Performance Bicycle

Decent enough prices and right around the corner from me. Reimbursed me for a bike tube I purchased that went flat in less than 24 hrs.

Sometimes this feels like the lil Best Buy of bike stuff, but I can’t help but love it. Staff is totally awesome, hours are good, selection is great, and you can normally get what you want for at least 20% off (it’s become a habit to check their site every day).

SERVICE — EXCELLENT
Claire was patient with me as a novice, showed me everything, we discussed options, and I left there with everything that I needed while staying within budget. She was super sweet!
PRICING — AWESOME DEALS
She knew that especially as a student, I wasn’t trying to brake the bank :)
LOCATION/​STORE — CONVENIENT right off of W. Anderson and the store is big enough for test rides :)
I left there with a tune up and both my water bottle rack and pump installed on my bike — ready to go — all within an hour :)
I have been a bit gun shy about buying a bike — but I am glad I made today the day — and Performance Bikes my store!

Have bought 4 bikes for the family, and have been in for service a couple dozen times… reasonable prices, and very knowledgeable… what prompted this review was this week, two events
1. Took a high end bike pump in, still worked but the needle for the measurement had fallen off. Did not have receipt. No problem, looked me up with name and address, and replaced the pump… Crawford was the one there, have worked with him many times, and always happy when I see him
2. Today a rear tire blew out… took it in, not sure they could get to me quickly on a Saturday, and figured I would have to drop it off… Vince took a quick look around, asked his fellow workers to help him trim down the line of customers, and went to work… found the split on the tire, helped me find a good replacement (on sale), and even took a few minutes more to true my wheel, all the time telling me what he was doing and how and why (I had told him I needed to pay attention so I could do some repairs myself)…the amount of time and effort was much appreciated, and I wanted to come on here and let others know you cant go wrong with this bike store and shop

Horrible customer service. I went in looking for a cruiser. When I asked the salesman if the cruiser I was on fit me, he said it has to because it’s the only one left. After doing some research I went in the next day to look at comfort and hybrid bikes. A different salesmen said the comfort bikes were for the geriatric crowd. There was one hybrid in the shop I wanted to test drive and the manager said I couldn’t take the bike outside due to lightening. I swear to you there was neither lightening nor rain. I said if I can’t try the bike I can’t buy the bike. I went down the street to Sun and Ski and lo and behold I could test ride outside. Needless to say I bought a bike at Sun and Ski. Performance bikes missed out on a $ 600 sale. Skip Performance Bikes on Anderson and drive down the street to Sun and Ski.

Great guys with great products.
Gal Pal and I got our 2-​wheel on and stopped by as two of the most clueless rubes they had probably ever seen.
Well, I had actually spent 2 weeks prior researching bikes from various manufacturers and retailers, so I did have some understanding on types and prices of bikes but not really why I would select one versus the other.
Correctly sizing me up as the opposite of a knowledgable bikers, I was given a quick run down on the types of bikes and, within each category, the benefits and drawbacks of each for different uses and preferences. I was given a choice of some decent and moderately priced options with suggestions on why some may work better for my needs than others. Gal Pal got the same treatment and we both rode away with bikes that we are really enjoying.

I’ve bought two road bikes and a mountain bike at the North Austin location mainly because the service department is attentive and care about making sure everything is in safe riding order on the repairs and adjustments they make to my bikes.
I have felt talked «down to» at other bike shops, but I feel more than comfortable asking any questions that I have about components and bicycles in general and all the guys take time to make sure I understand how things work and what options fit my needs the best. Adrian, Jeff, Kenneth (bike fitting) and all the guys are fantastic!
The free lifetime adjustments just can’t be beat!

Love this place! I will definitely be coming back every month for a bike check up :) the guys there know what they’re doing, and don’t screw around. Got me exactly what I needed at the cheapest price, and recommend a place I could get items they didn’t offer as well as input on which type of tires I needed. I can’t wait to go back!

I want to tell you that I had an incredible experience at Performance Bikes NORTH location. It’s important you know that it’s the NORTH location I’m referring to and not the south Austin location. My experiences between the two were markedly different. I bought a $ 2,000 bike from the south Austin store and had a horrible experience. I took it NORTH for the fitting with Kenneth and had an exceptional experience. He redeemed my faith in Performance Bikes. I cannot say enough good things about Kenneth. He didn’t make me feel stupid about how poorly I was fit and riding. He was personable and connected with me on a personal level. He encouraged me to come back and visit. Kenneth, Kenneth, Kenneth … what an asset to Performance Bikes. Give that guy a raise!!!

Took my bike in and the staff was very helpful. Fixed it up right away and was out of the shop in 30 minutes.

My review is for the Anderson Lane location, and my 1 star rating is specifically for the service department.
More often than not, after picking up my bike, the things I asked them to fix had not been fixed. They would generally get them fixed eventually, but it was a bit of a hassle to keep bringing the bike back and then having to wait a few days each time for them to fix it (or not fix it).
The only reason I kept bringing my bike back was that I had purchased a service plan with them. (NOTE: Do not purchase the service plan — it seems like a good deal, but their service is so horrible, it turns out to be a waste of money).
After my experience this morning, I finally felt compelled to Unilocal to possibly prevent other people from having to deal with the service department in this place.
I dropped my bike off for a pro tune-​up and drive train cleaning. I got the call that the bike was ready so I went to pick it up. First off, there was still visible grease/​dirt on the drive train. I asked the mechanic, Adrian, if the drive train cleaning had been done. He said he spent 40 minutes on it and it was the best he could get it. I personally could have done a better job with a paper towel. I was irritated, but I decided not to press the issue.
I checked out and based on their past history of incompetence, I decided I should probably do a little test ride in the parking just to make sure everything was working correctly. Sure enough, it wouldn’t shift from the big chain ring to the small ring. This was, by the way, one of the main reasons I took it in for a tune-​up in the first place.
I brought it back it and told Adrian. He was defensive and combative. Adrian is the head mechanic there, by the way, so you would think at least he should know what he is doing. Apparently not. He said he knew the bike didn’t shift but he didn’t tell me because he said most people don’t want to replace parts. WTF? I honestly think he just didn’t bother to check the shifting, but he didn’t want to admit then when confronted.
I hate to give them a 1 star because aside from Adrian and aside from their service department, the other people that work in the store are great. But their service department is horrific.

It’s hard giving this place a 1 star review, but it needs to be done. Let me start with everything that’s good about Performance Bikes on Anderson.
The staff are usually super nice. The bikes, particularly when on sale, are cheeeeap. It’s a chain after all, and if you buy a cheap bike here, you should feel guilty for not paying a few hundred more at a local bike store. But listen, I don’t have a few $ 100 to spare. If I did, I would patronize the local stores, I swear.
But here’s the problem. Their mechanics are a joke. You could take your bike in and specify the problem, and get it back two days later with the problem not being fixed. A cool local bike shop that I subsequently visited to get my issue fixed explained the problem thusly: «Perf Bikes does not hire real mechanics. They hire people with 0 experience and train them up, and pay them very little. As soon as a performance bike mechanic knows what they are doing, they leave and get a much higher paying gig».
I don’t know if this is true, but it certainly fits the picture. Twice now (I had paid for a service plan when I bought my bike there) I have had the mechanic utterly fail to address the simple problem I brought the bike in for. They would keep it for a few days, and return it, un fixed. The second time, I took it to a local store that had good Unilocal reviews. They took my bike behind the counter, spent 10 minutes fixing my problem, identified another issue that was likely there from the day I bought the bike, and charged me $ 25 inc a small part.
If you want to save money on a new bike, by all means, go to performance bikes. If you want some advice, by all means, talk to the friendly, knowledgeable staff. But don’t bother with the service plans.
If you need your bike tuned or fixed, go somewhere else.

I was at the door when they opened one morning as I had a meeting in the same strip mall. I recently added more Stan’s liquid latex to the tubeless tires on my Kona 29’er and was having trouble getting the kevlar bead to catch on 1 of the tires with a hand pump. So what I needed was someone, like a shop, to blow air from a compressor and catch the bead really quick on the back tire and we’d be good to go.
Not to mention I needed it that weekend for a ride through the tough trails of Dinosaur Valley State Park.
I explained this to a hispanic looking guy at the counter and he said, «25 dollars for 25 minutes. You can pick it tomorrow afternoon.» I didn’t quite understand what he was talking about and started to explain what I wanted again (basically someone to air up my back tire) when he interrupted me and said, «Look, that’s the speel. It’s really not worth the shop’s time.»
Alright dick.
So I took my bike and as I was leaving I said, «I’ll just take it to Bicycle Sport». Another guy, some old man, said really rudely, «Good luck dude. It’ll take them 2 weeks to get to it.»
Guess what?
I took it to Bicycle Sport Shop and told the guy at the repair counter what I needed. You know what he did?
1. First of all he was cool about everything and didn’t talk to me like an asshole that he wanted to get rid of.
2. He said, «No problem. This won’t take a minute.» and put the bike on the bench and checked to make sure there was enough Stan’s in the tube. There wasn’t so he added to it.
3. He aired up the tire and charged me $ 5 for the Stan’s.
Guess which place is going to get my business when I buy my new road bike this Fall? Guess which place is going to get my business when I drop $ 600 on a new pair of Fox forks for the 29er? Or my son’s first bike? Or my wife’s tune up on her triathalon bike before she starts training next month?
Not you guys. You see… the shitty attitude at Performance Bicycle on Anderson is really not worth my family’s time.

They’ve got the best price on new bikes, and they are pretty friendly in the shop. My only problem was their «fitting» service that comes with new bike purchases. When I bought the bike, I think it was the GM or manager of the shop who helped me. He set me up for a fitting a few days later and said he’d be running it. When I got there, there was what appeared to be one dude running the whole shop and he said he’d fit me, even though he seemed busy. He set up my bike in the trainer and I started riding for about 20 seconds and he said «yeah you look fine.» and that was it. Compared to buying my commuter bike at Austin Bikes a couple years earlier, where it’s a 45-​minute deal with swapped parts, posture coaching, etc., I was pretty disappointed. And that bike was half the cost.
Suffice to say, my back tended to hurt on rides 20-​miles plus, and I finally met a coach last week who told me the fit on my roadie was, surprise, a little off. For $ 10 I went to Austin TriCyclist who spent far more time fitting me, and I didn’t even buy the bike from them. But I did end up buying some shoes, pedals and a rack there.
I know, buying your first new high-​performance road bike is expensive, and you’ll probably want to end up buying it at Performance, since it’s virtually impossible to find a good road bike under $ 1000 anywhere else. I just wouldn’t expect the red carpet rolled out once you swipe your credit card like some other trusted LBSs in Austin.

I’ve been getting catalogs from Performance Bicycle since about ten years ago. As a kid I was always interested in cycling but always discouraged by the high prices of the products. Still, it was fun to window shop in the pages of the magazine. I don’t even know if there was a brick-​and-​mortar location at that time, as I think that Performance started out as an online shop.
Anyway, I was excited that this new one opened close to my home but didn’t really stop by that much. Now, I am riding my bike more and also getting more into repairing and maintaining my own bike. I have shopped on Amazon for bike parts but also check prices with REI and now Performance. I must say: for a brick and mortar store, their prices cannot be beat! They have the same high-​quality gear and components that other shops do but at prices that are at least $ 5-​$ 10 cheaper. Even when you check Amazon online, they barely beat out Performance, and it’s nice to know that it is right down the road and I don’t have to pay shipping and can see the item first, and know what to expect, before I buy it.
I recently bought some inner-​tubes here for my mountain bike because they have an ongoing deal that if you buy four tubes at once you get $ 4 off, which is basically getting the last one for free. I have also admired the prices that they have on such items like kevlar/​folding tires, where you would expect to pay at least $ 20 more elsewhere.
I like the bike selection and it may not be as high-​end as Bicycle Sport Shop or Mellow Johnny’s, but they do have a nice selection of bikes that would be more in my price range anyway.
My biggest qualm with Performance bicycle is it’s selection. If you see something online, it doesn’t mean that they will have it in the store. The shop is a bit on the smaller side and they don’t stock many types of folding-​bead tires, for example. I could buy online but then I wouldn’t be supporting this nice shop. It is also a franchise, and I would like to support more local bike shops but this almost feels like a local shop because there are not many in the USA. (unless they are building more now).
If you catch a deal online at the Performance, which there are always crazy-​good deals, then you can show the employees and they will give you the online price. Also, a staff member told me that if you find a better deal elsewhere in Austin then they will match the price. Good luck doing that, though, as Performance beats the pants off of local bike shops (again, a little unfortunate, as I’d like to support other shops).
Overall this shop is great and way better than REI for cycling goods. They are both chains so I’d rather support one that specializes in cycling and carries better equipment. I have a new love now and will be stopping by this store for most of my future cycling needs.

My fiancé is riding the MS150, and she needed her bike adjusted. We were greeted shortly upon arrival by Adam, who took great care of us. Not only was he an avid cyclist himself, he was also knowledgeable about the sport and equipment. We found Adam to be honest and patient with us as we were learning the ropes together.
Adam did an exceptional job adjusting our bike, and he also made a very helpful recommendation on how to improve the bike’s fitting. (We were borrowing a friend’s bike for the race.) He went above and beyond to delight us, and we’ll definitely be requesting Adam’s help again soon when it comes time to purchase our own bikes.
Pro Tip: If you’re interested in riding a Scattante bike, this is your place! Scattante is made exclusively for Performance, and the bike’s quality and design is superb.

I got a flat tire while riding on shoal creek. On top of that, I didn’t have a spare tube on hand. Or my wallet, for that matter. D’oh.
I contacted some friends with some calls of distress, and one of my biking buddies suggested giving Performance bike try. Luckily, I was only two blocks away, so I walked on over.
They were very kind to the poor girl in need of a spare but not without a little touch of friendly sass. Drew gave me a new tube and fixed it free of charge, and I rode my bike home happily ever after. Wasn’t that sweet? It made me feel so warm and fuzzy inside.

I recently purchased a new bicycle from the guys, and also left my wife’s bicycle for repair. It was a reasonably good purchase experience, no complaints, they seemed to know what they were about. However, that didn’t last.
The bicycle we left for repair was old, and they told us they would take up to 2 weeks to get to it. I said «no problem», was not in a hurry. We didn’t hear from them and I assumed all was well with the repair. I went to get it well over a month after I left it off. After some joking with the staff about how they might have sold my bike for a Christmas special, they found my repair order.
I then encountered the «Bicycle Repair Nazi». I’m paraphrasing, but this is fairly accurate I believe. Witnessed by several others in the repair area.
BN: «We didn’t do the work. You need a spoke repaired. We called you on this.»
Me: «I didn’t get a call or message.»
BN: «The people at this store have the highest integrity. They called you and left a message.»
Me: Thinking — it is really embarrassing for someone of my low integrity to question someone of the highest integrity, as BN obviously is. So I respond, «Ok, if so, why didn’t they call a second time given how long it was?»
BN: «It is store policy to call the customer only once.»
Me: «Well, Merry Christmas to you sir»
All this time he is angrily staring at me, just looking for an excuse to throw me out of his shop — if I didn’t like his attitude, I could lump it. He then turns his back to me and goes about his business, leaving me to ponder my next move. Did I have to wrestle him to get my property back? He finally deigned to speak further to me, and he tells me to return in an hour. He didn’t really explain what he was intending to do with my property and how much it would be (it turned out to be $ 30 additional), but I was just happy to get out of there relatively unscathed.
I decided to return the next day, in hopes he had the day off. Unfortunately he did not, but by a stroke of luck I got my bicycle out of there before he spotted me and rushed over to try the charge me for excess storage or something.
I guess I was fortunate to get a humorous story to relate to friends and family over Christmas, but even so — there will be another repair shop in my future.

I had a bike tire catastrophe on the hottest day on record in Austin. When I looked at my phone to call Performance Bicycle, it said 111 degrees. That’s just ungodly.
Performance Bicycle was very friendly and told me that they didn’t have my exact tire in stock, but they had several that could do just fine. Whatever. Sounds good.
Begrudgingly my husband helped me get my bike to PB. He thought I was being obsessed and crazy wanting to do this now; all the while, being pregnant in this heat. But there was no stopping me. I was on a mission and I’ve never been the fainty, dainty type. I wasn’t about to start yesterday.
The staff was just as nice in person as they were on the phone. After closer examination, the bike experts realized that they would have to special order a tire to fit my current tire. Or, I could buy to super sweet looking white wall tires. I went with the white wall tires. It was 3:00 and they told me I could come back before 5:00 PM and my bike would be ready.
Well, to my surprise, I got a call shortly after we left saying that they salvaged my tire and only needed to replace the tube. By the way, it was ready.
My bill was only $ 16. They could have easily sold me two new tires and tubes for $ 50+ and I would’ve been none the wiser. I love honest folks.

I’ve been a bad bad girl… I’ve been careless with a delicate bike! Fiona Apple aside, I’ve been really mean to my bike. I bought it a couple of years ago from a buddy who works at Hammerhead and since then, I’ve ridden it on and off fairly infrequently.
Mostly for the past year it’s sat in my storage area, forlorn, probably rusting, probably developing a flat or a thin wire or a broken brake or whatever happens to bikes. I’ll never pretend to know how to mess around with a bike so instead, I took it to performance. I know, it’s not local. And I legitimately felt badly about that. But they were open and they were close and GD if it wasn’t the most convenient for that day. Sometimes you gotta seize the moment, ya know?
So i dropped it off and those guys did the spot check and the brake check and added two new skinnier tires with tubes and installed and though the grand total was $ 100 (which seems a tad pricey considering even the most mechanically disinclined person can put a new wheel one), I’m happy with the work and with their friendliness in general.