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Old 03-09-13 | 03:25 PM
  #14  
hueyhoolihan
Senior Member
 
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 6,682
Likes: 4
From: Above ground, Walnut Creek, Ca

Bikes: 8 ss bikes, 1 5-speed touring bike

Originally Posted by hueyhoolihan
i just bought one of these and am in the process of building it up.

http://www.performancebike.com/bikes..._400001_400314

it's so cheap that it hardly makes any difference if it's any good.

as an owner and daily rider of six other bikes. including old lugged steel, custom titanium and carbon, but no aluminum, i thought i would give it a try.

the paint won't last, but that's okay by me. i'll be having it powdercoated.

the rear dropout forks come with wear plates that need to be installed. the countersunk relief holes in the forks don't line up with the threaded holes in the stamped steel wear plates. a little judicious filing was necessary.

otherwise, like the headtube machining for the headset and the BB threads, were fine. welds look as good as anything else i have ever seen.

one thing i hope i am going to like about this frame is that it is really a road frame. it's the same frame that Nashbar makes into three different frames, a single speed, a road and a touring. they just add a couple of doodads here and there and little else, i think. oh, rear spacing is 120mm. and seatstay brace is drilled for brake, with welded on rear brake cable guides.

performance bike charges no shipping if the customer can pick it up an any PB store. so i took advantage of the fact that a store is only a couple of miles away.

edit: oh, i forgot. you may notice that it does come in a 60cm. the toptube is parallel and there is no fork. i bought an old litespeed full carbon fork off ebay for 39. it supposedly had a small gouge in it and put people off. it turned out it was chipped paint...
update:

have a few rides on the ascent frame from Performance bike. WOW! the aluminum is just as i had hoped. audibly quiet, stiffer and lighter than my vintage steel/lugged frames. very stable. came out at about 15-16 lbs. i would race or tour on this in a heartbeat. very very stable hands free riding at high speed too.

wish they offered these things years ago and had the knowledge and experience to try one.
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