I just followed the guide written by QuangVuong here:
https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...ti-levers.html
I was able to clean and revive a set of RSX brifters. I was going to do the same for these 600 brifters, but they came unstuck just with a few squirts of Finish Line dry teflon.

I guy in one of my old group rides had one of the red ones.

It was quite a looker and didn't seem to slow him down.

Nice! I wish the interior of more recent STI levers were as accessible as this.

Not if you consider as a hybrid. Most of those early hybrids were spec'd with 700 x 32C to 700 x 38C tyres.

I bought this on a whim earlier this year:

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...4950b783_b.jpg

1985 Performance Superbe -- Tange No. 1 tubing, full SunTour Superbe components except headset, seat post, pedals, and (now) bottom bracket. It's everything you should have been looking for in a bike in 1985.

(The triple and 3-pulley cage on the rear derailleur are my additions. Also, I seem to be pathologically incapable of cutting brake cables to the proper length.)

As for respect, I think it comes down to what makes you buy one bike and not another. Performance bikes were well made and well spec'ed at a good price. If you're just looking for a bike, they were/are a great choice. But if you've got several bikes and are feeling the N+1 itch, what would make you choose a Performance bike over any number of other options? Or, to view it another way, if you've filled up your garage and need to get rid of one, what would cause you to keep the Performance bike over others in your collection.

For me, I wanted a bike in this color, I wanted a bike with SunTour Superbe components, and I kind of think the lack of respect Performance gets adds a certain shabby chic vibe to the bike. The fact that it was cheap pushed me over the top to buy it, and the fact that I wouldn't get much for it reduces any motivation to sell. But at the end of the day, it's occupying a hook in my garage next to bikes made by Colnago, Gios, Masi, Pinarello, etc., so it's never going to rise above "Oh, that..." level in my collection. It wasn't even the best bike I bought on the day that I bought it, having picked it up on my way to get a 1974 Masi. But I am at the point of needing to thin the herd and this one made the cut over a Trek 614.

Univega was kind of the same way, you see a ton of the midrange ones like the Viva Sport/Alpina Uno/etc but it's relatively rare to see the high end ones, because that's where buyers who also value brand cachet come in.



Good for deals, though! Also, the lack of brand cachet makes it perfect for guilt-free stickerbombing (though I love the Vega too much to do that...)

Did Performance ever offer more than one level of bikes? By the time I started shopping for new bikes (around 2007) they were selling bikes under the Scattante brand. As I recall, they were targeting second tier components (Ultegra for road bikes) at a fourth tier (Tiagra) price point. The OP's focus seems to fit this model (though I'm not sure where the price fell). With the mid-80's bike like my Superbe and the BMZ-built Performance Campione, they seemed to be shooting for top-of-the-line specs.

You are correct, I did misread what you wrote. As far as the serial number, there is about an inch of space between the first four and last four characters. It could go either way if the fourth character is an O or 0, based on the shape. There are "Made in Taiwan" decals, so Hodaka seems plausible.

I appreciate all the information. It's more detail than I've been able to find in all the years I've had the bike.

That is a gorgeous color. If I found one of those that fit me I would have a hard time saying no.

I don't have high regard for 600 at all! Maybe pedals and DT shifters, but not much else.

I always like the Nashbar Alpha Road series. Kind of a poor man's Colnago Equilateral.


https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...3fd45f3cf0.jpg


https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...1a9cd78ba6.jpg

Colnago? that's a GT!


Shogun (hardly a prestige brand) had a few road models with hellenic stays as well, wonder if the framebuilder was the same as the Nashbar.

I just want to say that I respect your cassette. :thumb:

Nice bike, thanks for posting.

Dissenting opinion and you didn't even say why you didn't like them. Not super helpful!

This is true, but I was giving Road Fan the benefit of the doubt since he's an OG.

For your viewing pleasure...
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4d0ce28242.jpg

Wonder if they used the same Eastern frame source as the hellenic stay Shogun road bikes from the period...

No. Nashbar called this design "tri-lateral" and the examples that have surfaced have a S/N format consistent with Maruishi. Shogun used numerous sources and out of the hundreds of samples I've collected only one may have been a possible Maruishi product but it didn't use this frame design.

Question 1 for builder? is answered right in the above ad.
Update: Sorry misread the ad the builder meant bike builder not frame builder. This is not how builder is normally used.

Where? It says, "Then we chose outstanding factories to buld them - factories that build bicycles for many of the respected brands on the market." But those factories aren't identified in the catalogue.

Performance Bike Shop

I bought a set of wheels from them in 1984 - MAVIC MA2 rims, SS spokes, sealed bearing hubs. Although they are beginning to show their age, I am still riding those wheels 37 years later.

They were a great shop. I also miss them.

Too bad that you don't still have it. I've always wondered who made them, especially the earlier Bikecology models.

I have one of these bikes that is in near perfect condition. I was wondering what you think I could sell it presently?

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hello almuntz and welcome to the forum! :)

your inquiry would be a better fit over on the c&v appraisals forum -

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...th-appraisals/


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