| Performer JC70-AL review | by John Baughman |
I evaluated several recumbent trikes made by various manufacturers. The main thing I was looking for was a trike that could be used by a tall rider (I am six feet tall) without resulting in having my feet too far up in the air. This meant I wanted a “mid-seat position” with a relatively shallow boom angle. Also, since I intended on using the trike solely on the road, I wanted high level 9 or 10 speed components. This was tough, because most trike manufacturers use old 7 or 8 speed mountain bike components. Since there are no dealers in the city where I live, I decided I’d have to purchase one that met my criteria, without a test ride.
After the evaluation was complete I selected the Performer JC70-AL. It met the design criteria I had, and employed a
Putting the JC70 together was straight-forward and quick. I think anyone with a set of metric allen wrenches could do it. I just followed the Assembly guide I down-loaded from the Performer web site. I’d make a suggestion that they might want to include more detailed photos, as well as edit the English translation here and there, but it’s really all you need.
The quality of the paint is incredible. And the custom lettering surpassed my expectations. And while I was concerned about buying a trike without a test ride, I have to say that it handles like a little sports car. While I won’t use most of this: it also includes a tool kit, rear rack, water bottle cage, and 3 fenders. I’d rather see them include a flag pole and flag for safety reasons. Oh yes, I replaced the standard platform/SPDR pedals with SpeedPlay Zeros and took some more weight off.
Compared to the other manufacturers, Performer is a lot more value for a lot less money. And the people at Performer quickly responded to all of my inquiries. Count me as a happy Performer user.
