An excellent source for high quality biking equipment and clothing.
Written: Aug 21 '03
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| Full Review |
Since I began biking about five years ago, I have become more interested in sites having to do with biking and biking paraphernalia. When one of my friends told me about this site, I immediately went home and jumped on the computer to sign up for their catalog. Not only that, I found some wonderful deals online and immediately set up an account and made an order.
Arriving at the homepage, I was surprised to discover it not at all jumbled, but presentable unlike a lot of other websites. More often than not, they will provide you with some marked down items right their on the homepage…to entice you to look at what else is offered on the site.
There are six tabs at the top of the page:
Home...This page is obviously the page you start out on when coming to Performancebike.com. But it is helpful to have this tab because you can automatically come back to the main page later by just clicking once.
Shop...This tab will obviously lead you to the shopping page. This page consists of category listing for you to choose from. Bicycles/Frames, Bike Transport, Books/CD’s/Videos, Camping, Clothing, Components – ATB, Components – Road, Electronics, Gifts, Glasses, Helmets, Hydration, Indoor Storage, Lights, Locks/Mirrors/Fenders, Nutrition, Packs/Racks, Personal Care Products, Pumps, Saddles, Shoes, Strollers/Trailers/Child Seats, Tires/Tubes, Tools/Lubes/Workstands, Trainers, Wheelsets are all the categories that you have to choose from. Most of these categories will further break down into subcategories once clicked on.
You also have the choice of picking from Perfomance’s six stores: Outlet Store, Custom Bike Shop, Triathlete Store, Women’s Store, New Items, and team Performance.
Stores...This page will actually allow you to locate a Performance store near you. They are only located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington. So if you are not in any one of those states, you will have to satisfy your biking cravings by ordering online. You can also search by city/state, or zip code, to find the store closest to you.
Team P...Here you can become a part of Team Performance. This membership gives you a lot of incentives, including: money off on orders, earning shopper points at the stores, access to the newsletter, free shipping upgrades, product specials and other special deals. A one year membership costs only $20, and could definitely be worthwhile for an avid biker that frequently purchases products from the site. But since they have changed the system, I don’t really find joining worth the $20.
Discover...This page is basically for news. You can also get cycling tips and advice here. There is everything from a cycling glossary to a bike care informational page to a cycling chat page.
Help...This is your basic help page that most websites have where you can go to find answers to your questions about the site. That includes information on shipping, returns, back orders, pricing, and guarantees on items.
~ Ordering ~
Selecting products and adding them to your shopping cart is so easy. Once added, your cart will show you the quantity, a brief description, the item number, the price, and your total so far. You also have the option of removing an item with the click of a button. When you are ready, one click with bring you to the checkout screen. This will allow you to complete your personal information, select your preferred shipping method for that product, then enter your credit card information, and then confirm your order after you are shown the total amount.
Regular shipping is via FedEx or US mail and Performance states to allow up to ten business days for product arrival. Overnight delivery and 2nd Business Day delivery is also available through FedEx. Performancebike.com also allows international orders and you have to contact customer service for their shipping prices. They do charge extra shipping for overweight items.
Order Amount, Regular Shipping, 2nd Day Shipping, Next Day, Canada
$0.00-18.00 = $4.75, $7.75, $13.25, $10.50
$18.01-45.00 = $6.25, $9.25, $14.75, $12.00
$45.01-85.00 = $7.75, $10.75, $16.25, $14.50
$85.01-150.00 = $9.25, $12.25, $17.75, $19.50
over $150.00 = $10.50, $13.50, $19.00, $22.50
Performance guarantees 100% satisfaction with every product we sell. If an item does not meet your expectations, just send it back and we will promptly replace, refund, or credit your account - whichever you prefer.
Performancebike.com accepts American Express, Discover, Visa, and Mastercard for your shopping convenience.
~ Receiving ~
Shipping takes no time at all. I order and usually receive my package 4-5 days. I don’t think I have ever waited over a week for my items to arrive and that is a relief compared to some other online stores that I have purchased from.
My order comes straight to my door and I have never had any damaged items. If you receive your merchandise damaged in anyway, Performance will reimburse you shipping charges to send the damaged products back to them.
~*~ My Thoughts ~*~
I cannot remember how many times I have actually ordered from this site. I am going to wager between 8-10 times within the past two years. I have never come across a site that can match the quality or pricing of the items that I have received. And I have had experience with other online vendors such as Nashbar.com and REI.com.
I cannot recall ever having done anything but regular shipping. My products were shipped and received within an acceptable amount of time. I have never received a damaged product. I did have to send back a pair of bike shoes once because I changed my mind on the size...no problems with returning or exchanging them for a different size. It wasn’t a hassle at all.
The shipping prices are definitely comparable to other sites and may be a little better. I extremely like the fact that they charge by dollar amount spent, rather than by weight. I would probably get a little too expensive that way.
Navigating the site is extremely easy to do because Performance has all the categories laid out for you. You can also organize your search by price. Which means that if you were looking for some bargains, you would organize your search from lowest amount to highest amount ($-$$). This does come in handy when you are looking for something non-expensive and don’t want to search through the whole category.
Because I have ordered from the site before, I receive their catalog in the mail, which usually has some great clearance items in it. But even if you haven’t ordered, you can go to the site and request a catalog. Performance Bike sets up an account for you after your first order and stores your information that can be easily accessed when you sign in. This is also a good feature because I don’t have to enter all the same information in every time I order from the site.
Overall, Performance Bike is definitely a site to check out for those biking enthusiasts, or even if you are a casual participant.
~ Happy Shopping!
Kim
Recommended:
Yes
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? bicycling jerseys, socks, shoes, helmets
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Epinions.com ID:
kld718
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 in Wellness & Beauty, Books |
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Location: Central Florida
Reviews written: 606
Trusted by: 315 members
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Preparing for a return to writing!
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