Classic and Vintage Bicycles: What's it Worth? Appraisals and Inquiries - 198? Apollo Grand Sport 12 Speed

I purchased this 12 Speed last summer from a garage sale. It need a new rear rim. Kuwahara rear dropouts, Kuwahara Headset, Brooks Professional Saddle and SR seatpost. Araya 700C(14x622) rims. Shimano 600 components. Brake set, Cranks, Derailleurs and hubs.

One of the decals says "Guaranteed Built With CHROMOLY Butted Tubes Forks & Stays.

Also does anyone know how much will it cost to replace the rear rim with the same one? Also how much is this road bike worth?

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The rims are not expensive, used. You can probably get a set for $30-$50, since you can use pretty much anything 700c and still be as good as you had.

That Apollo is nearly identical to the Soma Competition of the same year, right down to the color scheme and Brooks saddle. Mine had the same group, 27" wheels, even a B-17 saddle.

I think your wheels have likely been already replaced once, since I'm pretty sure it came with 27's. Since the brake calipers obviously reached to 700c, just look for a decent set of Alex rims or something used, and swap the freewheel over.

I've got a nearly NOS set of 700c 7-speed wheels, but they're probably worth nearly what that bike is worth. That 600 "arabesque" group, saddle, and frame may part out, bring you enough to simply find another decent used bike.

I am not a road bike expert but a Old School BMX fan. All my bikes are original or built exactly in BITD. I prefer original parts on all my bikes. So you think it is better to part out the Apollo and find better used road bike?

As the bike sits, $75-$100 because of the saddle and group, maybe $125.

Getting it right would need:
Treat and polish the saddle, $30
Brake hoods, $15
Rear wheel, $30
Tires & tubes, $30
Cables, $17
Bar wrap $5
Rust treatment/remover $8
Black touch-up paint $5
Total......................$142.................and about 20 hours of labor (a good thing).
If it fit me, I'd pay $50-$75 because after I spent another $100, I'd have a $225-$250 bike at most.

I cleaned up an identical model, 58cm, the Soma Competition, sold it for $220, with Ukai wheels on Sunshine hubs.
It even had a rear rack.

To part it out, you've got maybe 10-15 hours of labor.
The 600 arabesque group, with hubs, cleaned up, can bring $150 w/levers, calipers, hubs, etc.
The saddle, cleaned up, can bring $50
The frame, a good single speed candidate, can bring $50

They're good frames, and have a quality ride, nothing low-end about that bike.
It just needs a lot of work and the little stuff adds up.

So, I guess you can clean it up, enjoy the work, and have a nice rider for your original investment, plus some labor and $140 or so more.
Or, you can spend about 1/3 of the time taking it apart, cleaning up the components, and selling them to raise maybe $200.
It all depends how bad you need a road bike, how much you like working on bikes (nice work stand, by the way).

A decent road bike, of the type this forum generally involves, will run you $250-$300 and should be ready to ride.
There are some great buys out there in aluminum 90's models with STI shifting, for that or a little more.

If you're getting into road riding, and not all that concerned about "Classic & Vintage," then I'd go for a mid '90's aluminum ride with STI shifting for about $300-$350.

If the classic lines and real steel of more classic bikes gets you a little more interested, you're at the right place, and you'll be lucky if you can stop at one....Most of us like to work on them, build them, restore them, etc, almost as much as riding them.

Thanks for the info Robbie! I will decide to part out or keep it. I didn't think it will cost that much to fix up. I probably will part it out because I have been looking for an old Peugeot 10 Speed. That is what I really want. I just purchased the bike just for the cranks and I felt guilty about splitting the cranks up from the rest of the components.

Can you tell me how to measure the frame size? BITD when I worked at a local bike shop, I believe we measured the frames from the bottom bracket to the topof the seat tube. Is that correct?

Thanks for the info Robbie! I will decide to part out or keep it. I didn't think it will cost that much to fix up. I probably will part it out because I have been looking for an old Peugeot 10 Speed. That is what I really want. I just purchased the bike just for the cranks and I felt guilty about splitting the cranks up from the rest of the components.

Can you tell me how to measure the frame size? BITD when I worked at a local bike shop, I believe we measured the frames from the bottom bracket to the topof the seat tube. Is that correct?

That's how Centurion measures theirs, and sometimes the lug work can throw that off, but that's how I measure them, no matter what the brand, center of BB to top of seat tube. I just find that more consistent.

There are as many ways to measure as there are opinions on the matter. The main thing is, C&V bikes pretty much all measure out the same, and modern, sloped tube bike, well, their specs are all over the place.