Test riding road bikes

[sawyl]

I've spent part of the weekend test riding bikes, trying to find something that fits my strange body shape. For the record, I've tried out:

• a Specialized Allez Elite. Nice but the height wasn't quite right and they didn't have another model in my size.
• a Trek 1.7. An enjoyable ride but the geometry wasn't quite right for me — to get the right length, I needed something that was really too large for me
• a Merida Road Race 903-18. Good but too long in the body.
• a Giant SCR C4. The goldilocks bike with a nice fit and ride and marked down enough to put it in my price range.

Obviously, I plumped for the Giant, not that it was a difficult decision. The bike was perfect for my shape, divinely light — it's carbon fibre — and, my God, a real joy to ride. So, subject to my getting the whole thing signed off by work — something that should be a formality — I'll soon be in possession of a shiny new bike.

Amusingly, when I took the Giant out for a spin, one of the guys from the shop came with on me on the Trek because he fanced trying out a road bike — from what he said, I gathered he was probably a mountain bike person. Going up Fore Street, he struggled to find the right gear, so I had the pleasure of leaving him in my dust. A bit unfair, I'd already done a couple of circuits so I was warmed up and used to the bikes, but still rather satisfying. Once the guy caught up, he announced that he'd been converted and now wanted a road bike...