I love used bike tests. Once you hit upon a theme you then dive into websites, phone dealers up and start spending imaginary cash that should be set aside for an imaginary college fund for the unimaginary kids. I waste hours deliberating over whether we should stick in this bike or that bike, argue about the merits of one machine over another and generally end up putting off what I should be doing by spending too much time on eBay hovering over the bid button. At least it’s loosely deemed as work so I can’t get a bollocking for it…
Then comes the riding. This can be a bit hit or miss because up to now I’ve had my rose-tinted visor on. Because of the extremely pampering position I find myself in, I hark back to a bike that was fresh off the production line, had yet to see rain and was typically ridden hard on brilliant roads. 10-15-20 years later, the bikes we get to sample can be somewhat different – although more often than not we’re treated to something resembling what was intended.