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About Our Test Rides

Everything you need to know

Test ride a bike today! Friends in the market are welcome, too!

Al's Bicycles stores offer many wonderful types, brands, and models of bicycles. We urge you to test ride all the bikes you might be interested in to feel how they differ from each other and from your current ride. For your safety (and the care of our bikes), we'd like to explain: What To Wear And Bring, Our Requirements, How We Prep The Bike and how you should Test Ride the bike.

What To Wear And Bring

While you're welcome to test ride our bicycles in street shoes, we recommend wearing athletic or rubber-soled shoes so that you'll be able to pedal and get on and off each bicycle comfortably.

If you have a helmet, please bring it, as well. We have test-ride loaners, but yours might feel more comfortable and secure.

Our Requirements

In order to test ride a bicycle, you must be at least 16 years of age or come into the store with your legal parent or guardian.

We require a valid driver's license (with photo) or other photo ID in order to test ride. We'll put these in a safe place and return them when you finish riding.

Also, for your safety, test rides aren't possible when the weather's bad or it's dark.

How We Prep The Bike

In most cases, once you've selected a model to test ride, we'll give it a quick once-over to ensure it's ride ready. This includes topping off the tire pressure and checking the brakes and gears. We may also need to adjust the seat to fine-tune the fit. Please tell us if you're unfamiliar with shifting and braking so we can demonstrate.  This little lesson guarantees you'll enjoy the test ride, while also helping you fully appreciate the bike should you decide to buy it.

The Test Ride

There are several ideal places near our store for putting a new bike through its paces, which we'll explain before sending you on the ride. We expect you to return in 15 to 30 minutes just in case someone else wishes to try the bike you're on. Also, if you're gone much longer we'll worry that something's gone wrong.

Thanks for reviewing our test-ride procedures and rules. If you have any questions at all about this or anything cycling, just ask. We look forward to showing you a great new bike sometime soon!