Performance Bicycle

Reviews 8

HA

Hanno Richter

VERY UNPLEASANT EXPERIENCE, VERY UNHELPFUL with my special request (short review version). Here is the long version: I wanted to buy a German-style city bike for my 6-year old daughter. I was looking for a childrens bicycle with 20-inch wheels, gears, fenders, a rack and lights for safety. If you dont want an expensive import bike from Europe, this is admittedly not straight-forward to find around here. But with proper customization of an of-the-shelf mountain bike with accessories from the internet I ended up finding it to be quite an easy task. However, the person "helping" me out at Performance Bicycles gave me the feeling that I demanded the impossible and he did not exactly impress me with his knowledge. A bit annoyed I asked him what kind of solutions people find here in California when they want what I want, which was when he became aggressive, saying I was "negative" and I was trying to "put people down". Oh really ? Well, would YOU not react negatively when you walk into a specialized store and the guy whos supposed to be able to help you is not up to the task ? My request should have been a peace of cake for the expert service guy !!! Needless to say that I decided to not buy my daughters bike here. I have in the meantime purchased a mountain bike of the shelf at Talbot, which is another bike store a mile down the road. At least the guy had pointed out that store to me, being a bit negative himself now, saying "they are suuuuuper expensive". However, I am quite happy with my purchase - I have never bought "WALMART"-type bikes for $79.99 because I prefer good quality. Talbot equipped the bike (Raleigh brand) with a nice sturdy rack, and I bought powerful lights and fenders online which was a simple 10-minutes effort - after 1 hour research on my side which I had hoped I could avoid by going to a specialized store.... Brand-name powerful LED lights in bike stores cost still 100-400 dollars, depending on the system, but online you can find powerful systems for a fraction of the cost (35 bucks in my case). 20-inch fenders were easy to find online as well. So, the bottom line is: The guy at Performance Bicycles knew nothing about bicycles but he knew everything about insulting his customers. To be fair, the shop itself had seemed quite decent to me, they did have good stuff. However, the owner (I cannot imagine the guy was the actual owner) would be well advised to have a talk with his employee(s) about how to interact with customers.

---

MI

Michael Wood-Vasey

Ive had two very good repair visits here. The mechanics are knowledgable, friendly, and competent. I commute daily so quick turn-around or helping me fix things myself are key. I very much recommend this store for mechanical service and attitude. The first time was for two broken spokes, and they helped me get set up with the correct replacement spokes, and identify the tools I would need to do it myself. They were booked up and couldnt do the repair themselves that week, but we really helpful and supportive of me doing myself. The second time was for a really shredded shifter cable. They were kind to help diagnose (the cable was broken in two places -- I was originally worried the brifter was broken), and fixed it in less than an hour. In an ideal world, replacing a shifter cable should take 5 minutes, but once you have to to pull pieces of cable from the brifter its much more of a pain and Im happy to have people with lots of practice with needle-nose pliers spend the time to clean that all out. I like independent bike shops and try to patronise such when I can, but as a daily bike commuter, I have to give respect and credit for good service regardless of ownership and having a store open until later in the evening is of significant practical importance.

---

TI

Tim Watkins

I have been to Performance Bicycle now a few times. Each time Im more amazed at the staff knowledge of equipment, bicycles, accessories, and are parks & terrain. They have recommendations which when followed have each turned out to be spot on with fantastic experiences for both epic vistas and challenging or relaxing routes. Best of all they arent the type of place to rip you off or sell you something you dont need, in fact quite the opposite. I thought I needed to replace my main drive gears/sprocket because it appeared (to me) as if some metal was broken off of maybe. They indicated that I could, but that there was nothing wrong with it and in fact was part of the design. Anywhere else might have charged me the cost + labor of a new sprocket without thinking twice ($150-250). I love this place.

---

NA

Navid Elie

I only go out of convenience, but as a novice bike buyer and fixer, they took advantage of me and sold me either faulty or useless products I wouldnt have thought to buy unless they lied to me. If the item was faulty, I didnt get a refund when I went back in, nor free service to reinstall the new. Didnt know how bad I had it until I went to a different state and it was the best service I ever had. Only giving an extra star because the last time I went, the cashier took the time to explain to me how to pick an inner tube and told me that the sealant I was buying, that I had bought from them before, was useless because of the design of my bike and tires.

---

MI

Michael Markel

Ive been in Performance (San Mateo) quite a bit over the last month or two and every single time Ive had a great experience. Scott, Ron, and the rest of the team are the real deal and really take the time to help you out. I recently purchased a road bike from Performance and Ron spent nearly an hour and a half with me testing bikes and getting the exact fit dialed in. Not only does my bike fit like a glove but it really helped to get tips and a setup from an experienced rider. Prices are very fair, in fact, my bike was $50 less at Performance than it was online (Amazon). Definitely recommend stopping in.

---

DA

David Fanella

I am from the Peninsula, so I tried my local bicycle shop for some helmet pads - nothing - tried on-line nothing. I was going to San Francisco for something else secretly hoping to run into a bike shop on my way to Caltrain 4th and townsend. I was blown away by focused attention for once not trying up sell me - just honest, real service. Beyond friendly, I felt like family. The selection and quality is amazing. Dont waste your time like I did go directly to Performance Bicycle.

---

BA

Barry AuHong

Busted Derailleur Cable. $35 (parts & labor). 1.5 Hours Max. Clerks Jeff & Allen are super nice and told me to come on in before the rush. This is my FIRST servicing of my Giant Fast Road which I had bought from a shop in Palo Alto with the initials B.C. According to Louis, the mechanic at Performance Bicycle, my derailleur cable was too short and thats why it had broken through the barrel adjuster. Louis changed my cable and adjusted my derailleur within an hour. Thanks, LOUiS!

---

ST

Steven Hines

We were sent here by the SF store because they had the bike we wanted to buy in stock. When we arrived, the person helping us didnt know what bike we were talking about, then said he didnt have it in stock, then said it was a different (higher) price, then said he couldnt order it. Useless. We went back to SF, where we ordered the bike for the price we were quoted originally. Waste of time coming here.

---

---