Upgrading an old Apollo

[timskipper]

So I have an old Halfords Apollo Aerotec 5600 mountain bike circa 7 years old. It was left outside for half that time and is looking a bit untidy.

Definitely needs new chain, tyres/inners, stem, bars (v.corroded) and grips, but is otherwise fairly sound frame wise and the shimano derrialleurs all work fine.

My question is: is it worth upgrading this bike with some new kit? Can I fit front suspension forks and v-brakes to it, or would I be better off binning it and buying a new one?

It seems like I need to spend £400 or so to get a decent mountain bike now, which I'm sure would buy quite a lot of shiny new bits for this one.

Thoughts?

[R.P.M]

It would be a never ending trial of upgrade-itus with you current bike. I would suggest you start over, and buy a complete new bike. I'm sure it will be cheaper in the long run.

[Deerfoot]

timskipper said:

or would I be better off binning it and buying a new one?

[okgo]

The adage of "you can't polish a turd" could have been made for this thread.

And I'm afraid Apollo only made turds

Get a new one mate, thigns have come a long way.

[timskipper]

I know they don't have the best rep, but what makes the basic frame so shyte and unsuitable for hanging newer (not necessarily state-of-the-art) bits off it?

[stu8975]

Personally i wouldnt bother mate, its a very basic 'leisure' bike, front suspension, yes if you can find a decent set in 1" diameter and with a threaded steerer (you will be hard pushed to find any, marzocchi used to do a pair for about 200quid, but you'd have to change your headset/stem to get them to fit), 1 1/8" threadless is the standard nowerdays. New chain may result in having to replace chainset and freewheel aswell, as i doubt you have changed the chain since you got it and the parts will have 'worn' at the same time (very common)and you may find the new chian just slips on the old parts, tyres/stem/bars yes (you will be limited in stems - quill type), v-brakes yes as they use the same position brake boss fitting. But your frame isnt really a 'mountain bike' in todays standards, heavy as fook steel frame vs lightweight alu frame? no comparison. If you know what to look for or know someone that does, go 2nd hand, £300 english will get you a decent hardtail set up.

[timskipper]

stu8975 said:

Personally i wouldnt bother mate, its a very basic 'leisure' bike, front suspension, yes if you can find a decent set in 1" diameter and with a threaded steerer (you will be hard pushed to find any, marzocchi used to do a pair for about 200quid, but you'd have to change your headset/stem to get them to fit), 1 1/8" threadless is the standard nowerdays. New chain may result in having to replace chainset and freewheel aswell, as i doubt you have changed the chain since you got it and the parts will have 'worn' at the same time (very common)and you may find the new chian just slips on the old parts, tyres/stem/bars yes (you will be limited in stems - quill type), v-brakes yes as they use the same position brake boss fitting. But your frame isnt really a 'mountain bike' in todays standards, heavy as fook steel frame vs lightweight alu frame? no comparison. If you know what to look for or know someone that does, go 2nd hand, £300 english will get you a decent hardtail set up.

Thanks for that, makes a bit more sense now. I hadn't realised the size standards had moved on as well. I've ridden this bike about 5 times EVER, so there's no appreciable wear!

I think I'll put some new road biased tyres on it, clean up the surface corrosion and use it for doing laps of the local roads to build up some fitness.

The hardtail I hired on Saturday whilst at High Lodge (Thetford Forest) only cost me £20 so I guess I can keep hiring for a while yet whilst saving up for a decent one of my own.

[anonymous-user]

timskipper said:

I know they don't have the best rep, but what makes the basic frame so shyte and unsuitable for hanging newer (not necessarily state-of-the-art) bits off it?

essentially its the weight, they are very heavy and made of poor quality steel. this makes handling awful. the geometry is also duited for riding around streets and not off road, the design of the bike would make it uncomfortable to ride over rough terrarin for long periods of time.

you are better spending around £300 on a good quality second hand bike which will be more suited to what you want to do. dependant upon the age, a s/h bike for £300 should have some quality components suitably designed for off road. there is no point upgrading anything on your apollo as its a loss leader, the major component of a bike is the frame, then forks, then wheels...

[okgo]

I got my secondhand rockhopper disc for around £300. Get looking

[gbbird]

Just to echo everyone else's comments, definitely go down the new bike route. Appolo's are not worth upgrading. For around £300 you can get a half decent new bike - last year i recall Specialized Hardrocks and Cannondale P6s were going for around this price mark. Great starter bikes, and you can then upgrade at your leisure

[stu8975]

timskipper said:

Thanks for that, makes a bit more sense now. I hadn't realised the size standards had moved on as well.

Its not that size standards have moved on, they've been like that for years on decent bikes, but 1" stuff is fairly standard spec on low/bottom end bikes (still get specced like that today) and thus arent really suitable for upgrading (ie, better quality parts), whereas a more higher spec bike can easily be upgraded around the frame, as long as you start with a good quality frame and get the correct advice on compatible parts you cant really go wrong and are only limited by how many gold coins you can get your hands on, beware though...its bloody addictive and you may have a falling out with the bank manager..lol..especially if the 'weight weenie' bug grabs hold of you..

[Digga]

okgo said:

And I'm afraid Apollo only made turds

But they serve a purpose and I think it was Brant Richards of On-One fame who said that one of the most enjoyable and memorable rides he's ever had was on a "Halfords Apollo". So not all bad.

[okgo]

Digga said:

okgo said:

And I'm afraid Apollo only made turds

But they serve a purpose and I think it was Brant Richards of On-One fame who said that one of the most enjoyable and memorable rides he's ever had was on a "Halfords Apollo". So not all bad.

They are bad. Period. But like he said, I had fun on my British Eagle, and my Raliegh Firefly when I were a bboy, and they were utter ass.

[timskipper]

Ok so as an interim measure I’ve bought some 26x1.5 road tyres and new tubes, some rim tape and a set of bar grips to get my Apollo useable again for some local road training. As previously mentioned it’s seen very little use so nothing has worn, but the chain and cogs are pretty gunged up.

What are the best methods/products of cleaning them up? Can I just use normal de-greaser on it and then re-lube? Is motorcycle chain lube suitable? I have plenty of that in the garage and I want to spend the least amount of money possible on this bike to get it going, so I can save up/negotiate/plead with the Wife over replacing it eventually with a decent MTB.

[okgo]

Auto Glym motorbike cleaner is awsome for cleaning chainsets!

So is gunk, or even petrol.

I think motorbike lube will be too thick, but I am sure it will work fine.