Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

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Paddles
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Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Paddles » Mon Feb 21, 2011 10:21 pm

My 1980 Apollo III 27" single speed:

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and my 1980 Apollo IV 27" 12 speed

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A brace of Apollo's finest working class tar burners for 1980. I've gotta figure out how to post photos without cutting the end off.

brokenbus
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby brokenbus » Mon Feb 21, 2011 11:43 pm

Not quite as exciting as yours but here is the Pink beauty!!
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Paddles
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Paddles » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:11 am

It doesn't have to be exciting, if you ride it, and maybe appreciate it and it's an Apollo, it qualifies.

I figured that if there's a Repco appreciation thread then why not an Apollo one too.

rkelsen
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby rkelsen » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:55 am

This thread is way overdue. :D

I have 2 Apollos, and they're both workhorses. 8)

Got this one as a Christmas present to myself to use as a commuter:

http://www.apollobikes.com/bikes11/commuter/gamma-nexus

So far I've done a bit over 800km on it.

The other one is a late 1980s ('87 I think) Vitesse which I picked up as a bare frame from CERES for $10 last April. It was purple, so I had to rattle-can it black. I put all of the bits from the broken Shogun on it (mostly Shimano 400ex), and it has been great. It's done about 3,050km since April with minimal trouble. Our camera is broken, so I haven't got any pics, unfortunately.

penseleit
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby penseleit » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:59 am

I have an 80s Apollo Concorde which I have now converted to a flat bar road bike.

Here is a pic before the flat bar conversion. Only difference is a flat handlebar and caliper brake levers to suit and an old-fashioned 6 speed stem shifter:

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I left the down tube shifter for the front derailleur, cos I don't want to buy a new front derailleur suitable for a flat bar shifter.

I use it for commuting to work.

It rides brilliantly. I have a friend I ride with who has a brand new Kona and my old Concorde might be a bit older, but it rides just as fast, changes gears just about as smoothly and is very comfortable to boot.

All for just $30 from the local tip plus some spit and polish.

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Paddles
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Paddles » Tue Feb 22, 2011 1:32 pm

Awesome stuff, bring on the Apollos.

My IV was a $20 ebay buy that came without cranks. It was supposed to be my project over christmas to turn it into a single speed. I simply couldn't bring myself to pull it apart so scored some 600 Arabesque cranks off single speed scott, stripped, serviced and rebuilt everything, got new bearings, tyres, tubes, bar tape and hoods on and started riding it. It's come in at well under $150 and rides beautifully.

I then needed something to be my 27" single speed and discovered the III on ebay for $30, it was completely original but the bars were bent. I installed new wheels, seat, bars/tape, brake levers, and also some dodgy caliper brakes from the late 70's early 80's to make a nice solid ride bike. I tried it with flat bars for a bit and then installed some Sakae drop bars. The tyres on this one are 27x1-3/8 as a bit of an experiment. The decals are a bit tatty and there's the scratches and marks you'd expect for a 30 year old bike that's been thrashed around Redcliffe (still had the Hoffy Cycles sticker), but like the IV, this bike rides beautifully as well.

I've serviced and stored the derailleurs and shifters from the III so I can return it to being geared at some stage and have bought uniglide hubsets and clusters with the 125mm spacing to keep them on the road for at least my lifetime.

Refurbishing these two clunkers kept me sane through the rain this christmas.

Nothing like the feel of steel ............

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spirito
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby spirito » Tue Feb 22, 2011 4:16 pm

I reconfigured and cleaned up an old Apollo for a mate of mine to commute on. Wasn't a bad bike, and my dog was there to inspect my work.

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Cranky Jim wrote: God did not invent gears. Men invented gears ... because we are not gods.

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hazmat5765
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby hazmat5765 » Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:06 pm

rkelsen wrote:This thread is way overdue.
Dead right mate!

This posting of mine is a bit dated (approx. 20 months) - http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 23&t=16236 - but it's a good old Apollo. I will take some up to date pics of it and post them here.
Rob.
Last edited by hazmat5765 on Tue Feb 22, 2011 6:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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xx68
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby xx68 » Tue Feb 22, 2011 5:55 pm

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My Apollo , NOS frame all the running gear is original Arabesque - rebuilt all new cables , outers ,bearings n grease its like new ......if i was 15 , which I'm not ! Rides beaut : )

randyandy4
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby randyandy4 » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:15 pm

This thread will be pretty cool

Paddles - love your III wanna swap? Its just like mine but in much better condition. Heres mine, i bought it for 50:

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and a ladies frame ive been building up:

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Last edited by randyandy4 on Wed Feb 23, 2011 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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ldrcycles
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby ldrcycles » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:28 pm

spirito wrote:I reconfigured and cleaned up an old Apollo for a mate of mine to commute on. Wasn't a bad bike, and my dog was there to inspect my work.

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Is that a very small frame or a HUGE dog?! lol.

A mate gave me an early 90s Concorde with full 400EX exage a while back, only rode it once because it was way too small for me but OH it was the smoothest road bike in the world! Would love to find another one in my size just to feel that sweet ride again.
"I must be rather keen on cycling"- Sir Hubert Opperman.

Road Record Association of Australia

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spirito
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby spirito » Tue Feb 22, 2011 9:54 pm

ldrcycles wrote:
Is that a very small frame or a HUGE dog?! lol.
55x56cm frame ... 52kg dog
Cranky Jim wrote: God did not invent gears. Men invented gears ... because we are not gods.

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familyguy
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby familyguy » Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:27 pm

But he's friendly enough to people who come bearing money or quality bicycle parts, right?

Randyandy: needs non-aero levers, but still looks the business as is, nice find.

Jim

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Paddles
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Paddles » Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:31 pm

Your one looks to be in pretty good nick randy andy, like the family guy reckons a set of non aero levers would set it off nicely. i just went for some dia compe ones, they're pretty much period correct and don't put much of a dent in the pocket.

your machine would make an uber cool commuter or travel bike

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Ferrovelo
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Ferrovelo » Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:51 pm

Single Speedified Apollo Jaguar, before and after.

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Not sure true Apollo fans will be to excited, but it did get a new lease on life.

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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby penseleit » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:40 am

amrjon - very nice single speed conversion.

so give us the details then.

Hi-Ten or Cro-Mo frame?

Which parts did you keep from the original bike and which are new?

Original stem, headset, seatpost, crankset, bottom bracket?

Did you do a rattle-can DIY paint job or powder coat?

Are there more pics/info in the Fixed Gear Forum?

I want to put together a single speed bike for my son, who won't ride his old mountain bike to school 'cos all the other bikes in the bike rack are BMX bikes.
(Peer pressure, oh yeah I remember that)

If he has a shiny single speed, he might set a new trend in the small country town we live in. ;)

From my limited experience, Apollo frames seem as good as any for a single speed platform.

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Paddles
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Paddles » Wed Feb 23, 2011 9:44 am

I reckon it looks fantastic amrjon.

How did you set up that rear hub, is that the original steel hub with a bmx freewheel on it? Actually, looking at it a bit closer, is that a brake hub? That's even groovier. They still look like 27" wheels too, great work!

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Ferrovelo
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Ferrovelo » Wed Feb 23, 2011 11:21 am

OK some more info, new parts were rear coaster brake hub, chain, grips, stainless spokes, pedals, tyres and headset.
plus some 'new' bars (cut back from an old MTB bars I had), and an old seat from another bike that I recovered with some new white vinyl.
Everything else is original.
The idea was to make it as clean as possible, no cables etc, so everything that could be was removed from the frame, cable guides and stops, mud guard eyelets, etc
The frame was powder coated black, then I added the white to the lugs and a clear coat over the top of it all.
27” Alloy arayas, handle bars (and a fixed read hub that I didn’t end up using) were powder coated white.

Some more before and after picture pairs below and some more pics of the finished bike here: http://img193.imageshack.us/g/p1090080w.jpg/

Image Image . . Image Image . . Image
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hazmat5765
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby hazmat5765 » Thu Feb 24, 2011 2:25 pm

The story how i got my Apollo is here- http://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewt ... 3&t=16236- Here it is now, a few more scratches, dirty bar tape, 20 months and lots of kms. I'm 1.85m tall and 98kgs and it suits me fine.
-1991 Apollo Concorde.
ImageImageImageImage
Cheers, Rob.

Alistair
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Alistair » Fri Feb 25, 2011 11:15 am

My IV that i found on a hard rubbish collection.

Crap picture, and it has brifters on it now.

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brokenbus
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby brokenbus » Fri Feb 25, 2011 2:52 pm

Unfortunately the Pink beauty is too small for me so it doesnt get ridden. Anyone want to purchase it make an offer!!
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champ76
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby champ76 » Sun Feb 27, 2011 10:58 am

Hi guys, I dont have an old apollo but i do have 2 later model volares (09 & 11) The 2011 model was a replacement for the 09 model that was written off after a car failed to give way and T boned me just before xmas. Anyway cheers for gettibg this thread going as i do like the old Apollo's as well.

"Paddles" nice Naish SUP board in the background mate. I have one as well but the wood grain model.....Great fun!

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Lark2004
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Lark2004 » Sun Feb 27, 2011 1:22 pm

I unfortunately no longer have this bike..... Kinda wish I did though :cry:

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How I got it from the Tip shop. A rather neglected Apollo III.

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After a bit of TLC, she road really nice. Nothing fancy on the running gear, it had Shimano Tourney centerpull brakes, and Shimano Altus LT shifters and derailleurs, with Super Maxy cranks.
Andrew

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Paddles
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby Paddles » Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:22 pm

yeah, they're great fun alright champ, the water's been a bit yuk up here from the flooding for a few months so it hasn't been used lately.

that's a nice apollo III lark, for what they were intended to be (a budget tourer), i reckon the III was a great machine. i made sure i kept all of my deraileurs when i single speeded mine.

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justD
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Re: Apollophiles - The Apollo Appreciation Thread

Postby justD » Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:51 pm

Apollophiles - I must have misread it as apologites or something. Thought it was another thread about making apologies for not cycling or dieting excuses :D

carry on then

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