Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

[Kermit TF]

Greetings Apollophiles


Would anyone else like to venture any guesses about this bike? All I know is it's one of the most comfortable bikes I've ever ridden ..

Jon

It's a III....I have a couple in the same colour and same spec. Roughly 1985-86.

[Kermit TF]

Munga, tried to send you a PM, but you have your messages / receipt locked..

[munga]

copy that. rectified. fire at will, soldier!

[Daus]

My 1993 Apollo Eclipse- I recently updated the shifters with 7 speed Shimano Tourney's and a 7 speed cassette on Wolber rims and hubs I have had for a while. The rear brake cable is hidden in the top tube- I look at the posts on this thread often and have not seen any others the same. It is a big frame and fits me perfectly for commuting duties- it has no rear hanger on the frame just an axle mounted hanger so I figured it is not an upmarket frame. The frame is in original condition its previous owner had it since new and even gave me the owners manual when I bought it a couple of years ago- Don

[The Fixer]

My, my, my, Daus, that is nice!!

Here's my III in the process of shedding its MTB bars and controls (WHY?????) and having them replaced with something more fitting.

I've gone for friction-shifters rather than indexed. Bars are Nitto, Shimano shifters, Weinemann levers.

Shame about the tatty paint (will fix), but she's a nice frame to ride.

Second pic shows the III's brazed-on cable guides.

Third pic is the III with the '87 Clipper and the '88 Delta (Delie).

[The Fixer]

I was just conversing with a few fellow retro-fans on Farce-book, and this came up in our discussion.

Pretty sure I haven't posted this one before, so here goes.... here's my 1983 Apollo II.

Planning to return this one to original specs... nice to ride. But those bars/controls...Sheesh! WHY???

Footnote: unlike all my other Apollos, this one's been in regular use since new. It shows.

Apart from a tendency to throw chains (yes, I know, but I haven't gotten around to it yet), it really
does ride like new.

[munga]

i actually want to build a bike with risers and a squishy seat, just for cruising around the lake with the family. 5 speed, basket on the front..
thumbies are silly expensive tho, so i'll have to do some more research (i probably don't need xt spec shifters )

[dillyboy]

My 1993 Apollo Eclipse- I recently updated the shifters with 7 speed Shimano Tourney's and a 7 speed cassette on Wolber rims and hubs I have had for a while. The rear brake cable is hidden in the top tube- I look at the posts on this thread often and have not seen any others the same. It is a big frame and fits me perfectly for commuting duties- it has no rear hanger on the frame just an axle mounted hanger so I figured it is not an upmarket frame. The frame is in original condition its previous owner had it since new and even gave me the owners manual when I bought it a couple of years ago- Don

look back a few pages - you pretty much have my bike

mine's a 12 speed with down tube shifters though - and its of unknown age but I don't think its as new as '93

[The Fixer]

My 1993 Apollo Eclipse- I recently updated the shifters with 7 speed Shimano Tourney's and a 7 speed cassette on Wolber rims and hubs I have had for a while. The rear brake cable is hidden in the top tube- I look at the posts on this thread often and have not seen any others the same. It is a big frame and fits me perfectly for commuting duties- it has no rear hanger on the frame just an axle mounted hanger so I figured it is not an upmarket frame. The frame is in original condition its previous owner had it since new and even gave me the owners manual when I bought it a couple of years ago- Don

look back a few pages - you pretty much have my bike

mine's a 12 speed with down tube shifters though - and its of unknown age but I don't think its as new as '93

Were you the bloke with the fluoro-green 'Eclipse'? That one was nice!

[dillyboy]

That's me - I'm colour blind though so I think it's bright yellow :p

[Daus]

I checked out Dillyboy's bike a few pages back and it is very similar to mine except in lime green- mine originally had a 6 speed with downtube shifters- the rear were indexed but could be run as friction, I converted to a 7 speed as I had the bits in my workshop and wanted the extra gear. Its a really bright yellow (would not lose it on the road) with the pink coloured Eclipse- Tri sticker on each side of the top tube. It still has the Chrom-moly sticker on the seat tube. The Apollo is used for commuting and casual riding the bars are level with the seat which is an ISM Adamo Breakaway saddle- I can ride for hours on this bike- Don

[jools]

Hey guys, can I ask your opinion on something?

I've got an early 80's Apollo IV that I commute on every day. It's pretty much the original running gear - shimano 600 arabesque group set, ukai 27x1 wheel set. It's brilliant to ride, but I'm concerned that I'm inflicting cruel and unusual punishment upon it by commuting every day. I'm a fairly big guy - over 110kgs - and I ride with a backpack full of clothes, shower gear, food etc, so the bike is well loaded down. I had the BB serviced last year as it was making creaking noises and it's starting to creak again under load. Rather than servicing it again I'll probably replace it with a sealed unit, but the bike also needs a new freewheel and possibly chainrings. I haven't snapped a spoke, which is quite surprising.

The frame, forks and headset etc seem solid enough still over bumps and the bits that need replacing are mostly wear and tear items that get replaced anyway, but I'm concerned that I'm loading it up and using more than it's really designed for.

Am I asking for trouble using it this way? or is lugging around fat albert and his sandwiches all in a day's work for the mighty apollo?

[singlespeedscott]

Keep riding it mate. Their pretty tough. I would replace the bottom bracket with a new sealed one. New rings and a freewheel are easily sourced of eBay and wouldn't cost you more then 80 or so bucks.

[Paddles]

Hey Scott, won't that freewheel be a bit tough to replace if it's one of the first lot of uniglide freewheels? That being said, if you ride the bike and really like it, treating it to a new set of nos (or good second hand) hubs and spokes is a very worthwhile option, change it to either hyperglide or one of the later models of uniglide that will accept a hyperglide cassette/freewheel. Sheldon Brown has a bit of info on freewheels on his pages.

[jools]

Yes, I have the very early UG freewheel, which makes replacement a more complicated affair.

Thanks for the reassurance about riding it, I'll do the BB upgrade soon and see how it goes after that.

[singlespeedscott]

Are you saying that you bike has an early Shimano freehub cassette body? This is unusual. All the Apollo IV's I've come across use freewheels.

If it is a freehub and not a freewheel. You can still make yourself a new one by butchering a new 7 speed cassette. Remove the spacers from the 7 speed body and use five of the new cogs with the spacers from the old cassette as well as the old 13t lock ring.

If it's a freewheel simply take it down to the LBS and get them to pull it off and spin on the new one. The shifting of the new freewheels is a lot better IMO.

[jools]

I get a bit confused by all the terminology... I believe what I have is a Uniglide cassette, where the smallest sprocket acts as a lock ring. They are a bit hard to find but the Loose Screws website has a few listed, although not with the 13-24 range I have currently. 21 is the biggest they have listed and I need the bigger sprocket for a couple of places on my commute.

So when you say 'new 7 speed cassette' - are you talking about a current HG cassette? Wouldn't I also need to replace the 13t sprocket?

This is what mine looks like:

[Dow Jones Index]

Are you saying that you bike has an early Shimano freehub cassette body? This is unusual. All the Apollo IV's I've come across use freewheels.

My Apolo IV also came with a very early uniglide cassette body. I had it for about 2 years before I realised, kinda threw a spanner in the works so to speak.

[jools]

My Apolo IV also came with a very early uniglide cassette body. I had it for about 2 years before I realised, kinda threw a spanner in the works so to speak.

Are you still running the same cassette or have you upgraded?

[singlespeedscott]

Jools your cassette looks in pretty good nick to me. I don't think its ready to be replaced, just pull it off and give it a good clean.

7 speed cassette sprockets are the same width as a 6 speed sprockets. The only difference is the width of the spacers separating the cogs. To make a new six speed cassette you use cogs off a new seven speed cassette with the spacers from your old cassette and the old lockring/cog off the old cassette. This off course depends on how worn the lockring is. But unless your racing crits it's very unlikely that it is as worn as the sprockets in the middle of the cassette.

[DarrylH]

Second pic shows the III's brazed-on cable guides.

It also shows that I may have assembled that bike. The Cycle Inn was sold and renamed TLC Cycles and later moved about 50m around the corner where it still exists. When I worked there we were about the only bike shop on the south side of Canberra - now there are four within 200m - and I live only 2km away.

[jools]

My cassette concerns started a little while ago - the chain is in need of replacement according to my trusty chain testing tool. I bought a HG40 chain but can't use it because it keeps skipping off the sprockets as I'm pedalling. I've reverted back to the old chain as it doesn't skip, so I figure the cassette needs an update. I'm pretty sure I couldn't ride it in top gear with the new chain which suggests the 13t is also worn. Apparently you can reverse the sprockets and re-use them, so that may be an option, apart from the smallest one.

[The Fixer]

Second pic shows the III's brazed-on cable guides.

It also shows that I may have assembled that bike. The Cycle Inn was sold and renamed TLC Cycles and later moved about 50m around the corner where it still exists. When I worked there we were about the only bike shop on the south side of Canberra - now there are four within 200m - and I live only 2km away.

Small world, eh? Thanks for that bit of info.

If you did assemble it, you did a good job, as it still appears to be largely original, and rides quite nicely.

[The Fixer]

Oops, double...

[Kermit TF]

Jools, are you talking about the red IV I almost bought off you...nice bike.
Ive learnt something about the early cassettes...