Performance branded bicycle?
 

I came across one tonight. Tange2 tubes, indexed suntour, Aero hoods, and splatter paint all lead me to a late 80s bike(didn't get to check component date code).
After some looking online, is this bike from the same mega retailer Performance that's all over the US?

Itd need a full refurbishing, but I think it'd be a great ride after that.
Curious on the brand though.

Performance branded a lot of complete bikes years ago -- still do, they just dont name them Performance anymore -- but as an example, i have never seen a Scattante outside a Performance showroom

I picked up Performance Paraola touring bike a few weeks ago. I think it is a 1992. It is kind of a cross between a hybrid and a road touring bike. It has drop bars (ironically labeled "Hybrid"), dual pivot side pull brakes, bar end shifters, and aero brake levers like a road bike. It also has all the rack and fender braze-ons that you expect on a touring bike, including front low rider mounts. The frame has a sloping top tube, unicrown fork and 135 mm spacing and the front derailleur is labeled "for Hybrid". All I know is that I like the ride. I swapped the crank for a BioPace to get the 175 mm arms and a taller stem to dial in the fit and I am really happy with how it turned out.
Edit: The frame is Tange Infinity Double Butted Cro-Moly, welded, not lugged. Fork is also Tange Cro-Moly. Added Pictures.

They were along the same lines as the Nashbar bikes, they were good .. not great but good.

Thanks for confirming what I figured. Seeing the tange2 and indexed suntour threw me since the name on the frame was so obscure. I can understand why they came up with a different house brand name.

Don't sell it short. I answered an ad for a "Titanium bike" a few years ago, drove 2 hours, and found a lugged chro-mo Performance-branded bike, yellow with spotted paint scheme. The lugwork was nicely filed, smooth, the frame was not heavy at all, and the fork had a sloped, lugged crown. It was too big for me, but was full 105 2x7 indexed. Since it wasn't titanium, I offered $100 and left with it.

A certain amiable, knowledgeable, and very nice guy in Oklahoma has it. He doesn't show up much around here any more, as he's busy, but his fondness for junk food and his talent for finding and building beautiful bikes was right at the top of my list. He agreed with me that it was a very nice frame, equal to many we've both had, so look at "Performance" branded bikes a little longer than just a scan, these days.

Definitely not selling it short. Im pretty sure I will end up with the Performance as I am more about the frame and components than the name on the bike. A guy of a guy I know got it for free and wants to get into riding. It needs a total overhaul and is probably still a little small for him. I have an '85 Schwinn World Sport that's been upgraded thatll fit him great and has been an excellent entry bike for a few people so far. He liked the pictures and is going to come by this week to pick it up.

Im sure I will sell him the World Sport and buy the Performance off him for $30 or so since its gonna take a lot of work to refurbish the bike, then try to sell some off brand bike that has a great looking SunTour GPX group.
...although I have always kept bikes together, but this one may finally be the first that I pull the components off and keep for some future build, then donate the frame to our bike collective. Its way too small for me or anyone I know, and I know that name would have no recognition around me. I have had to give a history lesson on Bridgestone to more than a couple interested buyers to convince them the bikes were actually good- I cant imagine this would be easier, considering the scarcity of brand.

If you're looking to do a custom paint job on a frame, these frames would be good candidates. IMHO, Tange 2 is underrated, it's good stuff & makes for a nice ride.

+1

Tange 2 is 2.2 ounces heavier, at 58cm, than a Tange 1.
That's about right, in general, for the eyelets and greater clearance generally found on Tange 2 frames.

Performance and Nashbar, and Supergo at the end were all owned by the same company. Obviously, Supergo and Nashbar were started independently, but they are now part of the same parent company, or at least were.

Whether the frame said Access, Scattante, Performance etc. if the price point of the frame was decent the frame was decent. You have to remember unless you're talking a Calfee carbon, or Litespeed/Merlin/Lynsky titanium, or Klein/Cannondale for aluminum most stuff is just everything else. My Access 23" 29er is every bit an amazing frame. Its not as light as my Cannondale M2000 26" bike, but its also from a different era of big suspension and everyone hitting everything harder. The worst part of the bike is NOT the frame. I hate the hydraulic brakes, the plasticky X9 components, but the bike came with Mavic 29er Crossmax wheels and a Reba fork. Taiwanese factories aren't just limited to producing frames for a single nameplate. Cheap house brand gets made on the same production line as expensive nameplates. Many frame brands now are just branding. There is nothing about that brand that actually built the frame. We just don't know and can't pronounce the factory that did.

The days of craftsmen in Chehalis, WA or Bedford, PA building bikes in house are over. For crying out loud most Rivendell's are either a Mark Nobillette or a Waterford. What makes it "a Rivendell" their lugs and paint? There are times where the frame/forks at Nashbar get stupid cheap. However, I think you can always find a better nameplate bike on Craigslist just the same if you are patient enough.

Reminds me of a good story. I saw my Merckx EMX-3 on CL and the price seemed almost below fair. Had to go, had to see it. Did some prior research, and it was one of the models offered by Competitive Cyclist. I liked it and made the 80-mile trip, one way. Seems the owner was an employee of Performance/nashbar. Seems he bought the bike and then realized that the "office" rides may be a little uncomfortable on a competitor's bike. Probably OK, but did he really want to go there? Then he wins a set of Zipps from a company contest, and he really, really wants to put them on the EMX-3 (and they would have been awesome, Barney). His wife chimes in with some wisdom: you work at Performance. you ride with co-workers, including management. you won the wheels they all coveted. you live here in Performance's home town. you show up on Competitive Cyclist's bike, with wheels you won from "the company." horses generally do not defecate where they feed; poor analogy, but better than biting the hand....

He thinks about it, buys a $699 nashbar carbon frame, no names, no applique, no decals, flat black. He builds it with DA 9000 and the Zipp wheels. It is major bad-ass, and I can tell you, equal to that EMX-3. At my level, his level, no functional difference. Neither of us are Tom Boonen.

I buy the EMX-3. He is wistful for about 30 seconds, regretfull until he clips in and rockets off. I'm happy, he's happy, his wife does not worry.

When nashbar was selling that aluminum frame/carbon fork for 99.99, there simply wasn't a better deal to be had around here. Not my cupola Tea (Leoni) but that was a pretty good deal.

Maybe around '84 or '85, Performance offered lugged Columbus frames. I'd forgotten about that until someone in a Steel is Real group on FB picked one up.

If I recall correctly, those were usually made by Biemmezeta. There's usually a "BMZ" stamped on the BB. They also made house brand frames for Palo Alto.

Here's another one. Performance Tangent mountain bike. I think I got this thing for $20 somewhere. Deore LX and Tange MTB tubing.

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