Is there any places/shops/stores/brands which allow test rides? I am 6’4’’ 190 pounds so most shops do not carry my size in stock. I would like to buy a Tri bike. Any help or advice I would be stoked.
I’ll try to talk you out of a test ride as an evaluative tool.
You’ve already mentioned one reason why- almost no one (probably no one) is going to have a range of bikes in stock that will fit you.
Also, think about why you want to ride a bike before you buy it: You “want to see how it feels”- right? After all, you sure wouldn’t buy a car without driving it- would you? I wouldn’t.
The problem is bikes aren’t like cars. You and I can buy the same Honda Element and make some adjustments to sort of “fit” us, and you and I are very different sizes. On a bike, you can adjust saddle height and saddle fore/aft with a wrench, but the stem length, aerobar pad height and likely width, crank length and pedal system all have to be set up correctly for you in order for you to have a representative impression of how the bike will really be.
I’ll suggest it is an unrealistic expectation for a dealer to set up even three bikes with the same saddle height, effective seat tube angle, reach, aerobar pad drop and pedal system, then for you to ride each long enough to discern a tangible difference- especially if you haven’t been on a triathlon bike very much.
The irony of this is people want to test ride a bike to see what it will “feel like” but they may not be entirely in touch with what “feeling right” actually means.
The answer? Use the database on this website located here:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/fitters/
To locate a good bike fitter in your area. You might have to drive an hour or five, and it will be worth the trip. That is a place to start.
Wise advice from Mr. Demerly. Buy a bike from a shop that you trust to do a great job fitting you, not from a shop where you can get a test ride.
Surely you’re not saying TriSports wouldn’t setup an infinite amount of bikes for me?!??!!?