dilema and ended up at Mountain Trax out near Swinley

I was meant to be at Pedal and Spoke today to demo the Tallboy LTc but have woken full of cold.

I did manage to get to a Specialized Demo day and tried a couple of 29ers but just didn’t enjoy them at all – just weren’t a match for my 2007 Stumpy. Tried a 29 camber last year – did go ok but not enough suspension – bottomed out a few times. My mate reckons I should wait for the 650b Stereo – but I’ve been waiting 6 months and another 3 seems a bit much.

Im firmly believe demos are pretty pointless when it comes to splitting hairs when choosing between two or three very similar bikes. They’re never going to be set as you’ll actually be using it, plus it takes a while to tune in suspension/brakes/position which cannot be done in one ride.

The best way to decide what bike to buy is via long conversations with very knowledgeable sales people the other option is to educate yourself on what the suspension/geo numbers mean in real life.

Most importantly, don’t lie to yourself about what the bike will be used for or what you do and dont like. Dont just get a bike for the riding you want to do, and never do, then set it up based on other peoples preferences.

Demos are good for establishing which pigeon hole you fit into, a demo will tell you if you’re better suited to a 100mm 29er or a 150mm 26″ all mountain bike for example, IMO, that’s the best it can do.

This opinion is formed from working in a shop and taking all the demos out that come through the doors.

deanfbm, I disagree, I rode a number of different bikes that are allegedly designed to do about the same thing and there was quite a difference between them, some I hated, some I loved. Some looked great on paper, great in reviews, but no amount of tweaking would have changed them enough to work for me. If you’re going to spend thousands you should be able to demo them.

allegedly designed to do about the same thing and there was quite a difference between them

Never claimed there wasn’t.

Some looked great on paper

Incorrect interpretation of the numbers? Misunderstanding of your preferences or riding style?

great in reviews

Big mistake, just as you’ve found, what may work for others, doesn’t necessarily work for yourself. Plus mag reviews are generally all over the place, best to be ignored.

Plus you have the whole thing where what is different, isn’t going to feel right, it may be better for you, but isn’t goiging to feel “right” until you’ve got used to it, which again can’t be done in one ride.

Im firmly believe demos are pretty pointless when it comes to My shortlist was Scott Spark, Yeti ASR-C, Trek Fuel and Kona Heihei.
I just could not find a Trek or kona anywhere (this was when the Fuel was really new, late 2008, Trek are generally very helpful, which is why it was on my short list) but I wouldn’t bnuy a race bike without riding something very similar (same frame at least).
I tried the Spark at Mountain Trax, very good, the best climbing bike I have ever ridden, but it felt very long in the twisty stuff, like the back wheel was about 6 feet behind me. Got on the Yeti (alloy version, no carbon demos but the geometry is the same) and before I had left the car park had decided it was the best for me, just felt right. Can’t tell that from the geometry diagrams.
Mountain trax were very helpful with the demos but when it came to buying one they wouldn’t return any calls and I ended up going elsewhere.
.
I’ve bought a £200 winter road bike blind but not so important to get that right.

exactly why demo’s are needed. M’lord. 🙂

you can read the bike press, the tech data and speak to others but you wont know until you ride it for yourself. I shortlisted and re-road the two favorites and also a wild card that on paper I should like and know which I prefered. Spec levels were about the same across these and I still had one firm favorite after a days riding each. I wouldnt have bought that one ordinarily which, after riding tons of bikes for 20 years taught me a lot.

But it seems that the bike industry expect the majority of people to buy a bike without even sitting on one. I have been looking at the Cube Stereo 650b – but I’m only 5′ 6″ and sit right on the cusp of small/medium. My Stumpy is a medium and fits perfectly but my Cotic is a small and also fits just right. I would like the SL version of the Stereo, but dropping £4k on a bike without even sitting on it just seems maddness – although it would seem that’s what has happened as Leisure Lakes have pre-sold them all. Next delivery March and I still won’t be able to try one first. Just makes no sense to me.

FYI I’ve just spoken to a friend who works at the Concept Store in Newbury and Stumpy FSR they have for demo is a 29er Carbon Comp, I assume they expect to sell more of these than Evo’s!!

Loads of folk build a bike from a set of components that have probably never been put together quite like that before and yet seem to be able to manage well enough not to have serial bike fit/function failure.

Loads of folk build a bike from a set of components that have probably never been put together quite like that before

Yes, but if you mess up on or two components that’s not like spending £5k on a bike you just don’t get on with. Not that uncommon to try two or three stem lengths before you find the right one, doesn’t matter much with a £20 stem but would be annoying with a £2k frame. When demoing I just try to test the closest possible frame (ie same size/geometry, have tried ali versions when been buying carbon) as I always custom spec mine anyway.

but dropping £4k on a bike without even sitting on it just seems maddness

Couldn’t agree more, especially one with a new wheel size that you’ve never tried and neither has anyone else.

dropping £4k on a bike just seems maddness

Yes, thats more than some people on here earn in a week!

Sorry £4k for a bike and I can’t even try it!!!

Unfortunately so. £4k bikes are solely for those with more money than sense. They really couldnt care how it rides, so long as it looks good and it cost them at least a decent weeks wage.

dropping £4k on a bike just seems maddness

I see what you did there – however it’s my hard earned cash and if I want to spend it on a bike that’s my prerogative.

Unfortunately so. £4k bikes are solely for those with more money than sense. They really couldnt care how it rides, so long as it looks good and it cost them at least a decent weeks wage.

Well I’m glad you’ve taken the time to respond constructively. Really – I’ve more money than sense. If that was the case I would have just ordered the bike and took my chance. However far from it being a weeks wages – I’m not a footballer – before tax it’s over a months pay. I certainly do care on how it rides – after all that’s what the bike is for.

You got a bite there dt 🙂

don skenes cardiff have tones of spesh demo bikes.

druidh – Member
You got a bite there dt

“I think we need a bigger boat” 😉

OP. a few years back I was after a Kona 5-0. Different price to what you’re look to spend, but Kona weren’t unhelpful, they just didn’t have any 20″ or 22″ bikes in the country. They only brought a handful of 20″ and no 22″ in. Even if I had managed to swing a leg over one, I would have needed to import one from the US of A.

£4K…before tax it’s over a months pay

Cue STW “sympathy” 😯

[EDIT] – I do however think it is annoying how difficult it is to try before you buy.