Bicycle Thread

[mad082]

on the back there probably would be. not on the front though cause of carbon forks (unless they already have the hole drilled).

this is one (2009 model)

http://2009.apollobikes.com/bikes09/id/41/...ord%20-%20Track

and the other is the 2008 model of it

http://2009.apollobikes.com/apolloproducts...ord%20-%20Track

but sizes are limited to 58cm frames, and only in the eastern states, however they could probably get one sent across. pretty much identical bikes other than colour and the odd minor change (such as rear freewheel). RRP on 2010 model is $1899. reacond you'd be able to get one of the older ones for about $1000, depending on freight and how much the shop wanted to rip you off, LOL. they are running decent gear and are light. weigh in at about 7.5kg, which isn't bad for an alloy frame.

[Mr Eps]

35 pages and counting now... fk me...

that bike - frame would be very very twitchy and responsive with that downtube...

and a ratio of 48/15 fk me that's tough! obvioulsy build for keirin / track but still - very aggressive... apollo should make a street bike using that frame!!!

EDIT - just realised it was apollo that made those salt n pepper singlespeeds...

Edited April 27, 2010 by Mr Eps

[mad082]

and yeah mtb's have a limit to how light they can go since suspension forks generally weigh close to 2kg (often more), compared to a set of alloy or carbon road forks which can be down around 0.5kg. plus the tyres weigh about twice as much as a road tyre.

but the weight does add up, espeically if going up some stupidly steep hill. i have to walk up 6 flights of stairs every day, and if i'm taking the laptop home, or some other stuff, it might not weigh much but once you get to the top of the last lot of stairs you do notice it, especially since the last lot of stairs is about 3 steps longer than a normal flight of stairs and those last few steps really takes it out of you. most afternoons there will be people there doing training on the stairs. a lot of the personal trainers take people there.

[mad082]

35 pages and counting now... fk me...

that bike - frame would be very very twitchy and responsive with that downtube...

and a ratio of 48/15 fk me that's tough! obvioulsy build for keirin / track but still - very aggressive... apollo should make a street bike using that frame!!!

yeah the headtube angle is 1 degree more vertical than their normal road frames and the fork offset is 2mm shorter and rear end is a touch shorter. also the seat tube is a bit more vertical so you can really crank it while staying sitting on the seat a bit better.

as for the gearing, yup, for people with legs like tree trunks. you gotta remember, people will hit nearly 70kmh on a track with that gearing and yet will also accelerate from a standing start with it, LOL

[mad082]

and yeah apollo made the salt and the pepper. stupid friggin things. they were chromoly though, not alloy. even the owner of apollo thinks they are stupid, LOL

but they did do 2 nice "urban" 700c bikes this year. like a hybrid but more chunky (like a mtb with 700c wheels). slightly over priced though (probably because they were low volume to see how they would go). had they been a bit better priced i would've gotten myself one.

[Mr Eps]

my gear ratio is (to my knowledge) 42 / 17T

but i THINK it could be a 46 at front i can't remember off top of my head

using the iphone bike computer app (synchs with GPS and takes your position a 1 sec intervals or something)

iphone said i maxed out my top speed @ 56km/h

i thought that was a bit maxtreme considering like you said - start from a standstill / track standing start

[mad082]

spermy, just got sent through this and thought of you. they are taking orders now for august delivery. note the disc brake front end....

[Mr Eps]

omg... that's nice that you thought of me... but upon first glance... i see no rear brake... silly and un-necessary depth on the rim (that sort of depth A) creates weight, and B) would catch cross winds!

also the front cog is tiny... i doubt you'd generate much speed out of it. not that speed matters when you're rolling 700x28/30c tyres that bloat... frame looks like a TANK and the fork looks like rubbish... and why the shit does the frame look like an early 1990's MTB frame?!?!

like - it's cool cos it's something different.. but this bike is strictly aimed at the crowd of fixie riders who like to do tricks on them...

i personally think this is a silly product personally...

but a bike company's gotta do what a bike company's gotta do i guess! but my god... what a very usless product.

[25GTT]

Well thought i could now officially pitch in. I am now the proud owner of an Apollo summit 24 speed mountain bike.

First bike for about 15 years as i used to race BMX when i was younger, have been doing heavy weights in the gym and kinda feel my cardio is slipping so thought i could start riding to work (about 18kms each way but i am going to give it a bloody good crack)

Just went round the local loake for an hour and a half ride, then the day before went to my parents house and back an hour and a half in total as well.

In doing so i have really enjoyed it, i actually get kind of excited about going for a ride.

Now the help i need from you pro - bikies, in the same way i did up my old sub standard 33 gtst, i understand the apollo summit is an average bike (cost 500 inc helment) What do you think i could do to upgrade this to get to work easier.

Anything you guys recommend i do to assist in performance, although i will be riding to work my friend does some serious mountain biking and he said when i get some good balance and good legs i can come with him, my bike should be ok for a little bit of mountain biking.

Link attached of my bike.

http://www.apollobikes.com/bikes10/sport/summit

Any help or recommendations from you guys would be much appreciated, really enjoying it so far and would love any feedback and info from you guys.

[xALmoN]

Rigid fork?

Thinner rims + tires?

[Mr Eps]

yo i'm from perth too. central east suburbs. if you work in the city and want a riding partner to ride and motivate with i'd be keen as shit. meet at bayswater station any day man, up for it?

also happy to go out on the odd social ride with you if you want - around the bridges is good for speed training but it's VERY flat.

as for bike upgrades - for that particular bike... the cheapest upgrade will also be the most effective in this case...

...get yourself some slicks... i have a pair, near new, they're completely slick, sticky as hell esp on the sides for leaning and turning... maxxis xenith i think they are... they're lightweight, functional, and are suprisingly safe in the wet...

you can have the pair for 50 bucks man, which is close to half price... i work in east perth so yeah

brb i'll go check the condition officially...

ok checked.

the front is 100%

ear is good... but a few scuffs from skids from when i was a little shit

40 for the pair... still less than one retail tyre really

if you read this in time and live near bayswater area come over i'll fit em up for ya. you'll REALLY notice the difference

[xALmoN]

but beware, rowan's sexual orientation is questionable.

[Mr Eps]

not to discredit xalmon - and seriously to re-iterate this is not to discredit xalmon... nor is it to discredit 25GTT

but you paid 500 for the bike... with helmet included... not to say you got a bad bike - i mean, you got a good buy there... but ... you do mostly get what you pay for... not to say that this bike isn't good - cos i'm sure it is! but... buy cheap... buy twice...

you start upgrading the fork... you stat upgrading the rims... you start upgrading the frame, etc etc .. you end up spending more money than if you would've just BOUGHT a higher spec'd bike

my advice is... (this is my personal advice, you dont have to take it on board) but my advice is just call this one for what it is - your first bike and you use it to learn on and work out "what it is" that you want in a bike... i've only been riding for what, 2 and a half / 3 years and i'm only third setup... (that sounds materialistic - i had a giant rincon MTB first, fork exploded in my face on a dodgy mechanical fault. swapped it on manufacurer's waaranty and got bike number 2 - giant alias. rode that for literally three months - it's a hardcore ride... then i got my cannondale single speed) that's the bike for me

infact - DAMMIT man if you had've spoken up before i would've sold you my Alias!!!!! prob for same price or cheaper than your apollo!!!

but yeah - don't bother upgrading hardware, cos it's just gonna get out of hand - just enjoy this bike until you're sure about what riding style you are, what you're doing it for, what you enjoy etc etc...

and as a side note - most guys wanna do the tough "i ride a mountain bike on the road cos i dont wanna ride a poofy road bike with pizza cutter tyres" etc etc...

take a road bike / single speed for a ride... there's a reason mountian bikes are for off road and road bikes are for speed. bikes are very purpose built machines... a mtb will never keep up with a road bike or track bike on the road, same as a road bike won't offroad like an mtb will! just put some road slick on cos no point riding around on low PSI tractor tyes which will result in tree trunk legs and wasted energy - and it's takes so long to commute - esp if you're riding to work every day

so yeah

just enjoy this bike while you can - eventually you'll realise you want another bike - so use this time to work out what you want and save your money!

now get out there and enjoy yourself!

EDIT: fk you, Alvin!

Edited May 10, 2010 by Mr Eps

[xALmoN]

Lol!

Yes i agree on the bikes are built for one purpose, but if you really want to, you can have 2 sets of wheels, running the same hubs, but different rims, one with offroad tires, and the other set with slicks.

When you're going offroad, use the knobbies, and when you're going on a road ride, use them slicks, i used to do that.

[Mr Eps]

^^^this

but also it takes like 10 mins to change a set of tyres over - faster if you know what you are doing!

also take your seat off for weight reduction

[xALmoN]

^^^this

but also it takes like 10 mins to change a set of tyres over - faster if you know what you are doing!

also take your seat off for weight reduction

Well, yeah, but for offroad, you want nice wide pinchflat proof rims, and for road you want nice light rims... so makes sense to have 2 wheelsets, 2 mins swap in swap out =D

[mad082]

Well thought i could now officially pitch in. I am now the proud owner of an Apollo summit 24 speed mountain bike.

First bike for about 15 years as i used to race BMX when i was younger, have been doing heavy weights in the gym and kinda feel my cardio is slipping so thought i could start riding to work (about 18kms each way but i am going to give it a bloody good crack)

Just went round the local loake for an hour and a half ride, then the day before went to my parents house and back an hour and a half in total as well.

In doing so i have really enjoyed it, i actually get kind of excited about going for a ride.

Now the help i need from you pro - bikies, in the same way i did up my old sub standard 33 gtst, i understand the apollo summit is an average bike (cost 500 inc helment) What do you think i could do to upgrade this to get to work easier.

Anything you guys recommend i do to assist in performance, although i will be riding to work my friend does some serious mountain biking and he said when i get some good balance and good legs i can come with him, my bike should be ok for a little bit of mountain biking.

Link attached of my bike.

http://www.apollobikes.com/bikes10/sport/summit

Any help or recommendations from you guys would be much appreciated, really enjoying it so far and would love any feedback and info from you guys.

ok, if you want to go a bit faster then it is all about tyres as the guys said. if you are going to be doing purely on road/footpath then go a skinny slick (between a 1" and 1.5" wide tyre). if you are going to be doing a small amount of off road (like through parks) then go something like a 1.5 or 1.75 touring tyre. this way you will still have some tread on the tyre to give you grip. if you are going to be doing a fair bit of onroad but a fair bit of offroad as well then just stick with the stock tyres.

as far as upgrading the bike goes, don't bother. it will cost you more than it's worth. for example to upgrade the forks to an entry level better quality fork will set you back about $250. gears will set you back nearly as much. a spare set of wheels all fitted out with spare rotors, cassette, tyres will also set you back about that sort of money, but more than likely a bit more. it's a pity you live over the otherside of the country because otherwise i could hook you up with a 2009 model summit for about $250 which you could use to get a spair set of wheels, etc off and then just either keep the rest as spares or sell them off.

the option i would suggest would be that if you do get into offroad stuff but want a cheap hack to ride on the road, then look into a flat bar road bike. a decent one will set you back under $1000 and be a fair bit cheaper than a proper road bike.

rowan, the gearing on that redline fixy is 36/16, but replacement chainrings are only $25 for those and go all the way up to 45t, but you'd also need a new chain for it, but that isn't much either. as for the deep v rims, they probably aren't much deeper than the velocity b43's.

[widebody180]

also take your seat off for weight reduction

Huh??? Is this your bike:

[BXAFTW]

Huh??? Is this your bike:

ROFLMMFAO

[SCR48]

There will be a mas interwebz war between 180 + Eps before the week its out.. Get the nails ready ladies !!!!

Edited May 11, 2010 by SCR48