General consensus regarding...............



dfvcad

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Performance Bicycle. What is the general opinion of this forum in respect to the Performance bicycle products such as there Forte carbon fiber forks, carbon fiber handle bar, pedals, seatpost and saddles. Are they any good and do they hold up to the test of durability and reliability? It seem that some of there parts are lighter than some of the big names and subtancially less expensive. Opinions needed. I am looking at there Perf Forte Pro Carbon Handle bar and Perf Forte Classic Mag/Ti Look style pedals. Any good?
 
dfvcad said:
Performance Bicycle. What is the general opinion of this forum in respect to the Performance bicycle products such as there Forte carbon fiber forks, carbon fiber handle bar, pedals, seatpost and saddles. Are they any good and do they hold up to the test of durability and reliability? It seem that some of there parts are lighter than some of the big names and subtancially less expensive. Opinions needed. I am looking at there Perf Forte Pro Carbon Handle bar and Perf Forte Classic Mag/Ti Look style pedals. Any good?
Here's my take on generic or house-branded parts in general (Nashbar, Supergo (Weyless), Performance, etc). I think those product pools can be a great resource for inexpensive, basic parts -- a solid seatpost, a simple, sturdy stem, and so on.

Though I can't support it through evidence, and thus could be completely mischaracterizing the industry, I do believe that once you start wading into more exotic materials and technologies, the stakes are raised -- if you're going to get spendy seeking out carbon fiber, titanium, magnesium, or even ultra-lightweight aluminum parts, more issues come into play involving quality control, durability, and so on, and all for more $$$.

Fancy brand-name stuff can be ill-designed and failure prone as well, but when it comes to investing in exotic stuff, I'd rather take chances where greater money has been spent on research, manufacturing techniques, and quality control; it's also more likely that the carbon bar from Deda has a volume of rider feedback to draw from than a Weyless Carbon bar.

In summary, my hunch is towards buying economy-stuff appropriately. If I'm assembling a simple, inexpensive and toughness-oriented rig, I'll buy whatever burly seatpost has the right price tag. Big, heavy, whatever. If I'm trying to build a svelte carbon and magnesium featherweight, though, I'm going to sink those dollars into bigger labels for peace of minds' sake.

Just my hunch.
 
wyllisx2 said:
I have over the years learned the hard way "you do get what you pay for".
What I have learned over the years is that although sometimes I don't "get what I paid for" I never get what I haven't paid for.
 
I agree with lokstah. I've used Forte stems before, and I recently tried one of their seats. I also use mostly their clothing (shorts, socks, an occasional jersey), but I'm leary about certain things.

Sometimes you get lucky though. A while back, they has a Ti frame bike called an R1000 (I think). My friend's wife has been riding one for years, and even raced the Tour De Toona in it a few times. Turns out the bike is a Lightspeed. The frame was made for Performance by Lightspeed. So, sometimes you get lucky.
 
I live in Chapel Hill right next door to the main Performance store in Carboro, NC, and go in all the time. I would say that the quality/cost equation has to be solved item by item. I have their carbon seatpost and think its the best seatpost deal around if you can live with the setback. Definitely the lightest for the money. I also run their Kevlar 700x20 tires and have had no problems. They also have a new set of carbon bars that I've been lusting after. On the other hand, I wouldn't go with the Forte carbon fork and you can get better stems all day long from Syntace at the same price.

I do think they are completely reputable and stand behind all their stuff.

'nuf said.