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Hi All,
Long time mountain biker here but more of the long distance marathon kind of riding.
I live near Salisbury with loads of really nice gravel routes around and starting to think that a gravel bike might be a little better suited to the kind of riding I do, which also involves a lot of quiet country lanes and would also make the ride from my door to Salisbury plain a little quicker.
However, before parting ways with my Ragley hard tail 29er, I really want to have a proper ride on a gravel bike and none of the shops around have demo bikes available.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how to get a test ride? Or is there anyone who would be willing to meet up, go for a ride and swap bikes for an hour or 2?
Thanks,
Kyle
Sorry, not very helpful but I'd suggest that a 2 hours demo won't tell you much.
I've ALWAYS needed a few rides before I've adjusted to a bike and learned to enjoy it. I'd say just take the plunge and expect a learning curve! 😎
I’ve never been to this shop but I have bought stuff from them (they stock some really nice brands), and know someone sponsored by them and they seem great. Pretty close to you.
https://www.thewoodscyclery.co.uk/demo-bikes/
Have you ridden a road bike much, i.e. drop bars, different position etc,.
If you have then it is like that.
Buy secondhand & if you don't like it sell it on again, you might even make a few quid.
Wife & I took a chance & bought new in the autumn having never ridden a gravel bike but we were doing lots of none tech routes over increasing distance on MTB's so gravel bikes seemed a good bet.
Its opened up lots of new local long distance routes that we wouldn't have done on MTB's & really love them. Lots of new long distance routes planned for the better weather.
It might also depend on what you buy whether you like it. We bought Specialized Diverge with the 20mm future shock & flex post & they are really smooth. But may be we would hate gravel bikes without it?? But there are flex stems & posts so other options could smoothed out.
Maybe they are not :
Covid-19 UPDATE
Due to the suspension of several courier services we are unable to offer bike demos at the current time.