xxnick1975
Old School Grand Master
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Top work, can't see you using that bottom gear much, unless you are going up a vertical wall!
groovyblueshed":15wrg048 said:Apollo lift off! What a build, what a thread. Both insane and audacious but utterly dedicated, creative and highly ingenious. Remember chaps – bearing in mind the amount of industrious work and effort that has been put in – this inventive build and well-documented thread were only started on March 15th and now we're looking at a pretty much fully built ready-to-shred bike on April 15th.
Top marks NewRider for a genuinely enthralling addition to Retrobike that raises the bar. For someone new to bikes, you've done exceptional work and you've more than just preserved the spirit of your Dad's old bike. What was once a humble red Apollo, is now a timeless and rad-looking machine with a wonderful dark blue sparkling paint job and that awesome drivetrain.
redzephyr":33ryu2ng said:I think there are two main things which are causing all the comments re the brakes.
1- Most people in this section of retrobike are out an out mountain bike riders. I don't think any of us would trust those brakes for that sort of riding so there is generally a very low opinion of them.
2- There's also the section of the audience who objects to them on plain aesthetic reasons. Despite the lovely job you did on them, they are still cheap unbranded plain gauge single pivot calipers that will get no love from this crowd.
Since your not going do to that sort of riding you can ignore 1.
Given the effort you put in on them you can ignore 2 as well.
It's a great build, really unbelievable stuff.
However if/when you progress your riding you might get the itch to start improving the bike.
Since your transmission and wheels are now mint the brakes would be the next main focus....followed by the stem and seat post.
....That's pretty much how it started for me 20yrs ago at least...
I'm certain replacing the plastic spacer for a steel bearing is a good idea tho.
redzephyr":3mfw1jvp said:My very first Giant had a two piece clamp/post like yours, the clamp just wasn't up to mountain biking on rough trails. No matter how much I tightened it the seat would move. In the end disaster struck and the post failed halfway through a ride. That was an uncomfortable ride home and the last time i used a cheap post. Same with the stem... the clamp can be improved, but again probably not something that will be an issue for your riding.
The other reason to change post and stem is to improve your riding position. You might find your a little too upright. Particularly on inclines, but with the gearing you have hills probably won't be an problem either! Once again that depends on the type of riding. So it's hard to recommend a stem as the perfect one for you depends on the position you like to ride in. Best to get a few kms under your belt on the bike so you have a feel for it. Bad positions make themselves known pretty quickly on long rides through aches.
So a new post and stem would be lighter as well having better clamps and you can adjust you position to suit you with layback, angle & length etc. However at this point, now you have done the wheels the weight savings are small to negligible. Most of the weight is now in the frame and you can't change that.
I'm 105kgs so I don't bother saving grams on expensive bike bits. What I have for breakfast will save more weight than any component on the bike ;-)
That said you'd probably find lighter tyres (like lighter rims) makes a difference because of the rotational mass.
The other reason to change parts is aesthetics. However, I think your build has integrity. It's true to what the original bike was built for and how you'll be using it. It's never going to be a single track shredding mtb bike or race bike.