Wordless Wednesday
January 18, 2012 2 Comments
Thanks and Happy Holidays from Performance Bicycle!
December 24, 2011 1 Comment
From all of us at Performance Bicycle, we want to take a moment to say “Thanks!”, and wish you and your family a happy holiday season! Plus we wanted to share this great “thank you” card created by Adam, one of our graphic designers and proud owner of an amazing Christmas sweater!
And if you haven’t quite finished all of your holiday shopping, remember that our shops are all open until 6PM on Christmas Eve and are full of great last minute gift ideas (and gift cards) for cyclists!
Eric’s Top 5 for Cyclocross
November 8, 2011 Leave a Comment
Eric, the product buyer for our components division, loves racing cyclocross. In fact, he plans his whole cycling year around the few short months of the cyclocross season. And since North Carolina is a hotbed of sorts for ‘cross on the East Coast, there’s rarely a weekend when he’s not donning the kit of our Garneau Custom team and pushing himself to the limit for an hour on the pavement, grass, sand, mud or whatever else the course has in store.
Eric’s definitely a guy who knows his cyclocross, so we asked him to give us his top 5 component picks for ‘cross season, and why he picked them. Will your next ‘cross race still be one of the most painful hours you’ve ever spent on a bike if you get this gear? Of course! This is cyclocross after all – but you might as well look for every advantage you can get.
1. DV3k Tubular Wheelset – This wheelset is lightweight (sub 1400 grams), plus it has an advanced carbon layup, 46-mm rim depth to slice through the mud, and the smooth ride of a tubular (although you can also get the wheeelset in a clincher version).
2. Avid Shorty Ultimate Cantilever Brakes - They don’t call these brakes “ultimate” for nothing; they can be adjusted to have a wide or narrow stance, have ample mud clearance, and just plain look good (plus it doesn’t hurt that the world champ races with them on his bike).
3. GORE RideOn Sealed Low Friction Derailleur Cables - Cross can be muddy… like really muddy. With GORE’s sealed cable system, you don’t have to worry about that. It’s a no-brainer.
4. Challenge Grifo Tubular Cyclocross Tire – Cross racers are serious about their tires, from the tread patterns to the tire pressure to the history of the manufacturer. The Grifo is still made by hand, with a versatile tread design and the supple performance that only a high-end tubular can deliver (but a clincher version is also available).
5. Shimano CX70 Crankset – Part of Shimano‘s first foray into the world of purpose-built cyclocross components, this crankset excels with a 46/36T gearing combination mated to Shimano‘s reliable and efficient 2-piece design with smooth-shifting Hyperdrive chainrings.
Product Profile: New 2012 Fuji Bikes
November 2, 2011 2 Comments
We know it’s still 2011, but we couldn’t wait to talk about the new 2012 Fuji Bikes that are showing up online & in our stores. Fuji has a great lineup ready for the new year, and they’re building on the success of their first Grand Tour-winning bike! Juan Jose Cobo of Team Geox-TMC won the Vuelta in style aboard Fuji’s new flagship road bike, the Altamira. Cobo, the “Bison”, stormed into the lead atop the feared Angliru by riding away from the field in dominating fashion.
The new 2012 Fuji Altamira 3.0 Road Bike is built on the same DNA as the Cobo’s Vuelta winning ride, and we got to see this great looking bike in person here in the lobby of our Headquarters (one of the benefits of working here is getting to see cool bikes like this on the way to your next meeting).
While we can’t promise that you’ll ride like Cobo, the 2012 Fuji Altamira 3.0 is an ultralight road platform that has been tested and refined on the Pro Tour, so it won’t let you down if you’re powering up a climb, sprinting for the county line or railing the hairpins on a high-speed descent.
The shapely C4 carbon frame features a tapered head tube and oversized downtube to provide a stiff and stable platform that responds instantly to rider input. Plus it just looks good – these pictures don’t do the very cool carbon finish justice.
In back, the slender seatstays provide for a resilient and comfortable ride built for long days in the saddle. Rounding out the package, the 2012 Fuji Altamira 3.0 is outfitted with a ready-to-race mix of Shimano 105 and color-matched Oval brand components.
At the core of the frame, the oversized downtube mates with a massive bottom bracket junction to provide maximum strength and stiffness for efficient power transfer. The 2012 Fuji Altamira 3.0 definitely lives up to its Grand Tour pedigree.
Of course we’ve got a few more new rides from Fuji to offer right now, including the 2012 Fuji Cross 3.0 Cyclocross Bike seen below,which features a flattened top tube for shouldering the bike more comfortably and securely, plus a lightweight alloy fork with plenty of clearance for even the most mud-slathered cross tires.
The 2012 Fuji Newest 1.0 Road Bike is built around a lightweight aluminum frame and carbon fork to provide both responsive handling and a comfortable ride, along with the flexibility of a 30-speed drivetrain, so you never run out of gearing in the hills.
The 2012 Fuji Roubaix 3.0 Road Bike is the latest iteration of the popular Roubaix line, a great combination of value and performance. Its lightweight, custom-butted aluminum frame with bonded carbon fork delivers a supple, responsive ride, and the Shimano Sora drivetrain provides quick, precise gear changes.
The 2012 Fuji Absolute 2.0 is great for those looking for a more upright riding position than a drop handlebar road bike offers – it’s a great combination of the performance and handling you want on the road with the all-day comfort of a hybrid bike.
Finally, and definitely not least, we present the 2012 Fuji Altamira 2.0 Di2 Ultegra Road Bike. Offering all of the features of the 2012 Fuji Altamira 3.0 above, the 2012 Fuji Altamira 2.0 features Shimano’s brand new Ultegra Di2 shifting system – the latest development in Shimano’s Di2 electronic drivetrain systems, Ultegra Di2 delivers fast and accurate shifts every time, yet is engineered to be highly durable and dependable. We’ll definitely have more to say about this amazing bike soon!
Product Profile: Eastern Bikes
October 18, 2011 Leave a Comment
For today’s product profile, we’re going to talk about a new line of BMX bikes now available here at Performance. Eastern Bikes is a fellow North Carolina company that was founded in Raleigh in 1996, and is currently headquartered about 40 minutes from our own corporate office. Eastern Bikes is serious about BMX, and they’ve got a team of rad riders to show off their bikes, like Eric Holley catching some air below.
But if you really want to watch their team in action, head over to their video page to see their crew tearing up bike parks, urban environments, and pretty much anything else that looks fun and challenging to ride. In the video below, the Eastern team headed out to the Woodward West camp to ride all the set-ups and meet up with young campers and other visiting pros.
Perfecting the tricks performed by the pros on the Eastern team takes lots of practice. And the Nitrous line of Eastern BMX bikes is the perfect place for the young rider to start. They deliver the look and feel of a pro bike, but in an affordable package. While these may be beginner’s BMX bikes, they are designed and assembled with the same quality and attention to detail that goes into Eastern’s pro-level bikes, with a solid component spec that won’t hold the newbie rider back.
With its steeper head and seat angles, shorter wheelbase and front and rear brakes with detangler, the Shock Freestyle BMX Bike is the ideal entry-level bike for the beginning flatland rider, or it would make a great all-around BMX bike for smaller/younger kids too.
2011 Eastern Battery Freestyle BMX Bike
The Battery is the perfect bike for young riders who want to take a stab at perfecting jumps and tricks or who just want to cruise the neighborhood in style.
2011 Eastern Lowdown Freestyle BMX Bike
The Lowdown Freestyle BMX Bike is perfect for the beginner BMXer who wants a well-built bike that’s going to stand up to rough use. It features a rugged steel frame, forged chromoly 1-piece crankset and alloy U-brake for efficient speed control.
2011 Eastern Piston Freestyle BMX Bike
An ideal BMX bike for smaller riders and beginners the Piston Freestyle BMX bike is ruggedly built, so it can stand up to the stresses doled out by novice riders.
So if you’ve got a young rider ready to give BMX a try, check out our selection of Eastern Bikes - they’ll get the look & feel of a pro bike, but in an affordable and durable package that will survive whatever they throw at them!
Product Profile: Devinci Cycles
August 19, 2011 1 Comment
Savvy cyclists have been grooving on this Canadian company’s handmade offerings since 1987. Forging its reputation by designing and handcrafting extraordinary bikes that deliver extraordinary performance, Devinci stands for excellence, vision and an unwavering devotion to the art of the bicycle and the thrill of the ride. Devinci road bikes and mountain bikes are products of constant innovation. They’re rigorously tested beyond industry standards, and actually warrantied for the life of the original owner. That’s passion. That’s Devinci.
Check out this tour of the Devinci factory in Canada to see what Devinci’s dedicated staff of bike pros, skilled engineers, and visionary designers are all about, and the work that they put into every bike:
The Devinci Leo SL R road bike is race-ready, rider-friendly and priced to put high performance within your reach. A full-carbon frame and carbon fork strike a perfect balance between compliance and rigidity, and Devinci’s exclusive High Performance Geometry design puts you in the optimal position for comfort, ergonomics and aerodynamics.
The Devinci Leo SL R delivers excellent power transfer, precision control and responsive handling for a truly amazing ride, whether you’re fond of Gran Fondos or determined to dominate county line sprints.
From the fast and lightweight Dexter high-performance XC bike, to the Dixon all mountain rig with 145mm of super-compliant travel, to the Wilson downhill bike with its motocross-inspired shape, each bike in the Devinci lineup of full-suspension mountain bikes features innovative Split Pivot design for optimum traction, efficiency and reliability. Equipped to rip, Devinci mountain bikes are ready to rock your rooty, rocky, rut-filled world.
Here’s Dave Weagle, designer of the Split Pivot suspension design, giving an overview of what makes this suspension design work so well:
You can see Devinci bikes in action on the World Cup Downhill MTB circuit under the Devinci Global Racing team. Currently Steve Smith, riding his Devinci Wilson downhill bike, is in 4th place in the World Cup Overall standings with one race remaining in the 2011 UCI World Cup.
Shop our selection of Devinci bikes here.
Product Profile – Diadora Shoes & Cadel Evans
August 4, 2011 1 Comment
In honor of the Tour de France victory of Cadel Evans, we’re making it a little easier to ride like Cadel, or at least wear his Diadora shoes! Our Diadora shoes are on sale right now, including the Proracer 3 road shoes worn to victory in the 2011 Tour de France. We’ve had a chance to check out the Proracer 3 here in the office, and it’s definitely got Italian style to go along with it’s pro-level features (which include an extra-thin, yet highly rigid carbon sole, durable D-Skin microfiber upper, and Multifit Adjust closure system with Micro CL buckle and Quick Adjustment strap, to find your perfect fit).
One of the most respected brands in cycling, Diadora has been worn to victory in the Giro d’Italia, the Vuelta, the Olympics, the World Hour Record, and, of course most recently, in the 2011 Tour de France. Diadora makes a full array of road and mountain cycling shoes that employ innovative technology to offer unmatched, pro-level power transfer, superior ventilation and the ultimate in ergonomic comfort.
But since we’re talking about Cadel, we thought we’d share the best pictures of Cadel that we took during our Performance Tour du Jour trip to France. Above, Cadel is powering the chase group up the Col du Galibier on Stage 18, to narrow the gap on Andy Schleck.
Cadel sprinting to the finish on top of the famous climb of Alpe d’Huez in Stage 19, with Andy Schleck in the background.
Here’s Cadel in a moment of calm after Stage 19, bundling up for the ride to the team bus.
Cadel rocketing off at the start of his time trial in Grenoble, in Stage 20.
And powering home to take the yellow jersey from Andy Schleck with a dominating performance, easily making up his 57 second time deficit from the start of the day.
Here’s Cadel in the peloton during the final stage in Paris, riding down the Rue de Rivoli in his new yellow jersey.
Photograph by Bettini Photo
So if you’re ready to ride like Cadel, check out our Diadora shoes on sale today!
Product Profile – 2011 Scattante Americano
June 28, 2011 1 Comment
We Want YOU to Win an Americano!
It doesn’t matter whether you roll retro, metro or somewhere in between; you’ll love how the Scattante Americano single-speed road bike lets you declare your independence from fossil fuel-powered transportation.
The Americano comes in 5 classically cool versions, each as American as hot dogs, baseball and constitutional democracy. Speaking of which, in honor of that celebrated day in 1776 when our forefathers declared their intention to create our beloved USofA, we’re going to give five lucky people the Americano bike of their choice (a $599.99 value). Like us on Facebook & enter the Performance Bicycle Americano the Beautiful Independence Day Sweepstakes now for your chance to win!
2011 Scattante Americano 1
The Americano 1 is covered from crank arms to dropouts in a blanket of white and subtly accented with polished chrome. Add the practicality of full-wrap fenders and the convenience of running fixed or free with a flip-flop hub, and you have all you need to run one-speed on the one-way.
2011 Scattante Americano 2
Get ready to roll. From its classically-styled chromoly frame and fork to the graceful forward sweep of the bullhorn-style handlebars, the Americano 2 is the perfect synthesis of urban cool and no-frills functionality.
2011 Scattante Americano 3
The backswept, chrome polished handlebars of the Americano 3 help you maintain a stress-free upright position, Velo saddle and BMX grips add comfort and control and the full-wrap fenders work to keep you dry when the streets are anything but.
2011 Scattante Americano 4
If the Americano 4 were candy it would be a mix of licorice accented with some of those spicy hot cinnamon thingies. With its sleek black chromoly frame, anodized chromoly fork and alloy crankarms, and alloy track bars with grips, the Americano 4 is elegantly simple, fun to ride, easy to maintain and contains no artificial ingredients.
2011 Scattante Americano 5
Who says red means “Stop?” When you’re cruising on the Americano 5 single-speed road bike, all you’ll want to do is go, go, go. But when do do need to stop, it’s nice to know that you can count on the Tektro dual-pivot caliper brakes with top-mount levers for efficient deceleration.
We the People of Performance Want YOU to Win an Americano. Like us and enter now!
Product Profile – Allen Sports MT1 Bike Rack
June 20, 2011 6 Comments
Since the summer travel season is in full swing, it seemed like the perfect time to do a product profile on that cycling travel necessity, the trunk-mounted car rack. We know what you’re thinking – what could be interesting about a car rack? They do the job, but they can be so big and heavy that you end up leaving them mounted to your trunk all the time so you don’t have to deal with taking them off and storing them (come on, you know you’ve done this)!
That’s where the Allen Sports MT1 Bike Rack comes to the rescue (along with it’s higher capacity brother the MT2 Bike Rack). The MT1 Bike Rack is so compact and easy to use that you can literally bring it along in it’s included carrying bag, just for when you need it, even when you’re travelling! Take a look at this video of the MT-2 Bike Rack in action (the only difference from the MT1 Bike Rack is its extendable arms, to carry 2 bikes instead of one):
We’ve tested the MT1 Bike Rack on our own cars, and it really is as easy as the video makes it look. Here’s a shot of what the MT1 Bike Rack looks like in it’s fully-folded state:
In case you forget how to unfold and install the rack, the folks at Allen Sports conveniently print all of their instructions right on the back of the rack, with clear diagrams that you can refer to when you get started with the installation process:
As you can see from the instructions, it is just a matter of unfolding the arms in the correct order to get the rack ready to install on the trunk of your car. Unfold the lower foot first, and then open up the upper support arms (which snap into place with those little silver buttons):
Here’s a better view of the little buttons that snap the arms in place – when you are ready to fold up the MT1 Bike Rack, you just reverse the steps of unfolding the arms, and you start the process by pushing in the silver buttons to release the arms:
Once the MT1 Bike Rack is fully unfolded, you are ready to mount it to the trunk of your car. After you have the rack situated correctly, it’s just a matter of tightening down the 2 upper straps and one lower strap to secure the rack in place. The feet that contact your car are covered in a durable but soft rubber compound, so as not to mar your paint job (even if your car is a vintage Volvo 240, like the test model seen here). The adjustable feet of the MT1 Bike Rack allow it to fit a wide range of vehicles, but you can refer to the Allen Sports website to see if your car is compatible:
Once the rack is secure, you just pop your bike into the padded support trays, tighten down the securing straps, and you’re ready to hit the road:
Another nice feature of the MT-1 Bike Rack is the padded lower frame, which keeps your bike out and away from your car, so that your car’s or (more importantly) your bike’s paint is left scratch-free:
If you are looking for a trunk-mounted bike rack that is easy to install (and un-install), is stable and secure while in use, yet is compact enough to bring along when you are travelling, then the Allen Sports MT1 Bike Rack or MT2 Bike Rack could be just what you are looking for. Give either one a try, and you’ll be surprised at how often you’ll reach for this unassuming little bike rack when you need to hit the road with your bike.
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Fuji Pro Team
- Behind the Scenes at Team Training CampAfter their team presentation in Beijing, Champion System flew to Wuzhishan, Hainan Island for team training camp. And on Day 1, Malaysian spritner Adiq Othman is all smiles. Current Estonian National Champion Mart Ojavee, who’s compiled 8 pro wins over his career, looking calm, cool, and collected. Former Lampre rider King San Wu, of Hong [...]
- A Chilly Ride in BeijingBefore heading to Hainan for training camp, the team got an early start in Beijing. Here Kung Jiang takes a pre-ride power-nap. Matthias Friedemann smiles for the camera, eager to tell Sponsorship Manger Milay about how he is looking forward to returning to Fuji’s home turf for the Philadelphia International Cycling Classic. The young sprinter [...]
- Will Clarke wins Tour Down Under Stage 2 – Fuji’s 1st Win of 2012!From an end-of-the-season Grand Tour victory to a first-of-the-year World Tour win, Fuji proved today – perhaps more than ever – that it belongs in the pro peloton. Staying away for an entire stage, Will Clarke – racing for Uni-SA (University of South Australia national team) before joining his Champion System teammates, triumphantly crosse […]
Fuji Bikes MTB Blog
- Hal reviews the Outland 29 with Mtbr.comFor more photos and info on the Outland 29 from mtbr.com’s Outdoor Demo coverage, click HERE!
- Fuji’s own Hal Batdorf shows off the brand new Fuji SLM 29For more info and photos on the newest addition to Fuji’s MTB line-up, check out mtbr.com’s Outdoor Demo coverage HERE, and for spec and geometry info or to find a dealer near you, click HERE!
- Fuji Outland 29 Rated One of Best New Products at InterbikeBicycling Magazine set off on a mission when they arrived at Interbike’s Outdoor Demo: to find the best new products on the market. Check out what they had to say about the 2012 Fuji Outland 29 1.0 HERE! For spec and geometry info on the Outland 29 and to find a dealer near you, click [...]
Atherton Racing – GT Factory Team
- Atherton Racing signs new partnership with SHIMANOAtherton Racing and SHIMANO are thrilled to announce that they will continue their partnership for another three years. Since 2008 the Atherton’s and SHIMANO developed in intense collaboration Downhill and Gravity components. They had a huge share in developing new SHIMANO Saint and PRO components. The knowledge and experience that the Atherton’s brought has […]
- Gee ripping up the FuryGee rips up the new team Gt Fury on his first ride in the US, looks like he’s up to speed already! Keep posted for more videos and pictures of the new bikes…….
- The team welcomes ONE industriesONE Industries is proud to announce an exclusive three year deal as the official race team wear supplier of the recently announced; ‘Atherton Racing – GT Factory Team’. European Marketing Manager – Duncan Briggs: “We are entering an exciting new chapter at One Industries with the launch of a technical mountain bike apparel and protection line scheduled […]
