Performance Bicycle

Great service! Staff was extremely friendly and very helpful. Honestly went in wanting them to talk me into a new bike but they convinced me that the bike I bought 10 years ago was still in good shape. Gave me a quick tune up and sent me on my way. Love shopping at stores that understand good customer service. Well done!

Fantastic service from Hunter and the crew!!! I have been cycling for years and after experience with many bike shops, this particular Performance Bike shop has been nothing short of excellent!
From nutrition to service to bikes, I highly recommend this shop!!!

You know what I like about this place? I have a sweet bike, a mid-​level understanding of how to take care of it, but a true enthusiasm for cycling and the guys here have been chill not to judge me for it. I also appreciate how the bike techs in the back range from young to old dudes that seem to enjoy working with bikes and don’t mind when you ask questions during the process. The past few times they’ve been cool to take care of my minor fixes while I waited and watched. The prices were decent for a blown tube change which came out to be something like $ 9 for service and $ 5 for the tube.
I do wish they had a bit more of a merch selection regarding bike locks (what up Kryptonite, Abus, Masterlock street cuffs, etc.), helmets, and so forth, but understand that these days a lot of this stuff can be found online. It can also be a bit hectic in there during times when people are bringing bikes back and forth through the narrow aisles, so be patient. Aside from that? I’ve had enough good conversations about biking, trails, and suggestions, that I’d recommend this shop to others.
This place is conveniently located off of 29 in Seminole Square which makes running errands and getting a bike fixed pretty easy. While I’m pro LBSs, I don’t mind coming back to PB because of their helpful employees who care a great deal about their bikes. It doesn’t hurt that if I need to wait awhile, I can also pick up some records at Plan 9 all in one fell swoop!

Bought GT hybrid mountain bike three months ago. Great bike. Still loving it. Sales service will vary. Some of the sales team are not very knowledgeable as others. A good value for a comparably equipped bike.

Unilocalers — I come from the land of Atlantic City Proof — JOY-​Zee, ahraight? Not that Jersey Shore, but this one
.
Anyway — I am here on business and due to my travels had not been able to take my bike to my local Northfield, NJ Beacon sport bike shop for maintenance. Boy am I glad for this serendipity! And betcha you are too! You non-​local in search of what I needed. I went in to get the minimum — tires inflated and brakes checked. Possibly going for the full tune up to a cool 50USD. I would be more than willing to pay this folks for what this gentleman did. I handed him my bike. It didn’t occur to me to ask him how long he might be. I looked around the shop then wandered back eventually to the maintenance area. He and his colleague were like «does this sound right?» Move gears fiddle. Check again. Conversation, hushed. I’m like oh no! I decide… let me just walk away…
He comes out we chat. He said small adjustments as he really found nothing that required any real fixing. I told him about some discomfort I had and asked if he’d help with any tips on my Raleigh Avenir foldable bike? He’s like «to be honest, we had to YouTube the Shimano gear stuff to see if the small tweaks we did with one of the wires was correct. And I recommend that you take it to your other shop for that but it all looks fine. But I see you sitting on the bike and let’s try something.» He moves things around. Has me sit. He had me raise the pedal to three o’clock on one side. Asks me to hop off, more adjustments Repeat. The person’s toes should barely touch when seated in a bike he tells me when sitting in the saddle. He marks off with a knife along the post where the seat height should be when I fold the bike down fully — which I avoid doing to not mess up the ergonomics once it’s set. He assures me the bike will not rust since it’s aluminum. Cause I have no poker face folks. And that’s not the Gaga in me talkin’ ok? Let’s be clear! *laughs* I ask, «so what do I owe you?» His reply. Shrug. «nothing». I look him in the eye, are you sure like? Nods. Yep. I give him my hand in thanks.
He did not charge me one red pink or purple cent nickel or dime. Readjusted my seat height. Fixed the tilt of the saddle and let me test it all in the store with three inch wedges?! He be da man, man!
The reason I do not give five stars? There is one way in. It’s via two glass non-​automatic doors and here’s little old girl me, walking out the bike and no one opens the door or props it open for me — this lady right here. So I have to maneuver/​MacGyver it so I do not get slammed between the one door and my bike handle bars in the crotch…
Once I finagled myself out of the store. I hopped right into the bike. Weeeeee!!!
Please if you are not a local and need bike maintenance go here. If you are a local you have a man who knows bikes but more importantly body mechanics and is honest. Check them out friends. And tell them the non-​girly girl from out of town who came in, close to closing time, and hopped onto the foldable black bike in the store sent you there way. I’d be mighty obliged. Maybe they’ll open the door for the next gal à la Southern gentleman that I find oh so attractive. *wink* right ladies? You know from which I speak.

Everyone was helpful and knowledgeable here esp Evan and Matt (hopefully I got their names right lol). Anyway, I would recommend stopping by here! You will not feel intimidated at all!

I went to 6 different bike shops between DC and Charlottesville to shop for my new road bike. I had done my research but still had more to learn. I was by far the most impressed with how I was treated at Performance Bicycle and how knowledgeable the staff was, specifically Matt Taylor. I didn’t end up buying at Performance because they don’t sell Masi or Trek (what I ended up with), but I’ll be going back for everything else!

My girlfriend and I came in to buy a couple of fairly low budget commuter bikes. Got some great help from the folks here and cannot recommend this place more. We’ve been to a few other shops in the area and while everywhere we went had decent enough service there just wasn’t any options to fit our budget of about $ 300. At the same time it seems their staff went above and beyond to make sure we knew what we needed to know about our biking in our new area (we just moved here a few months ago) and made sure to get our new bikes in good shape for us to ride out of the store. Highly recommend and will come back for all of my future needs.

Given, Performance is a ‘discount’ bike shop, and the service at locations across the country is spotty at best, but the Charlottesville shop has the best customer service in town. Paul and Tom are class acts, and have obviously been around bike culture for a long time. This has become my go-​to shop for miscellaneous parts, as every time I go in I end up having quality conversation with these guys. Additionally, it seems they will go out of their way to help source a part, squeeze you in for basic service (ex. install BB) or answer questions about products. I even eves drop on conversations with other customers, and have been impressed by their knowledge, even when it comes to bike fit. I heard no generic answers from these guys.
I hate to say that Performance is one of the top shops in C’ville, but the guys at the other shops seem grumpy, or too self involved to really focus on good service.

Excellent customer service. Had questions and their guys talked with us for over an hour about what we wanted and product questions. Looking forward to going back for my followup needs as I bike more.