Thanks drago, i'm honoured. Yes he's fine with that, but can you really know from a short test ride. I'm here to learn.
A short test ride is imperfect, but still the most reliable means of seeing if it's your thing. Better still, if you know someone with one try and borrow it - a morning long loan from a work colleague saved me from an expensive mistake with a
Ribble, which I did not take to at all.
I could rant and rave a bikes awesomeness, but unless you're a 48year old 6'3" 19 stone ex power lifter with one arm full of titanium then my experience and requirements are liable to be different to yours. At best I could give you vague impressions about the finish and durability, but even the standard of build is likely to differ with each shop.
There aren't many bad bikes these days - though they are out there - so there's a good chance it'll be a decent machine, but you won't know if it's optimum for you unless you try it. Lots of riders will say "I've got a Tippex model 69 with the carbon frame and it's brilliant", because they don't know any better because they never tried any of the rivals.
And, apart from anything else, you should enjoy the buying experience as well, and a quick meet-and-get-to-know-you ride is part of that.
