I feel like between the SunTour components, the Tange tubing, and the Performance branding, this bike is the perfect example of function over brand prestige. And then with the 3 pulley conversion, I kicked it over the top to prevent anyone from saying, "Yeah, but at least the Superbe components look really good."
The SunTour and Tange brands have obviously earned a lot of respect since their early days of struggling against the European establishment. The Performance brand, not so much, though well into the 2000's they were selling bikes at heavily discounted prices that functioned just as well as their top dollar competition. In my mind, the only thing separating these early Performance bikes from the early Specialized models is that Performance lacks stories of Mike Sinyard and Tim Neenan spending months in Japan making sure the bikes were made to their exact specifications. Performance, then as now (and throw in Bikes Direct) seems to have just waited a year or two and said, "Make us bikes just like that." Specialized carefully crafted and nurtured their brand image. Performance seems to have intentionally targeted customers who didn't really care about that.
BTW, if I ride this bike wearing a jersey and shorts from Performance Bike, does that count as matching kit?
