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by **Kermit TF** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 4:04 pm

My daughter (primary school age) asked if i could build her a bike , well she didnt need to ask twice !
I wondered how she was going to go with non indexed levers, but felt I shoud be able to teach her.
I got her to spray 1 coat and got her to use ratchet and sockets so she could be involved in the build. We settled on a 1983 apollo IV that I picked up that was in need of love. The original frame was red and she said it had to be purple like my other Apollo :roll:

I had some paint colour matched and put into rattle cans by a automotive paint supplier, using top notch paint, after getting the frame back to bare metal, we masked some of the decals as well as new ones made and got stuck into it. Still waiting on the larger decals to be made.
Anyway a month of sunday arvos and here is our attempt. :mrgreen:

anyone else built a retro girls bike ?

by **BNA** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 4:18 pm

by **Pax** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 4:18 pm

That looks fantastic, though I was expecting a step through from the description.

I bet she loves it, and is proud to say that she helped build it!

I doubt that she will have any trouble with indexed gears...remember when they didn't exist but kids still rode if they were lucky enough to have a bike with gears :wink:

by **ldrcycles** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:46 pm

That paintwork looks slick, and love the drillium!

by **QuangVuong** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 7:56 pm

You kid must be very tall for primary school age! But that looks good as new!

Whered you get the decals printed?

by **TedDancin** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 8:02 pm

Looks great, glad to see another Apollo back on the road. I've seen a few girls bikes around in here lately, and I'm working on a Univega mixte I picked up.

by **Kermit TF** » Sat Apr 20, 2013 10:24 pm

QuangVuong wrote:You kid must be very tall for primary school age! But that looks good as new!

Whered you get the decals printed?

Yeah , she is tall for he age . The decals where made up by a small signage company that Ive dealt with for a few years...bit of a favour really. A purist would notice the white banding on the decal....this should be clear.The rainbow tape is being redone also , the one on the frame has a clear background, should be white....call it a mixup in communication :roll:

I also modified the horizontal brake lever, so that it sits closer to the bar. Theres no way I was going to install period piece shimano 600 single levers when shes been used to a MTB setup.
Now the wife wants one too.....