So I picked up this Apollo a few weeks ago and am very happy with it so far. It is a 1985 Apollo Regent with only a couple 100 kms when I purchased it and once cleaned up looks like it came from straight off the bike shop floor. The frame was built in Japan by Kuwahara and from what I have been able to research on it there is a very high probability it was hand built. It is essentially a Kuwahara Caravan rebadged as an Apollo. The biggest negative of the bike is it does not have brake bosses so I am stuck with the current side pull brakes, That surprisingly are not to bad. I have new kool stop pads I will be putting on soon. If they are a problem I guess I can always throw on some dual pivot brakes. I have been touring on my 1988 TREK 850 but it has a lot of kms on it and even though it is an XL frame I am 6'4" 225 lbs and have always wished the trek was bigger. Now the Apollo is
BIG and I love the way it fits and feels.
So here are a few of my questions.
1. With the Apollo frame being so large will it become a noodle when loaded?
FYI- All I have done since buying the bike is clean it up, remove the crusty dried out tires/tubes and add new ones and overall in quick little spins the bike feels great and it very tight, no noodle feel at all, but then again it is completely unloaded. All this said I have toured quite a bit and have gotten quite efficient at getting weight down quite a ways. Now in the case that we are camping and having a lot more weight I have a BOB YAK pull behind gear trailer that I use for those trips rather than front and rear panniers.
2. If the bike does become flexy when loaded what is the best load strategy to combat that?
3. Does anyone know if a good solid rack will make a bike frame a little stiffer or not? And if so which racks are best for that?
For a little more info on the changes I plan to make the bike will get butterfly bars with 2 sets of brake levers. On the front section of the bar the original levers with cables run on to the back flat section to a set of mtn cantilever brake levers (see bottom picture). The downtube shifters will be moved to become stem shifters for easy access. Other than that I plan to keep it pretty stock for the time being as I love the components and they all run smooth as silk. At some point the 700c wheels may go and I may opt for a longer adjustable stem to sit up a little straighter but those are just options right now. I am open to any thoughts or advice on this build. Thanks
Here are a few pics of the bike.
