Singlespeed & Fixed Gear - Performance Bike - praise

I bought a set of Time ATAC pedals from them back in August and have been using them pretty much as my main pedals ever since. For some reason one of the pedals became very stiff and was difficult to rotate on its spindle. So, I sent an email Performancebike asking about where to send them for warranty service. The pedals have a year warranty and I have long since tossed out the box and papers including my order invoice from Performancebike.

Less than three hours later I got a detailed email response, in short: Don't bother with warranty service, send them back to us for a refund or replacement, your choice. Don't worry about not having the invoice or paperwork, we will have a record of the transaction. DOn't worry about not having the original box, just pack them carefully and mail them back.

I think there is a certain NYC bike shop that could learn something about customer service by following this example. THAT is the way to treat a customer. Everyone here knows about Peformancebike already, so I doubt that I am increasing their customer base, but I like to spread the word when I am treated well.

lol..poor Will

I agree that it's good to give positive feedback when we have a good experience, and that all businesses can learn something from studying what makes a positive customer service interaction, but let's leave the NYC bashing to the relevant threads.

I'm really glad to hear they took care of you on those pedals. Supergo did a pisspoor job on me once when they sent a defective pump, and then failed to let me know that they did not have a replacement in stock after I sent it back. I've never had any problems with Performance, so here's hoping this recent aquisition does nothing to spoil their good CS practices.

+1 for Performance Bike. I have a store in my city and went in there to get something I saw they had on sale on the web. When I went there to get it to save on s/h they were out of stock, but ordered and shipped it to my house for free. Not really that big of a deal, but still very customer friendly.

I agree that it's good to give positive feedback when we have a good experience, and that all businesses can learn something from studying what makes a positive customer service interaction, but let's leave the NYC bashing to the relevant threads.

I'm really glad to hear they took care of you on those pedals. Supergo did a pisspoor job on me once when they sent a defective pump, and then failed to let me know that they did not have a replacement in stock after I sent it back. I've never had any problems with Performance, so here's hoping this recent aquisition does nothing to spoil their good CS practices.


Well, don't have to worry about Supergo now since they have been bought out by Performance. The supergo that was in my hometown is now a performance, same things just rebranded from supergo brand to performance.

and yeah, performance service is pretty good. couple of times I've ordered something and it didn't go out the day it was suppose to and I called to check and wasn't even complaining, just wondering, but they stepped up and upgraded my shipping to next day for free, it actually got to me faster than if the package had shipped on time with the ground shipping. This was on a few occasions. Good stuff.

Is Nashbar and Performance owned by the same parent company?

Nashbar = Performance = Supergo

I spend more money there than I should, but they are cheap and have always done me right. Anybody know if they pay their wrenches worth a crap?

I'm not generally a big fan of giving my name every time I buy something (although, since I rarely pay cash, it's not like they don't have it), but I've come to appreciate it at Performance, since it makes returns/exchanges so much easier.

I bought a wireless cyclocomputer from them at a crazy clearance price, brought it home, and found out one of the transmitter's batteries was dying. They happily refunded me $5 for a new battery. I just bought a helmet from them, and they said I wouldn't need to keep the packaging if I had to return/exchange it.

Plus, the people who work at the Halsted location are cool as hell.

Yeah, I like the people at the Performance on Halstead - they're really cool.

Can't go wrong with Performance, at least as far as my experiences go. I know most of the employees at the Halsted location by name -- I spend equally as much time there as i do Yojimbo's, for the more general stuff.

Nothing but good experience with Performance on my end.

This past Saturday I was in the aforementioned Performance shop on Halstead in Chicago and I brought in a hanging bike rack (two hooks on a frame that screw into joints in the wall) which broke apart with a bike hanging on it. I had the broken frame and one of two mud guards - no box or receipt. I bought the rack over a year ago and they gave me a cash refund with no hassle!

Definately got some points in my book.

Nashbar = Performance = Supergo

I spend more money there than I should, but they are cheap and have always done me right. Anybody know if they pay their wrenches worth a crap?

i'm relatively confident that nashbar is not the same as performance/supergo. please correct me with relevant sources if i'm incorrect.

Nashbar does sell some Supergo branded stuff. I don't know if they have the same parent company.

I'm thinking they might have gotten a good wholesale deal on it with the closing of Supergo

all the same company. Nashbar is kinda like the outlet of performance. the house brand isn't as nice but still good for the price. I think Performance owns nashbar, could be the other way around. Performance bought out Supergo recently so now all supergo stores are performance.

Here you go Shants, I was actually looking for the press release, but could not find it.

A job posting on Performance's site..
http://www.performancebike.com/employment.cfm
# »Marketing Manager - Web Focus
Job Description
The Marketing Manager will take the lead to drive sales through our internet channels and ensure that Performance, Inc. sites (Nashbar.com, PerformanceBike.com) exceed our customers' expectations in all matters

A performance opened in the ATL over the summer. First of all, they decided to put their shop on a totally bike-inaccessible access road that runs along I-85. I bit the bullet and rode down there and was surprised to find a bike rack in front of their store, considering their location. (This is a classic Atlanta spot; if anyone on this forum's ever visited, he or she probably understands just how bad this town can be. It's next to Guitar Center off N. Druid Hills Rd.)

I found the store itself to be pretty weird. They've obviously hired a sales crew that works the floor, a register crew that knows nothing about bikes to work the registers, and a shop crew. Going to the register you get the Radio Shack treatment, where they take your address & phone number. Not surprisingly I've been getting a lot more catalogs since then.

Also, I got home to find that the Performance brand bar tape I bought doesn't have an adhesive backing (not noted on the package, naturally.)

Sigh. Nice to hear they have good customer service, anyway.

same experience as andreunin here. i was living in VA, and the performance bike was like, a half hour a way on a completly un-bikeable thouroughfare, in a stripmall between barnes and noble and and a radio shack or some crap.

never bought anything from there, specially since i knew all the shop owners in town. i'll pay the extra 5 bucks for a pump, so a small shop owner can have 5 dollars worth of extra mashed potatoes on his familys dinner table.

Rant about Performance:

Several years back performance took over the bike store I was working at in Northern Va. I ended up working for performance in a couple of locations on and off for two years. They paid us poorly and had very high turnover. I met plenty of great people working for performance including some great mechanics. There were also some total hacks. I saw many awful things done by novice mechanics (installing mismatched 175/170 crankarms on a customer's bike, cross threading BBs, poorly adjusted hubs after $120 tuneups, pedals falling off on test rides, bikes coming back beacuse the cranks came loose and wallowed out) and heard some absurd claims made by clueless sales people. One manager kept hiring (and ****ing) cute high school girls who had never ridden bikes before. Another would come in all coked up and **** out about the plan-o-gram. For a while the shop I worked at didn't have the tools to chase and face a BB shell. They wouldn't do certain repairs (straightening a frame or fork) and forbid us from doing "shop rides" with customers for fear of liability.

Perf may run its stores differently now but I doubt it. Recently a friend who rode for King Courier bought a fuji track at perf SF and had the cog thread off on him. The shop had sent this guy out the door with a brakeless track bike without tightening the lockring. When he went back they lent him a chainwhip and hook spanner and he did the work himself (he felt that there were enough lockring threads left to go on.)

Performance has high enough volume (and makes enough money off of their catalogs) that they can afford to replace anything if you whine enough. They are cheap. their shimano sale prices are often lower than QBP. If you want a cheap, unintimidating, big box bike store, go for it. I have seen local shops extend credit, take orders with no money down, and lend messengers bikes when they get hit or can't afford to fix their own until payday. Personally, I prefer to deal with these local stores that pay decent wages to experienced staff.

Nothing but nice experiences with the Performance here in San Francisco. Derrik, the mech manager, is awesome (he's worked on my roadie). Easily as conscientious as the mechs at American Cyclery, Freewheel, Road Rage and elsewhere, and completely willing to go the extra mile to make sure things are kosher.

I patronize the local shops regularly, but I have zero misgivings about bringing business to this particular Performance store.

I like Performance. Here is my story:

I rode a century a few months back and upon completion recieved a bag with a 20% off coupon. I bought an Easton EC90 SLX fork with the coupon. It was originally $429, marked down to $345, and I paid ~$300 cash in the store. Unfortunately, I suffered buyer's remorse. I realized that I wanted a fixie instead.

I took it back and they issued me a check for the fork. I had to wait about 2 weeks for it, and I recieved my check a day or two after christmas. I opened up the envelope, and it was made out for $375 instead of $300.

I like to keep a clean conscience, so I called them to make things right. After being put on hold for about 15 minutes, I hung up. I was getting ready to just go to the store, but I just called them again instead. The guy at the store said, "Let me talk to my manager."

I waited for a few minutes and he came back with his manager's reply: "All he says is 'Merry Christmas for Performace.'"

That was a nice day.

Glad to know you guys are having fun with soul less big box stores, and also glad to know that I have never in my life seen a real life Performance Bike store. Along the lines of corporate stores, a Trek concept store just opened up about 30 minutes from here. My boss went inside and wasn't helped for 15 minutes. Upon looking around, hardly anyone was in this store which was on its opening weekend in a HUGE shopping plaza. I really don't see the sense in such large scale business for such an intimate objective.

I'm as much of a cynic as the next guy when it comes to chain stores. I design aquariums and deal strictly with locally-owned shops, because I have a very severe (and I guess, hypocritical) prejiduce towards the chains.

I've only dealt with the Performance here in SF, but my experience has been that the people working there are just as concerned about customer satisfaction & quality of work as the local outfits. It literally has the feel of a small store, amidst the backdrop of a cavernous retail floor. :o

I've been pleasantly surprised so far. I have zero doubt that there are forgettable Performance stores; likewise, I've dealt with a couple forgettable private stores here in the city. It's tough to cast a wide net when it comes to these things.

I'm as much of a cynic as the next guy when it comes to chain stores. I design aquariums and deal strictly with locally-owned shops, because I have a very severe (and I guess, hypocritical) prejiduce towards the chains.

I've only dealt with the Performance here in SF, but my experience has been that the people working there are just as concerned about customer satisfaction & quality of work as the local outfits. It literally has the feel of a small store, amidst the backdrop of a cavernous retail floor. :o

I've been pleasantly surprised so far. I have zero doubt that there are forgettable Performance stores; likewise, I've dealt with a couple forgettable private stores here in the city. It's tough to cast a wide net when it comes to these things.

Don't get me wrong. I am not trying to say that the guys at SF perf. are not concerned about customer satisfaction. They are probably more friendly and concerned with customer satisfaction than the guys at American. But as I stated earlier the SF performance on Brannan sold a messenger a brakeless track bike on which the cog and lockring were not tight. I dislike American cyclery, but my dealings with them lead me to believe that this would never happen on a bike that they sold. American is overpriced, but they will not sell you a track bike without tightening down the ****ing cog and lockring.

I stopped by the SF. perf store last fall and bought a tube from some guy who complained that the staf turned over every few months. There may be some guys who have been around and know their stuff, but there are also some clueless rookies.

You are rolling the dice when you take advice or get work done at Perf. If you demand low prices and no bike-snob attitude go to perf. If you require competence go to a reputable local.

I wouldn't dispute anything you say. I think probably every shop, chain or otherwise, has, from time to time, its share of bad days, or even bad apples.

I recently had a completely disappointing experience at a reputable shop here. It was a shop that strives to do good, but unfortunately work was never checked - and the work was always frighteningly inept.

(In brief, I purchased a new bike that was horribly assembled by the shop. It developed so many blatant problems over the course of a couple weeks of ownership that the store manager took it back, no questions asked, because there was no doubt in anyone's mind that this thing should never have left the shop the way it did. Towards the end, one of the senior mechs checked the bike out and found about a gazillion things amiss. Not fun.)

I think that at any shop you visit, once you get to know the staff you develop relationships with those people who you perceive to be particularly detail oriented/skilled/plain friendly. Matt over at Road Rage is awesome. Derrik at Performance, I'd trust any of my bikes to.

Be weary as to who works on your stuff, irregardless of the store. I still take the bulk of my business to a couple private shops, but it's the individuals who've done great work and who I've chatted up at length that I trust, not the store per se... if that makes any sort of sense. Building up relationships with great people, chain or otherwise, is totally worth it.