Performance Tour du Jour: Arrive a l’Alpe d’Huez

July 18, 2011 1 Comment

Day two here in France began with a walking tour of Grenoble, as our Europeds Tour group wasn’t meeting up until the afternoon. As it turns out, Grenoble can be an incredibly pleasant place when it’s not raining and you’re not pulling bike cases 1.5km to your hotel! Nestled in an Alpine valley, Grenoble is filled with lovely cafes, quaint streets, and this peripherique (cable car) that went to an overlooking mountainside.

But soon enough it was time to head back to the train station to meet our tour group (luckily we discovered that Grenoble has a highly efficient tram system that ran right by our hotel, so we didn’t have to drag our bags this time).  We loaded up our gear and headed up to Alpe d’Huez with Charly, one of the guides.Once on the road, we finally saw our first sign for the Tour de France (OK, it was  a warning about road closures, but we knew we were getting close!):

Just about the moment we arrived on top of Alpe d’Huez, we tore open our bike cases and set to work getting our bikes ready to ride! It may have been late in the afternoon, but when you get a chance to ride Alpe d’Huez, you go for it! Here we are at the bottom of the climb, in matching Performance Ultra jerseys and shorts, with Chris on his Scattante Team bike and David on his Devinci Leo bike.

So what can we say about the climb up Alpe d’Huez?  Well, it’s pretty darn hard and unrelenting, but it’s definitely climbable.  You just find your rhythm and count off the 21 hairpins as you go up – the pitch of the road varies a bit, but really it’s a fairly constant (if steep) grade.  But don’t get us wrong, we were still maxing out our bike’s gearing range! Of course we felt a little less impressive when we passed this guy on the climb… towing his child in a trailer!

The payoff for all of your hard climbing work was the view – checking out the hairpin bends from above, after pedaling your way up, was a totally rewarding experience.  Plus there were already tons of folks camped out on the side of the road cheering you on – especially a Dutch contingent who even brought their own DJ (we hammered out a little sprint as we passed this crowd, just to give them something to cheer about)!

Finally, after a little over an hour, we crested the summit of Alpe d’Huez – although it turns out that this isn’t really the top of the climb for the Tour riders, which is really about 3km further up the mountain! But it does give you some sense of the crowds of folks already filling up this legendary climb, in anticipation of the big day!

Here we are after our little jaunt up Alpe d’Huez, with a pretty amazing vista in the background.  All in all, not a bad way to spend an afternoon. Tomorrow rain is in the forecast, but we’ve got our fingers crossed that we’ll get to share another epic ride in the Alps with you!

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Performance Tour du Jour: On the ground in France

July 17, 2011 2 Comments

As should be expected when traveling from North Carolina to Grenoble, France, we spent most of the first day of our voyage on airplanes, in trains and trying to cram bike cases into tiny elevators! The flight to France was long but uneventful, with a few movies watched and not much sleep to be found. When we arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport, we ran in to many cyclists ready to ride and watch the Tour, much like ourselves.

We met a nice family on the train – we had met the dad at the Pisgah Mountain Bike Stage Race last year and were pleased to meet his family. We traveled through the airport with them and even competed to see who could fit the most people with bike cases in a tiny elevator:

As you can see, they won.  Eventually we made our way to the famous French high speed train, the TGV, for our high speed escape to the Alps. It was a pretty cool train ride flying through the French countryside, but we have to say that th TGV was not designed with hauling bike cases in mind! Our bikes ended up stacked right by the door of the train, in front of the bathroom – not exactly the best spot for storing some pretty sweet road bikes!

But eventually we made our way to Grenoble (with our bikes), our stopover spot for the night. The weather was wet and rainy when we arrived, but before the day was over (and we passed out from our exhausting day of travel), the clouds cleared and we were treated to our first view of the surrounding mountains where we will spend the next week.

Tomorrow (Monday), we’re off to meet up with our Europeds tour group and head up the Alpe d’Huez for the very first time. Yeah, you could say we’re excited! Or, as the sign says, we’re “fous du tour”:

To keep up-to-date on what we’re doing next, or to get in touch with us, be sure to follow Performance Bike on Twitter and Facebook. We want to hear from you as we head into the Alps!

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Flashback Friday – Road Components in 1987

July 11, 2011 3 Comments

Inspired by today’s date, 7/11, we’ve decided to make today Flashback Monday, instead of waiting for our usual Flashback Friday. In today’s post we’re going to look back at road components in the Performance Bicycle catalog of the late 1980s (1987, to be precise).

So why did we post on today’s date? Well, we couldn’t resist paying homage to the 7-Eleven team, the first professional American cycling team to compete in the Tour de France (in 1986). Organized by Jim Ochowicz, and with a fun-loving group of riders including Alex Stieda, Eric Heiden, Bob Roll, Ron Kiefel, Chris Carmichael and Davis Phinney, the 7-Eleven team laid the groundwork for the growth and success of American professional cycling. But, as you can see in the following video, they had a bit of a roller coaster ride in their very first Tour:

So with the 7-Eleven team in mind, we thought we’d delve into our archives to share a few pages from our Summer 1987 catalog, to see what kind of components you could get after you were inspired to ride by watching America’s first pro team in France:

But before you got your components, you first had to get a kit that looked the part. We had you covered with our own pro-inspired gear featuring the top teams of the day (like 1986 Tour winner Greg Lemond‘s La Vie Claire team):

 But we’re here to talk parts, so let’s get started with cranksets.  In 1987 you had many manufacturers to choose from, including Suntour, Sugino, Campagnolo and Shimano, all with elegant cold-forged style crankarms. Of note was the Sugino crankset, which featured a carbon-fiber reinforced outer chainring:

As we move on to brake levers and brakes, you’ll find no integrated shift/brake lever setups, as road bikes were still using downtube-mounted levers to handle the shifting duties. But you could choose from brakesets made by Shimano, Campagnolo and Modolo, an Italian brand whose brakesets had a definite sense of panache (or maybe we’re just suckers for black):

When it came time to complete your component setup with a rear derailleur, your options were manifold, as evidenced by our offerings from Suntour, Sugino, Mavic, Campagnolo, Shimano and Huret. Of note here was the increasing prevalence of indexed shifting systems (where one click of the shifter meant one gear shift), instead of the old-style friction shifting (where you had to listen for the chain as it shifted gears). Also interesting is the (at the time) “worlds lightest derailleur”, the Huret Jubilee, item K below. At 146 grams, it would still be lighter than SRAM Red or Campy Carbon Record!

After all this focus on components, though, we couldn’t resist sharing a few pages of the road bikes we had on offer in 1987. Hailing from our own Performance brand of bikes, we had the Corsa frameset, featuring lugged aluminum tubing. Available with an array of custom build kits, the Corsa was a true race-ready steed:

But if your taste was for a bike with European flair, we had you covered there as well, with beautiful bikes from Eddy Merckx, De Rosa and Pinarello. In case you’re wondering, the lovely paint job on the Pinarello is called “Spumoni” after the tasty Italian dessert:

We hope you enjoyed our quick trip back in time to check out road components from our catalog during the time of the 7-Eleven team. It’s always fun for us to look back at where we came from as we work to bring you the best cycling value and selection in the present day!

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Cycling Stories: NC State Time Trial Championships

June 27, 2011 Leave a comment

We’re passionate about cycling, whether it’s riding around the neighborhood with our family, or racing in the local criterium.  So every now and then we like to share cycling stories from our own employees, in their own words.  This week Bob and Erik, product distributors at our HQ in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, are sharing their day at the NC State Time Trial Championships:

Bob and I [Erik], two members of the Garneau Custom p/b PowerBar team, decided to try our luck at the North Carolina State Time Trial Championships. Although it’s my 3rd year racing, I had never been on a TT bike until this spring. I was hopeful & confident going into the event, but Bob’s been racing his bike since the late 70s, so this was pretty much routine for him. He knew what he could do and what his opponents could do, so all he had to do was execute and hope for a tailwind!

Ed.: photo proof that Bob's been racing for a while

We loaded up Bob’s truck with our gear and headed up one day early to give the course a good pre-ride. After a loop with a local (to us) rider, we headed into downtown High Point, NC to watch the North Carolina State Championship Crit races. The crit venue was great; a covered, outdoor bus terminal was transformed into the start/finish line, with a stage, bleachers, food vendors, P.A. system, big-screen TV that popped out of the top of a van (with a video feed of the race from numerous roof-top cameras), plus a VIP area that Bob and I somehow got invited into! Nothing like sitting in the shade, eating free food, drinking free beer, and watching some bike racing! This must be what Phil Liggett and Bob Roll do year round; what a job!

Bob on top of the Master's 50-54 podium

The next morning we staged at a local high-school and set up our trainers. As a testament to the difference in experience between Bob and I, I spent the night prior carefully pinning my race number to my jersey, while Bob simply pulled out a can of Elmer’s spray glue to affix his number just before hopping on the trainer! We started warming up for the atypical TT course, discussing mental notes from the prior day’s recon ride. The course was a true 40k, but it wasn’t as flat as most, which I preferred. Bob, on the other hand, wasn’t quite so happy with it, going so far as to say, “this isn’t a TT course!”

Erik on the Cat 3 podium

Bob went off first, shortly after 8:35 am, and I started about 10 minutes later. I won’t bore you with the details (since hearing a play-by-play of a time-trial is only exciting to the one telling it, and even that’s a stretch) but as I rolled across the line, 40k later, I looked for Bob to see how he rode. Not sure of our exact times, we traded stories of how the race went and waited for the announcement from the race organizer. I was able to put down a time of 56:22.327 (26.45 mph avg), good enough for the silver medal in Cat 3! But Bob was the big winner, with a time of 58:47.759 (25.37 mph avg), putting him atop the podium in the Master’s 50-54 category! So congratulations to Bob for a great effort and well earned win! All that was left to do was load up the truck, find a good Mexican restaurant to grab lunch, and head home.

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Spoke ‘n Revolutions Youth Cycling

June 8, 2011 6 Comments

Recently a few of us from our corporate HQ had the pleasure of meeting a group of high school students that have big plans for the summer, and a bright future ahead of them.  The students of Spoke ‘n Revolutions Youth Cycling club, from right here in our home town of Chapel Hill, NC, have as their goal to be a “youth focused cycling group that re-introduces student-cyclists to the joys of an active life by having their own cycling adventure.”

And what an adventure they have in store, as they head out on an 1800 mile ride from Mobile, AL, to Niagara Falls, NY, along the Underground Railroad Trail, which follows the route that many enslaved people used to escape to freedom. There’s no doubt that the students who complete this ride will be deeply affected by the things they see and learn during their trek, along with the sense of accomplishment of completing their journey under their own pedal power!

But this trip is really the culmination of almost 2 years of effort, as this group of students, who began their Spoke ‘n Revolutions training as sophomores, actually built their own bikes through working with The ReCYCLEry, NC, a 501c3 bicycle coop. The students earned their used bikes by repairing bikes donated to the ReCYCLEry; learning good bike mechanic skills was the first step along the successful path to confident riding, although they’ve also put in plenty of long hours in the saddle getting ready for this ride of a lifetime!

We met up with this talented group of students, along with the group’s co-founders Kevin and Suepinda, in our Chapel Hill, NC, store, and presented each rider with Performance jerseys, shorts and gloves, so they ‘ll good and feel comfortable during their long days in the saddle. There’s a great article about the team’s visit to our store in the local Herald-Sun newspaper, where our own Gaynor Collestor, the head of our Spin Doctor Product Technical Support team, summed up our feelings the best: “We are all incredibly proud, not of what you’re going to do, but what you’ve already done.”

We hope you’ll join us in wishing the students and support team of Spoke ‘n Revolutions the best of luck and safe travels on their adventure, which is scheduled to start next week! They’re going to have many stories to tell from along the road, and we hope to share some with you right here on our blog, so stay tuned for updates as the student cyclists begin their journey!

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Bike to Work Week Employee Profile: Tony DeRubeis

May 20, 2011 Leave a comment

Here’s our last Bike to Work Week Employee Profile about one of the many commuters who ride to work here at Performance HQ. They ride different bikes and different routes, but they’ve all got great advice on how to make your commute easier and more fun!

What’s your name?

Tony DeRubeis .

What do you do at Performance?

Spin Doctor Pro Bike Build Coordinator.

How often do you ride to work?

1-2 times per week.

How far do you ride?

42 miles round trip.

What bike do you ride?

I ride a Scattante XRL cross frame with a Frankenbike parts kit.

Why do you commute by bike/what’s your favorite part of commuting by bike?

It’s a good workout, plus it’s more enjoyable than driving, it saves money and it’s better for the environment!

Any advice for someone who’s thinking about commuting by bike?

Any distance commuting by bike is better than driving – driving half of your commute and biking half is better than driving the whole thing.  And commuting by bike is like stealing time – if your 30 minute drive takes 60 minutes to ride, you get a 60 minute workout while only taking 30 minutes out of your day.

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Bike to Work Week Employee Profile: Chris Danz

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

Here’s another Employee Profile about one of the many commuters who ride to work here at Performance HQ, in honor of Bike to Work Week (May 16-20).  They ride different bikes and different routes, but they’ve all got great advice on how to make your commute easier and more fun!

What’s your name?

Christopher Danz.

What do you do at Performance?

I’m a Merchandising Assistant in the Hardgoods Components division.

How often do you ride to work?

Most days.

How far do you ride?

17 miles each way.

What bike do you ride?

I usually commute on my trusty GT Peace Tour.

Why do you commute by bike/what’s your favorite part of commuting by bike?

I love not being in a car. Cagers (people who spend half of their lives in their steel cages) are always so angry, I like not being a part of that culture. I race in endurance mountain bike events so the extra training time that I don’t have to take from my family time is also key.

Any advice for someone who’s thinking about commuting by bike?

Just go for it! For me, I can’t value my waterproof panniers enough (I use Ortlieb Back-Roller Classic Panniers). I also always keep a good rain jacket in there as I never know when I’m going to be caught in an unexpected storm. Otherwise, just riding is most of my secret. The more you do it, the easier it gets as it starts to become part of your routine and your fitness increases.

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Bike to Work Week Employee Profile: Tom Vasiliauskas

May 18, 2011 1 Comment

Here’s another Employee Profile about one of the many commuters who ride to work here at Performance HQ, in honor of Bike to Work Week (May 16-20).  They ride different bikes and different routes, but they’ve all got great advice on how to make your commute easier and more fun!

What’s your name?

Tom Vasiliauskas.

What do you do at Performance?

Merchandising Manager.

How often do you ride to work?

About once a week.

How far do you ride?

22 miles round trip.

What bike do you ride?

Scattante Five-Sixty frame, from 2008 I believe (this is a popular bike for commuters here, but for 2011 it’s called the X-570).

Why do you commute by bike/what’s your favorite part of commuting by bike?

I ride for several reasons: to get some additional riding in during my busy day, to save gas, and because it’s always a GREAT way to wake up in the morning. I love riding with lights during sunrise.

Any advice for someone who’s thinking about commuting by bike?

I recommend using at least 2 tail lights for additional safety.

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Bike to Work Week Employee Profile: David Wilkes

May 17, 2011 1 Comment

Here’s another Employee Profile about one of the many commuters who ride to work here at Performance HQ, in honor of Bike to Work Week (May 16-20).  They ride different bikes and different routes, but they’ve all got great advice on how to make your commute easier and more fun!

What’s your name?

David Wilkes.

What do you do at Performance?

Web Developer.

How often do you ride to work?

Every day that ends in “Y”.

How far do you ride?

1 mile, thus the answer to the previous question. I mean does it really make sense to get in a car to go 1 mile?

What bike do you ride?

I ride my Scattante X-560 cyclocross bike (the 2011 model is the X-570).

Why do you commute by bike/what’s your favorite part of commuting by bike?

I live way too close to drive! Plus it’s just great to get outside and be on the bike.

Any advice for someone who’s thinking about commuting by bike?

Pack extra socks especially on rainy and wet days.

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Bike to Work Week Employee Profile: John Buleza

May 16, 2011 Leave a comment

Since today is the first day of Bike to Work Week (May16-20), we thought it was the perfect time to start a series of Employee Profiles about a few of the many commuters who ride to work here at Performance HQ. They ride different bikes and different routes, but they’ve all got great advice on how to make your commute easier and more fun!

What’s your name?

John Buleza.

What do you do at Performance?

Vice President of Direct Marketing.

How often do you ride to work?

Usually 2-3 days a week.

How far do you ride?

9 miles each way.

What bike do you ride?

Fuji Roubaix ACR 2.0 road bike.

Why do you commute by bike/what’s your favorite part of commuting by bike?

I ride for fitness, to do my part for the environment, and for the gas savings!

Any advice for someone who’s thinking about commuting by bike?

Take a trial run on a weekend to make sure that you’re comfortable with the route and to see how long it takes you to ride. Then start one day a week and build up to riding one more day, and then another, and then another…. Also, plan ahead to make your commute easier – bring in clothing/food on “off” days when you aren’t riding to work.

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