Product Profile: 2013 Performance Clothing

13PBS_PB_Clothing_Brand_FBOur new line of 2013 Performance clothing is our best lineup of Performance brand cycling gear ever. Our clothing team logged long hours designing and testing this gear to make sure that it meets the highest standards for both value and performance on the bike, for every level of cyclist. Give it a try and we know that you’ll love this cycling clothing as much as we do!

The new lineup of Performance clothing is divided into 3 levels: Ultra, Elite and Club.

Ultra clothing is designed with the latest performance technologies to meet the demands of serious cyclists. It’s optimized comfort and durability for racing and training, to give you a performance advantage.

Elite clothing is for the experienced cyclist looking for enhanced comfort and quality. It’s designed to take you from short group spins to all-day century rides with its precision designed support.

Club clothing is our foundation line for essential quality and value. It’s for cyclists who want comfort and value, from casual to long distance rides.

As the top level of our cycling gear, both our Ultra and Elite lines feature physiodynamic design.physioSo what does that mean? Think of it as the perfect synthesis of comfort, aerodynamics, and support for cyclists. It features a best-in-class Italian-made chamois with 4 way stretch, variable density and anti microbial properties – perfect for all day in the saddle. Aerodynamic leg and arm bands enhance airflow over the transition areas, while multi-panel construction supports cycling muscles for maximum power delivery. Plus maximized fabric placement wicks sweat and allows ventilation for all day comfort.

ULTRA  physio  coldblack

Designed for serious riders, our Performance Ultra cycling jersey with physiodynamic design has tons of new features that’ll enhance the way you ride, whether you’re training, racing or testing your endurance. Open knit fabric pattern allows air to pass through the fabric, moving moisture away from your skin for quick evaporation. Coldblack technology in the shoulders reduces skin temperature under direct sunlight, so you stay cool and comfortable. Next-to-skin fit enhances speed, compression arm bands stay put, silicone gripper hem prevents ride-up and three pockets hold race-day essentials.

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Performance Ultra jersey & shorts

Coldblack coldblackis an all-new finish applied directly to the fabric, which delivers better heat management and better protection against harmful UV rays. To achieve this double sun protection coldblack uses a unique combination: absorption and reflection. Coldblack reduces the absorption of heat in dark colors and reflects up to 80% of the sun’s rays, so the rider stays noticeably cooler.

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Performance Ultra jersey & shorts

Our Performance Ultra women’s cycling jersey maintains comfort without compromising competitive performance utilizing the same physiodynamic design and coldblack technology as the Ultra men’s jersey - in a women’s specific design featuring a tapered collar, gripper-free arm openings and next-to-skin styling.

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Performance Ultra jersey & shorts

Constructed for the weekend warrior or the everyday racer, the Performance Ultra shorts give serious riders the best technology at the best price. In addition to Coldblack technology on the fabric surface, we also added a new Italian chamois with Skyve technology to eliminate all possible pressure points while enhancing breathable support. The physiodynamic design with ergo-panels, flatlock stitching and compressive fabric promotes riding comfort. Powerband leg grippers stay put while cutting through the air. The Ultra shorts are the most comfortable, best-fitting shorts that money can buy under $100, and are available in men’s, men’s bib and women’s versions.

ELITE  physio

The Performance Elite men’s cycling jersey utilizes a physiodynamic design and has everything you need for every kind of ride. Polyester/spandex fabric moves with you, wicks moisture away from your skin and gives you a streamlined fit. Strategic mesh panels and full zip keep you cool while the tail light clip and 360° reflectivity keep you visible. Silicone gripper hem won’t ride up when you’re down in the drops and three pockets hold your extra gear.

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Performance Elite jersey

Physiodynamic design also helps to enhance the cycling motion for regular commutes, club rides, tours or off-road excursions while wearing the Performance Elite women’s cycling jersey (also available in sleeveless). It will be your new go-to piece for comfort on every ride, carefully designed with a women’s specific fit.

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Performance Elite jersey & shorts

The Performance Elite shorts are the best everyday shorts you can find. We combined our new physiodynamic design with the best technical properties and an updated fabric blend to keep you well-supported and comfortable on every ride. New Italian made, multi-density chamois gives excellent cushioning on longer rides; reflective accents, and new Comfortband leg grippers feature silicone prints for a soft, no-slip grip. The best quality shorts you can find for under $80, available in men’s, men’s bib, women’s and women’s bib versions.

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Performance Elite jersey & shorts

CLUB

Whether you’re pedaling around the neighborhood or training for your first charity event, the Performance Club II cycling jersey provides the cooling comfort you need to ride well. Polyester fabric leaves your skin dry, thanks to its fast-wicking properties and front zip keeps you well-ventilated as the day heats up. Reflective logo improves visibility and three pockets hold keys, nutrition, plus other essentials.

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Performance Club jersey & shorts

The Club II cycling shorts (available in both men’s and women’s versions) blend fast-wicking fabrics with comfort-focused features for everyday riding performance. Six panels follow the pedaling motion and stabilize your hardworking muscles. Breathable foam chamois with silicone inserts provides cushy support and eliminates hot spots. Adjustable drawstring waist gives you a custom fit. Silicone leg grippers stay put, plus they feel great.

Holiday Gift Ideas

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Since we’re in the holiday spirit here at Performance Bicycle, we decided to take a stroll around our home office to find out what some of our coworkers recommended for the cyclist on your gift list. We talked to folks from accounting to merchandising to discover some great cycling gift ideas, even if you’re just shopping for yourself!

First up are a few ideas from Alison, a merchandise planner in our components division, and also a budding road cyclist.

1. What is your favorite piece of cycling gear that you used this year?

I love my Diadora Women’s Aerospeed 2 road shoes:

And I don’t have this Selle Italia Women’s Diva Gel Flow saddle, but I rode it on a friend’s bike and it was great – I need to get one!

2. What is a great stocking stuffer product for a cyclist?

Forté Grip-Tec handlebar tape is perfect for any road cyclist.

3. How about another holiday gift idea – non-cycling related?

I haven’t been very good this year, but I would like some Frye Harness 12R boots.

Zach is a merchandise assistant on our clothing team who loves to ride anything with 2 wheels – he’s going to learn how to jump on a dirt bike next.

1. What is your favorite piece of cycling gear that you used this year?

I got to test-ride some Zipp 303 Firecrest Carbon Clincher front & rear road wheels – they are awesome.

DSC_01202. What is a great stocking stuffer product for a cyclist?

The Blackburn VIP SL Ride Wallet comes in handy when you want to stuff your phone or credit card in a sweaty jersey pocket.

3. How about another holiday gift idea – non-cycling related?

A ukulele, just because.

Alicia is our clothing product developer, responsible for the design and fit of our private label apparel – but she really loves to hit the trails on her mountain bike.

1.  What is your favorite piece of cycling gear that you used this year?

The Performance Women’s Thermal long sleeve jersey is great for cold-weather riding.


2.  What is a great stocking stuffer product for a cyclist?

Extra CO2 cartridges are always appreciated by the cyclist on your list.

3.  How about another holiday gift idea – non-cycling related?

I love it if my friends donate to a local charity on my behalf.

Johnny is a merchandise assistant for our components group, and all-around fast guy on any bike that you put him on, be it road, mountain or whatever.

1. What is your favorite piece of cycling gear that you used this year?

The Rock Shox Reverb Adjustable Seatpost is really useful and dependable.

2.  What is a great stocking stuffer product for a cyclist?

Stan’s sealant is a must if you want to go tubeless (and you should).


3. How about another holiday gift idea – non-cycling related?

Some sweet socks from Stance.

Michal works in our accounting department, and is a regular fixture on our lunch time road rides.

1. What is your favorite piece of cycling gear that you used this year?

Other than my bike….. I’d have to say Speedplay Light Action road pedals:

However, I do love my Pearl Izumi Thermal leg warmers. Couldn’t ride this time of year without them.


2. What is a great stocking stuffer product for a cyclist?

Everybody loves a good tail light (especially for this time of year) or one of those cool little multi tools.

3. How about another holiday gift idea – non-cycling related?

Socks, socks and more socks. Preferably Smartwool!  [ed.: apparently you can't go wrong with socks!]

smartwool

Mark is a member of our product development team – so riding his bike and testing new gear is one of his job requirements!

1. What is your favorite piece of cycling gear that you used this year?

The internal clutch on the Shimano XTR Shadow+ rear derailleur really works to reduce chain slap on my mountain bike.

2. What is a great stocking stuffer product for a cyclist?

Dumonde Tech Original bicycle chain lube works to keep your bike running smoothly, and every cyclist wants that!

3. How about another holiday gift idea – non-cycling related?

Foothill’s Brewing Olde Rabbit’s Foot Imperial Stout – it’s hard to find, but oh so delicious.

Product Profile: Louis Garneau Course collection

For 30 years, Louis Garneau has stayed the course with race-inspired, high-tech cycling clothing. Now, they’re introducing their Limited Edition, premium Course line that delivers even more technology and performance than ever before. You can find the entire Course collection on Performancebike.com, but here’s a breakdown of a few of the innovative new products from this collection of high performance cycling gear.

Winner of the 2012 Eurobike Award for design excellence and innovation, the Course SpeedZone cycling vest was developed in cooperation with Team Europcar to provide great utility and protection. Louis Garneau’s patent pending opening on the rear of the vest allows access to your jersey pockets and provides visibility if you are wearing a race number. The ultra-light, stretchy fabric moves with you, offers wind and water resistance and breathes extremely well, plus an inner flap behind the full zip gives further protection while the mesh back panel prevents overheating.

The Course Race cycling bib shorts are a perfect example of a product that has been specially constructed to shave seconds, maximize muscle performance and keep you going strong, long after you’ve dropped the rest of the pack. Tight-fitting, high-compression fabric supports your thighs for powerful pedaling efficiency and is embedded with sun-reflective, coldblack technology to prevent overheating. Minimal seams increase aerodynamics, Power Mesh bibs keep you cool and a “nature calls” panel makes for easy pit stops. The new 5Motion chamois closes the deal with the amazing comfort of 3D pre-shaped wings, vented mesh, pressure relieving zones and antibacterial protection.

Designed to help you ride better, faster and stronger, the Course Race cycling jersey is a great looking piece packed with serious high-tech features. Three innovative fabrics move with your body, increase aerodynamics and wick moisture, plus coldblack technology dramatically reduces the jersey’s temperature to prevent overheating. The Course Race jersey is full zip and features pre-shaped shoulders and a wide silicone gripper hem to keep the jersey in place when you’re down in the drops. Textured sleeves give you an aero edge and triple back pockets with MP3 compatibility hold your race essentials.

Gloves that combine a firm grip with the right amount of padding and aeration for competition can be hard to come by. But not anymore, thanks to Louis Garneau’s Course cycling gloves. Their progressive padding process relieves pressure on the ulnar and median nerves, plus eliminates sources of friction for an amazing level of comfort. Then they added a sun reflecting, coldblack finish to the upper, so your hands won’t overheat. Finally, they seamlessly integrated their Ergo Air Zone system for effective temperature regulation and moisture evacuation. Hands down, this is a hard glove to beat. [Note: Course cycling gloves are available for pre-order, and will be in stock at the end of November]

Louis Garneau pulls out all the stops in their most competitive footwear, the Course 2LS road shoes. They’re equipped with a thinner, lighter and stronger Exo-Jet carbon outsole, plus Garneau’s HRS-300 internal polymer system which effectively transfers all your energy into pure power. Multi-vent technology circulates air throughout the interior to keep your feet feeling dry and fresh. Insert the red insole for extra warmth in cold conditions or the blue insole with refrigerant for cool comfort in hot weather. Double BOA L5 closure system evenly distributes pressure, offers infinite degrees of fine-tuning and lets you customize the level of security and tension. [Note: Course 2LS road shoes are available for pre-order, but will not be in stock until early 2013]

Shop the entire Limited Edition, premium Course collection on Performancebike.com.

30th Anniversary – Performance Team USA Jerseys

Looking through old catalogs as part of our 30th Anniversary celebration, we were reminded of the fact that Performance Bicycle was the official technical clothing supplier for USA Cycling for many years. In fact, our kits were worn at both the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. Take a stroll through our archives to see the Performance designs worn by Team USA through the years.

This first image, from our 1997 Summer catalog, shows the first kit created by Performance for the U.S. National Team – as you can see, it’s being modeled by a young Christian Vande Velde!

By the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, the kit for the National Team had changed to the eye-catching design you see above in our Spring 2000 catalog. This jersey was worn in medal-winning performances by several American athletes.

Marty Nothstein won a gold medal in the Men’s Sprint event on the track, and recently wrote a book about the experience called “The Price of Gold”.

Lance Armstrong earned a bronze medal in the Men’s Individual Time Trial.

And Mari Holden rode to a silver medal in the Women’s Individual Time Trial.

By the time of the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, our design for Team USA Cycling had changed to the classic design seen above in our Summer 2004 catalog (and as you can read, what we sold was not a replica, but the exact same jersey worn by the team). This jersey was also seen on Olympic podiums, as you can see below.

The Men’s Individual Time Trial originally featured 2 U.S. cyclists on the podium, as Tyler Hamilton won gold while Bobby Julich took the bronze medal. However, years later, Hamilton was stripped of his medal for doping violations and Julich’s ride was revised to a silver (although he has stated that he’s keeping the bronze regardless of what the record book officially says).

Dede Barry also won a silver medal in the Women’s Individual Time Trial (with no controversies after the competition, like the men).

Here at Performance Bicycle we’re proud of our time supporting the athletes of Team USA. If you’re looking for a way to show your American pride on the bike today, check out our USA Flag Jersey online.

Product Profile: Louis Garneau Mondo Bib Short & Jersey

For this week’s Product Profile, Ali, from our Clothing division, is here to talk about the brand new 2011 Louis Garneau Mondo bib short & jersey.  The new 2011 clothing lineup from Louis Garneau is packed with advanced technology to enhance fit and performance, plus look great while you ride (as you can see in the cover shot above, from the April 2011 issue of Road Bike Action magazine).

The Louis Garneau Mondo bib short is a really neat piece of equipment. The power band at the leg openings is the most comfortable leg opening you’ll find on any short! There’s no hair pulling or bad “sausage-leg” from a tight silicone gripper, only an aerodynamic fit with a second-skin feel.

Besides the fact that the Ceratek fabric on the hips looks really cool, it has a great purpose; the abrasion resistance it offers is huge. No picks or snags.

Detail of Ceratek material

The bib uppers are Louis Garneau‘s Carbon-X Mesh fabric; it has a high spandex content so if you’re tall, medium or average height for your size, it will fit like it was made for you. And as a bonus, all of the fabrics in the Mondo bib short are UPF/SPF 50 so you don’t have to worry about getting a funny tan on your thigh from a panel here and there that aren’t the same UPF/SPF as the others!

Detail of Carbon X Mesh

Of course all of this high-tech design and fit would be no good without an excellent chamois.  But Louis Garneau has done their homework with the Mondo bib short, as their 4 Motion chamois is great. It has 4-way stretch so it moves with you; preshaped wings so there is no bunching, pinching or weird folding of the pad; high density foam in all of the right places and strategically placed mesh vents to keep you comfortable.

With all of the comforts of a high performance bib, plus a great chamois and technical fabrics, the Louis Garneau Mondo bib short is a piece I believe you’ll find to be worth its weight in gold when you get out on the saddle in a pair.  And to complete this high performance kit, Louis Garneau offers the matching Mondo jersey, featuring the same performance fabrics and fit found in the Mondo bib short.

Performance Bicycle Racing Team – Introduction

Here at Performance Bicycle we are proud to introduce our first elite women’s cycling team:

In a partnership with SpokesWomen Syndicate, an organization dedicated to getting more women into the sport of cycling, the Performance Bicycle Racing Team is set to make its debut for the 2010 season.

The Performance Bicycle Racing Team is an elite women’s cycling team, composed of women who have reached USA cycling category 1 or 2 status. The 2010 Performance Bicycle Racing Team is made up of cyclists Cara Applegate, Evie Boswell-Vilt, Kirsten Davis, Kathryn Okenatez-Mahoney, Chris Tommerdahl, Dana Treiber Martin, Nicole Vincent-Jordan, Gina Voci and Bergen Watterson. The team is supported by professional mentors and development team leaders Annie Lux, Ainhoa Perez-Diez and Hadley Trotter. Primarily focused on road bike racing, the team also includes top and professional level mountain bike, triathlete and cyclocross riders as well.

Read more of this post

Product Profile – Performance Ultra Jersey

The new Performance Ultra Short Sleeve Jersey is our version of that jersey that you reach for on warm days when you just want to ride.  When you don’t want to be a rolling billboard, but still want the features and style of a competitive jersey.

Of course, it’s got the technical fabric you’re looking for: 100% channeled micro-polyester fabric to wick moisture away from your skin and into the outer layer of the fabric, for quick evaporation, plus a UPF 24+ rating to give you plenty of sun protection (so you can work on that classic cyclist’s tan).

But it’s also got a form-fitted design that features mesh inserts (outlined in natty contrasting piping) running all the way from the collar to the back of the jersey, to allow for cooling airflow without having to unzip the full-length zipper.  This is a serious jersey with understated style and the features to match: Read more of this post

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