Performance Forte Brand
 

Your opinions?

I think it's pronounced "fourty"

edit: I also like how it starts with the same first letter as the word "fast"

It depends on the item. I had an alloy seatpost that creaked all the time, and I tried on some shoes that felt like the uppers were made of plastic. I also had a pair of pedals that worked fine once I tightened the spindle on one. Finally, I've had a stem that worked great, skewers that worked as expected, and Titan wheels that held up fine.

Agree with urbanknight. Depends on the item. I have some Forte items that are junk and others that work well.

Hmm.. I always thought it was 'Fortay'. One of my coworkers bought the Look style Forte pedals. Even on fully loose, there were times I could not get my feet out of them. I actually had to coast down the road, and take my feet out of the shoes. Downright dangerous in my opinion.

Enough of it is junk that I don't trust any of it.

They are mainly debagged stuff. For example their Titan wheels are Alex Rims. I've had a pair for 4-5 years, held up pretty good, no truing needed. Their drive train is Microshift which is very respectable used by pro cycling Team Exergy.

I like their platform pedals http://media.performancebike.com/ima...-GRY-ANGLE.jpg

I got one of their " pro sl" sadles and I love it, but I bet with any company some parts are great, some not so great.

Some of their stuff is fine. I have a pair of SPD pedals that I commute in...creaky, but good enough. I've had them for over 2 years. I stock up on Forte tubes when they get cheap enough.

oh yeah, I do have a Pro SL saddle as well. I like it for the price. Do I "love" it? Not sure...but saddles are so individual.

I worked at a Performance shop and a lot of the proprietary stuff (forte, axiom, access, scattante, spin doctor, hurricane, transit etc...) is either a rebranding or designed by different companies in the field. Some Forte tires are actually Kenda; Titan wheels are Nuevations, Scattante frames are designed and manufactured partly by Fuji, Forte drive train components are by microshift. The only things that I know of that are 100% performance products are the clothes (and most made in America I believe).
As far as pronunciation, Forte: "4-tay" with a slightly Italian accent. At my shop we had a running gag of saying all the Performance brands as if they were Italian words, such as "Per-for-manche." Sometimes we'd do it to customers on chill day. "Welcome to Performanche!"

The quality of the products is pretty good. The "compare to" price is pretty accurate when looking at retail prices of the other brands, except on bikes where it seems a bit inflated. I ride with loads of performance brands on myself and on my bikes because of the discounts, and rather pleased with most of it. I'll answer questions about any of the products if you like. If we sell it, I've either used, tried, or heard about it.

Great info Zei. Thanks for the detailed reply!

the flat bar shifters arent that good, they are rebranded microshift but they are different from the Nashbar rebranded microshift shifters. the fortes have clearance issues with my brake levers that the nashbar version didn't have. the road and mtb deraileurs work great and look better in person than pics

Like UK said.

It depends.

BTW 'It depends' is probably the correct answer to 90% of BF inquiries.

I had the SPD pedals too and barely creaked over 2k miles I used them. I guess I was fortunate. I also have the bib shorts but it goes below the knees. Too lazy to return and wear it only on rainy days (i don't like it when the back of my knees become wet - pet peeve).
The brand is not bad but not superb. Voted decent but probably wouldn't buy it again.

I like their bar tape. What I don't like is that it now has their new logo stamped all over it.

I have some platform pedals that are very good.

I rode one of their "classic" saddles for a long time. It's a decent saddle for $35, which used to be the perma-sale price. Made in Italy, leather cover, very comfortable. They have since changed the styling, perhaps the manufacturer, and the price. Can't say anything about the current version.

I still have the saddle on one bike, but I switched to a Selle An-Atomica on my primary bike.

Same wheel with different decals, Titan and M28 Aero. They are sourced from the same supplier - Performance does not source them from Neuvation.

So far I've only tried the tires and tubes, I think. Tubes are fine. One Strada 25mm wore out REALLY quickly. And all of the Strada 25s seem like practically 23s to me. My other Strada has been holding up well and my Slick City 1.25s have performed well and worn well so far.

Had these. It was my first set of clipless pedals and the sales guy convinced me "You can get carbon for the same price as a name brand set that's not carbon."

I didn't know how bad it was until I was on a trip, rented a bike, and borrowed a pair of Look pedals from a friend. Came home, took one ride on the old pedals, bought the Look pedals. Been much happier ever since.

stuff I've bought I like, always find it to be as good as or better than other stuff at similar or slightly higher price point - if the specs suit what I'm lookin for. Been beating the crap out of a pr of campus pedals on my commuter, and they just keep on goin...
Forte DC PRo tires - obviously made by Kenda - great tires! fast, plenty durable, grippy enough on descents, light - as good as anything I've ridden. Not sure how they are in 'wet' since I don;t really get many really wet days here in Ca. On wet days I luv splashin around in the mud on the mtb.
I have no problems at least tryin any of their stuff - usually not disappointed.

I use the Forte Carbon Pedals and they're absolutely perfect. Pedal goes to a vertical position rather quickly, clipping in doesn't take much effort. When I pedal I never clip out accidentally, but when I do clip out, I barely feel the resistance, and this is out-of-the box tension. My pedals, as well as all the rest in the store that I've examined feel the exact same way. I can't relate to your experience and I'd recommend these to anyone. The reviews on the site are all 5 stars and they're all detailed.http://media.performancebike.com/ima...-BLK-ANGLE.JPG

The Forte Team pedals, however, I've seen plenty of people return, and I've seen people clipping in and out of them, much much tougher than it has to be. Those I wouldn't recommend.http://media.performancebike.com/ima...-BLK-ANGLE.JPG

So you would recommend the Carbons. I have old Look pedals that are heavy and come with hard to find delta cleats. I was looking into getting those due to the price. Pedals are crazy expensive.

I love my performance ultra bibs, sadly i had to retire them only after 3 months of riding because my seat bag strap rubbed on them during one group ride, which lead to a weak spot, which is now a whole. :(. Have to wait till the clothing is half off again.

I do. They feel great for me. I've never seen them get returned and that's generally a sign of quality. I used them for over 600 miles. Just today I switched to a 4.5 degree cleat and they feel even better. If I had to guess, I would say the issue haaseg was having was probably from an older model, because I've opened up many boxes at my store and haven't seen a single pair that I couldn't bend back with my thumb.

Also, the Ultra bibs are what I use as well and they're my favorites.

I cried when someone on my group ride told me I had a whole in them. I can't dish out 80+ bucks for another pair. Need another 50% off performance clothing sale.

They fit great, the chamois is good, bibs > shorts in general for me. Right now I'm riding some entry level specialized shorts I got for christmas, they are terrible in comparison.

When I first got into biking, I got a few pairs of the ultra bibs as well and thought they were fantastic, as I was never considering buying 'expensive' bibs. However, there are often bibs that come at about the same price that are exponentially better..... you just have to find the sale.

Our team bibs are 55$, I bought a few pairs of TdF castelli's for 25 each, some pearl izumi's for under 50....

Now I look at those Ultra bibs and really feel they are kinda cheap and trashy

I've got the forte' carbon pro pedals and couldn't be happier.... I'd buy then again without a second thought. have a pair of performance shorts and a shirt, not fancy, but works and hasn't fallen apart on me, again, for the price, good stuff...

They're definitely not super nice bibs but they work well enough. I have ridden a century on both the Ultra and Elite bibs with no particular discomfort.