ricohman

Lets see those vintage Apollos.
I grew up with these bikes and have always has a soft spot for them.
These bikes seemed like a good quality ride back in the day, comparable to Sekine in every respect.
But I never see them being ridden anymore.
I would really like to see a 1979 in yellow.
I will start with my 84' Apollo Triathlon.

ilikebikes

The ultimate Apollo

ricohman

Wow! What year and model is that?
I never knew they built muscle bikes.

Antipodes

Not an Apollo, but rather the model Apollo by Ross...I think...

I have had numerous Apollos pass through my hands (being in Victoria, BC), but the only one I still have is my 1981 Gran Sport, powdercoated and converted to a fixed gear:

ilikebikes

Leigh30 is correct Its a Ross Apollo 5 speed I was just kidding around wish I had an Apollo road bike though! Beautiful bikes!

WNG

Ricohman,
Your Apollo is gorgeous. The details on the headset is so cool!

I'm not familiar with Apollo bikes. When I first saw the thread, I assumed it was the Apollo kids bikes from my childhood. Glad to see someone else posted a pic of a Ross Apollo.

terrors

apollo mixte rebuilt and resold to a very happy young woman.




my other apollo (a gran sport) is currently a fixed/free but is being used as a trainer while i recuperate from some surgery.
it doesn't look so great right now, actually neither do i

ricohman

You guys out on the west coast have more Apollos than we do on the prairies. Partially due to the sparse population here and part to the fact that bikes are worth nothing and get thrown on the garbage heap.

ricohman

You guys out on the west coast have more Apollos than we do on the prairies. Partially due to the sparse population here and part to the fact that bikes are worth nothing and get thrown on the garbage heap.
I like the chrome stays on your bike. I wonder if mine has chrome under the paint?

Antipodes

The only Apollos with chromed rear stays that I've seen are Gran Sports and Imperials. The later period (as in 82-85) models didn't have chrome...at least from what I've seen. Chrome on Apollos seems to have been more of a '70s / early '80s thing...

Sixty Fiver

Beautiful bikes !

Kuwahara really produced some excellent bikes (I have two of them) and their Apollo line of road bikes was always exceptional... the craftsmanship on even the entry level models was superb and we often comment at the shop that they are some of the best finished bikes we ever see in that they never seem to age.

It was not until the mid eighties that Kuwahara started branding their bikes with their own name despite being in the bicycle manufacturing business for some 60 years and these and the older Apollos really represent some of the finest bikes ever made.

I personally own two Cascade mtb touring bikes and have owned several Kuwahara road bikes... if a suitable Apollo came my way I would probably be tempted to make it bike #13.

alecw35

Oh I thought you were on about the bikes they sell in Halfords

skyrider

Quality looking bikes they look well made. Nice restoration

fender1

Would a 70's era Apollo Gran Sport in near new condition be worth $190? It is my size. Pease tell me it is wildly overpriced.....

terrors

the question always comes back to 'what is it worth to you' ?. I assume it is all shimano 600 with 27" wheels, if it is next to new i think i might give it a second look for about 120, it would depend for me on what has to be replaced ie: cables, housing, tires tubes saddle bar tape.

ricohman

That is a lot of money.
I paid $40 for the Apollo shown on the top of the page.

cyclotoine

The reason there are so many apollos here is that they were the house brand of fred deely (ap?) who was based in vancouver.

Fissile

When I was a boy, the Ross Apollo was considered totally ghetto -- where I lived anyway. The cool kids all had Stingrays.

ilikebikes

I grew up in the ghetto where we kids were all the same the only kids I knew that had Schwinn Krates were my next door neighbors as their dad had his own towing business and could afford them, they had one Orange Krate and one Apple but the little snobs barely rode them, and never let anyone else ride them, I rode what ever bike we could afford at the time and we couldnt even afford very good ones at that, so I was happy just to have a bike when I got one most of the time we just built them from what ever parts we would find in the trash in the "nice part of town," as I think back I wouldnt change a thing as I not only learned the basics of bicycle machanics but I also learned alot about people the so called "cool kids" really werent as cool as they thought they were, there parents just had more money is all so you were one of the "cool" kids huh?

ricohman

My Apollo has the Fed Deeley decal.

ilikebikes

Is this the same Fred deeley?
"May 9 Fred Deeley, Sr., motorcycle dealer, died in Vancouver, aged about 89. He was born in 1881 in Bromsgrove, England. After 10 years in business in England, he first visited B.C. in 1913, representing Birmingham Small Arms, manufacturer of BSA motorcycles. He bought out BSA and in 1914 opened Fred Deeley Ltd. in a 12-foot-wide store at 1075 Granville. In 1916 Deeley acquired a Harley-Davidson franchise, becoming its second oldest dealership. By 1925 he owned a motorcycle shop, bicycle shop, and one of Canada's larger car dealerships. The company included son Fred, Jr. and grandson Trev (b. 1920) of Trev Deeley Motorcycles. Biography: Motorcycle Millionaire, by Trev Deeley. Deeley Harley-Davidson has sponsored 1917 in The History of Metropolitan Vancouver."

ricohman

Yes, I believe that is the same fellow.
Really big in the MC world.

Fissile

Actually, I had a Columbia that looked like a Stingray, until I got a shiny new Varsity for 8th grade. It's been my experience that "cool" kids and "ghetto" kids could be big jerks in equal proportions.

terrors

same guy for sure almost. it was his son fred jr. that was selling most of the bikes . the book mentioned is a very interesting read. not a lot of love between the bros. Trev died a short time ago he lived around the corner so to speak. He drove a beautiful babyblue rolls royce corniche.
the deeley name was even put on some bikes they were the DeeleyLite brand. not sure who made them, likely Kuwahara. There was also about 3 incarnations of that deeley decal.

Antipodes

I'm pretty sure the Gran Sport was only made in the period 1980-1982ish. The serial number stamped on the side of the seat tube, near where it meets the bottom bracket, should tell you the date - the first two numbers are the year.
Now, to get to your question, yes, if the bike was in next-to-mint condition, I would pay that for it. Many people would find this crazy, but I have a soft spot for Apollos, and the Gran Sport, with full Shimano 600 Arabesque group, is a damn nice bicycle...especially if it's a burgundy one...I have only seen them in black and burgundy, and while the black is nice, the burgundy is fantastic...