Performer Futuro Review on October 24, 2022
George
Chen, the owner of Performer Cycles, has always been a cyclist. George
fell in love with bike riding as a youth and his passion
for the
bicycle and riding community has only grown. George had the opportunity
to ride a recumbent bike almost thirty years ago and he was
shocked at how much more comfortable and faster it was than his current
upright two wheel bike. George instantly became a big fan of
recumbents. George’s passion for cycling led him to opening his own
bicycle factory almost twenty five years ago. He got his start doing
contract work for other companies which is all well and good but if you
met George you would see he has so many ideas in his head that building
products for other companies is not what he is about. Soon after
opening his factory, George started his own brand called Performer
Cycles. George is like Henry Ford; he wanted the best quality control
for his products. George chose to do the entire manufacturing process
himself in his own factory, where he could control the quality of his
bikes and trikes.
When I visited some other factories in Taiwan, it was quite
different. You had the guy who only build frames and they have a
relationship with someone who only paints, then there is someone else
who does all the assembly. I am not a big fan of this type of
manufacturing because there are too many different people involved and
it is more difficult to control quality. George can walk out in his
factory at any time and inspect frame manufacturing, painting, assembly,
and packaging within minutes. Performer’s best selling product is
their recumbent trikes but they are well know for their recumbent bikes
as well. Performer can build bikes and trikes out of carbon fiber,
titanium, aluminum and chrome-molly steel. Their carbon trike and carbon
tandem are really incredible. The material of choice for most bikes and
trikes is aluminum. For most situations aluminum is the best material
to work with. I have seen some of the old school lugged chrome molly
steel road bikes that George produces. They are works of art. The old
school lugged frames with fancy sculpted lugs remind me of the Italian
racing bikes from Pinerello, Colnago, and Basso from the early 80’s.
George has an incredible first mate. Her name is Christine. She has been
with Performer Cycle almost from the beginning. Christine has been a
big part of the day running of Performer Cycles. Christine is a small
energetic lady with a big smile that really knows her products and the
bike industry very well.
I just did a consultation with a gentleman who was a professional
basket ball player. He is over 6’-7” tall and simply there is no trike
large enough for him on the market. He could actually send his
measurement to Performer Cycles and they could produce a one of a kind
trike specifically for his size. I can not think of any other company
willing to do that type of customer service.
Frame: The frame on the Performer Futuro is made of
aluminum that is TIG welded together in Taichung Taiwan. I would have
to say the welds are beautiful and of the highest quality in the
industry. The frame on the Performer Futuro is a non folding design.
The seat can be removed by the quick release pins, not the easiest seat
to remove but still very doable for most people. The Performer Futuro
has a maximum rider weight capacity of 242 Lbs. The frame is easily
adjustable and can accommodate riders with X-Seams between 36.3″ and
50.7″
Paint: The Performer Futuro powder coat is extremely
well done. The powder coat is sprayed on evenly and consistently. The
color and dept to the paint is amazing. It just looks to be a very
quality paint job. I did notice the paint did seem to chip a little
easier than I thought but overall it is a thumbs up paint job that
should last you a long time.
Drive Train: The shifting is superb on the Performer
Futuro. Performer chose a premium Microshift drivetrain with ten gears
to choose from in the rear and two chain rings in the front for a total
of twenty speeds. The Microshift front and rear derailleurs performed
flawlessly mated to the Microshift Bar End Shifters. Performer prefers
Bar End Shifters and you will see them on all of their trikes. Bar end
shifters are my shifter of choice as well. They just make sense for me.
Performer chose a FSA crank set with a 53 tooth large chain ring and a
39 tooth small chain ring. With a 53/39 chain rings and an 11-36 tooth
cassette the rear the gear ratio should be broad enough for you to be
able to pedal up just about any hill you can find. The Performer Futuro
come with a Samagaga differential, this allows both rear wheels to
drive where most delta style trike only have one wheel in the rear drive
and the other just freewheels.
Brakes: Performer Cycles likes Tektro Disc Brakes.
Tektro is a huge brake manufacture and probably the largest bicycle
brake manufacture in the world. Tektro makes a wide variety of brakes.
The brakes that Performer Cycle chose for the Futuro, is a simple cable
actuated disc. A big advantage to Tektro brakes is that replacement
pads are available. Sure, Performer could have used a less expensive
brake, but with those cheaper brakes there are no replacement pads that
are available after market. I thought the trike stopped fine with the
Tektro Disc; nothing unexpected, just good, solid, predictable braking.
Wheels: The wheels are Jalco X320, all 20″ wheels.
The rims are a premium quality double wall rim with eyelets at the spoke
nipples. The wheels are easily overlooked for what they are which is a
more premium wheel set than what most of Performer Cycle competitors
are offering.
Seat: Like all the other Performer bikes and trikes,
the seat is interchangeable. The most popular seat for trikes is the
mesh seat where it is very breathable and well constructed. However, I
do think Performer should come out with an updated version where it is
padded and the bottom is a bit larger to fit big American butts. The
other seat option is the FRP which is available in a fiberglass version
and a carbon fiber version. This seat gives the trike that racy, high
performance, feel.
The seat height is 16.9″ (430 mm) and the seat angle can be adjusted
from 34.5 Degrees to 40 degrees. I hear people comment about seat
height all the time with concerns that they think it is very low which
is not the case. I ask them can they get out of their kitchen chair
easily enough? The answer is usually yes. Then I tell them their kitchen
chain is 17″ which is almost identical to the Performer Futuro seat
height. The seat on the Futuro can be adjusted on the main frame tube
forward and backward so you can adjust the seat to handlebar
relationship to your liking.
Handling: The Performer Futuro handles very well and
is more stable than most Delta style trikes. I thought the trike
rode nice and straight the steering was predictable and precise. I
thought the turning circle was very good.
Ride: I think the ride and stability is good on the Performer
Futuro, the comfort is far better than most Delta style recumbent
trikes. The longer wheel base on the Futuro does help a bit in
smoothing out the ride over most Tadpole style trikes.
In conclusion: You may never have heard of Performer
Cycles but they have been building quality trikes for a very long time.
Here is how I think the Performer Futuro scored 8 out of 10 points
Frame quality and ride for a rigid Delta style trike: 7
Paint: 9
Component value: 10
Seat: 5
Handling: 6
Rear fenders: 3
Value for the money: 10
The pricing is very favorable for the Futuro and comparable to the Sun X3 AX or Hase Trigo
Pros: Performer trikes are just such an incredible value. Only 42 Lbs
Cons: The rear fenders are not up to par, just too wimpy, I did not like the bracket sticking out from the side of the fender either.