[Closed] What do you think of this bike ?

wikkid

Looks good value for the money, but it'll be heavy.

Was £399.99! WTF?

It is not heavy, saw it in shop.

It costs less than £400 rrp. It will be heavy

If that is your budget, then go for it.

It will be loads better than the "full suspension" ones at the same price.

if you could stretch to say £300 though, you could prob get a much better brand/quality bike thats perhaps a 2010 model on clearence

It's only seven speed so upgrades won't be easy or cheap.

If that is the limit of your budget I would suggest you have a look out for second hand of the STW classifieds (put a wanted ad up) or elsewhere.

I wouldnt touch it but then again it all depends what your going to do with it... would rather spend the cash on something decent 2nd hand!

as a mountainbike i suspect it will be heavy and with poor pedals, grips and saddle uncomfortable for long periods off road
however replacing those contact points and probably fitting some decent tyres it would probably be fine

for 50 quid more this would be much much much better
http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b0s2p1897

love in the specs it says 'exact frame size= 20"', then a few lines below it says 'frame size -19-20'. Classic.

I personally wouldn't touch it and as peteimpreza says, i'd look around for some better bargains

It is not heavy, i have felt the weight and its light. i've had a second hand one before and it was a big mistake, it broke within 2 weeks if having it (it was only canel riding aswell )

at 180 it's not too bad. At 399 it was massively overpriced.

[url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_779779_langId_-1_categoryId_165534 ]This is way better[/url]

Weight is relative James.

I can guarantee that bike is a lot heavier than any of my, or lots of others on this thread, bikes. Even my 140mm full suspension bike.

However, and here is the rub, they will also be much more expensive, 20 or 30 times the cost of that Apollo.

Search a bit more I am sure you can find something a whole lot better for not a lot more.

In fact I will search myself I like a challenge!!

How the hell is that better, it's a rigid frame an the tyres are road tyres !

Not bad vfm but you could outgrow it quickly

Ok then go ahead.

james - because the top one is what can only be described as shite! The carerra is a hybrid with road tyre son and WILL be as capable as that bag of shite you have linked to but will be lighter and better than super heavy "suspension" forks!!

BTW yours is also a "rigid frame" and it has shit tyres

Ur bik iz saracin

Rr is correct 😉

james0706 - Member

It is not heavy, i have felt the weight and its light. i've had a second hand one before and it was a big mistake, it broke within 2 weeks if having it (it was only canel riding aswell )

so why buy another and why ask the question if you know the answer??

WTF you on about, its apollo. Yeah but it has suspension, and the tyres are way better than them road tyres, they wouldnt last 5mins off road !

James biog
"I’m 13 mad about mtb (but havent been doing it long) and i want to get more Serious, hope you can help. "

I didnt ask the question, i was just answering what you lot said, becuase, i have had loads of shite second hands !

WTF u all on about ?

Its lucky James that the snow is melting and you can continue you education tomorrow. Carrera is quite shite, but appolo is definitely 100% shite.

It's a replica mountain bike and as such shouldn't be used off-road.

Kind of assuming this is a troll but what the hell...

The Apollo hardtails aren't all that awful. I had worse bikes in the 90s and made them go both up AND down hills. Better than this forum would give them credit for, but still pretty nasty.

The Carrera Subways are decent. The rigid fork is better than really poor forks, that's a fact, and you can always fit offroad tyres- the tyres on the Apollo will be awful, cheap off road tyres always are.

(one of my current bikes is my old Carrera Kraken, knocked back into service with a set of rigid forks- works better now than it did when it had its Suntour XCRs, and those forks even when completely worn out were better than what you've got there on the Apollo)

Spend a little bit more and get a basic real mountainbike from a decent manufacturer.

That one is meant to look like a good buy but it will be cheap and nasty

Or get a quality bike secondhand

I had an apollo as my first mountain bike. It was crap, but better than nothing.

That one would make a great lakejumping bike.

Arnt all mountain bikes though cause theres always another one like it and its a mountain with nobley tyres with front suspensin so i think you will find you can use it off-road

I am looking forwards to reading an ebay advert from James in a few years. The spelling is coming on a treat. Phrases like "duble suspensin" will feature I am sure 😉

I bought one of those as a centre piece for the living room. I had to remove the 'not suitable for off-road use' sticker though.

i thought you had a new bike a month ago???? or at least that what you said in an earlier thread!-trolltabulous

Answer is simple: no 🙂 With the Apollo You get a heavy fork that has no damping and will either explode or just stop working completely after the first rain, however even if not working it will still weight a lot. Single wall rims, probably not the strongest as well. Like others pointed out 7 speed bike, shimano equipped, most of it is Tourney so lowest group. Some mud etc and it will stop working. The disc brakes are also a fashion accessory on it and I would check whether You can get spare pads for them or adjust the brakes in any way.

Carrera makes good bikes and if You are on a budget than they are worth a look. You are on a budget, get a bike that has normal V brakes and a rigid fork. Savings in those areas will generally mean better frame and better equipment. However if You are sold on the looks and don't want to listen to some good advice than You will soon regret it. The bike will probably start falling to bits after some awsum offroad action and if You don't know or don't have the tools to change parts/repair it it will cost You almost as much for paying Your LBS to do it.

The Diamondback is a good choice. Try Decathlon, they do good bikes at a good price:
[url= http://www.decathlon.co.uk/EN/rockrider-5-2-grey-69566845/#INFO-TECH ]Rockrider 5.2[/url]

Or Carrera Vengeance [url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_778053_langId_-1_categoryId_165499 ]from Halfords[/url]

It's a bit more than Your budget but You will save on the future repair bills and trips to the LBS.

listen to mieszko coz the advice he is giving you is as wise as yoda..

Sirlickalot - Member

Was £399.99! WTF?

Halfords do this with a lot of their own bikes. Somewhere this bike has been on sale for £399 and quite righty no one has bought it for that sort of money. £180 is much more like it, but very misleading to the not-particularly-up-on-bikes public that see the adverts in newspapers or wander in on a sunday afternoon and think they are getting a bargain. Like those god-awful clothes shops 'Officers Club' and 'Madhouse'. I know everyone in big retail does this to a lesser or greater extent, but it is still sad to see this happening with bicycles too.

igzackly

Hi my name is James. I live under a bridge, and like posting shite on random forums so I can give abuse to people that try and help me.

On a serious note, my first bike was a appollo similar to that. It weighed more than all my current bikes put together, started falling apart after a few run round glentress. I then binned it and bought a real bike. Moral is I paid £300 on a pos, and then had to very quickly buy something new once I realise what I did. Take the above advise and buy a good hybrid buy a decent set of "nobbly" tyres if you wish. If you want to do proper off road go for second hand or look for deals in the new year or maybe get interest free offer and pay it up. That won't last a minute doing real off road.

I am writing for my mate, and i didnt say i had it or was having it !

Well, his is writing, that's the spelling is rubish

Daily Mail headline -"13 year old boy abused and sworn at on mountainbike forum outrage".
Pull yer heads in people...really.

James - you are either a Troll or a Twit. Either way there is no point in you posting anything unless you are willing to listen. If what your mate wants is someone to say "well done for finding this great bike - you are so clever" he has come to the wrong place and I'd suggest he shows it to his Gran.

OK, here's a few simple facts. I've got experience of those Apollos from working on them in the shop.

1- The brakes are, quite frankly, dangerous. It would be safer if it had V-brakes as the ones supplied do not work- the pads fail to grip the disc properly and the lever pulls to the bar when the brake is set up so it doesn't rub. Also, once the pads wear out they can't be replaced as spares aren't available.

2- The forks don't work. They will seize up within a few months. They're also plagued by play- they rock back and forth due to poor tolerances and bad manufacturing.

3- The wheels are not up to proper mountain biking. They'll handle a bit, but the hubs are very basic and the bearings will collapse very quickly once dirt gets inside.

4- The drive train, while simple, is reliable which is good. However the left hand crank arm is made of very soft alloy and it's fairly likely (though not certain) that it will come loose and need replacing.

The Carrera Subway, by comparison is a better bike.

1- The brakes, while not the best, are of a reasonable quality being Shimano and are reliable. They work better than a V-brake and you can get spares.

2- The fork is rigid, but because of this it's lighter and more reliable than the poor quality suspension fork fitted to the Apollo. It will do its job and stay safe. Rigid forks will also teach you skills and make you a better rider when you have the funds for a more serious bike.

3- The wheels have mountain bike rims. Again, the hubs aren't the best but they do have some basic sealing and we've never seen any problems with these wheelsets.

4- The drivetrain is a step up in quality. The cranks will handle off road pretty well and the gears will keep behaving. Also the cassette is a proper cassette, not a freewheel (where the cogs and freewheel mechanism are a single unit) and so much more reliable.

So, while the Carrera appears more basic, it's a higher quality product and will last you a lot longer. The tyres are cheap and easy to replace and then you'l have a decent enough bike for learning XC on.

[IMG] [/IMG]

Maybe he just doesn't know the difference yet? Give him a break.

The bike will function, but this forum is the wrong place to ask for advice on a Halfords bike (they appear to be a good place to buy a bike from until you learn about bikes).

Second hand bikes are a gamble, but so is an overpriced basic bike.

Get some advice on what would suit you, save a bit and buy something used, loved and upgraded. I got my road bike from here and it's been brilliant.

Even though it's a troll... the weight of the bike is 36lbs. FAIL.

Shouldnt you be at school young man?

I didnt even know you could get GCSE's in trolling, but good luck none the less

[url= http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_518215_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#dtab ]Carrera Vulcan[/url] for a bit more, but at least he'll have the whole "MTB" shaped bicycle, if he can't face the better "Hybrid" Subway suggested earlier.

I'd also worry about the sizing, as a 20" bike frame will be huge, and you tend to be better-off with a smaller frame for off-road cycling.