# My new bike Apollo Phaze



## boy racer (30 May 2010)

Iv just bought a new bike today a 20" Apollo Phaze from Halfords for £200.

Be honest, what are your opinions? I just need it for the occasional off-road riding.

Thanks
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...uctId_762369_langId_-1_categoryId_165499#dtab


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## palinurus (30 May 2010)

Been out on it yet? what do you think of it? that's what counts.


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## Banjo (30 May 2010)

boy racer said:


> Iv just bought a new bike today a 20" Apollo Phaze from Halfords for £200.
> 
> Be honest, what are your opinions? I just need it for the occasional off-road riding.
> 
> ...



Get out , have some fun on it ,it isnt a high quality bike but it will do the job . Be a bit carefull with the brakes, disc brakes need to bed in a bit before they reach full stopping power.


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## alecstilleyedye (30 May 2010)

looks decent for the money. best to remember that apollo bikes can have reasonable frames with cheap components. 

on that bike, replacing the forks with something better will improve the ride, but if budget dictates just make do and upgrade if it stops working correctly.

as others have said, just go and enjoy the ride.


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## festival (30 May 2010)

If you intend to ride regularly, by that i mean at least once a week for at least an hour at a time and you mean proper off road not just gently down some easy bridleways etc i am afraid you may have made a poor choice.
I will explain so you don't think I'm being elitist about it. Your bike looks like the replacement for the appollo xc26s that usually retails for £179.99 but is now on clearance for £149.99 . These may be in short supply now but i am sorry to say Halfords have been massively inflating prices for the last few years e.g. the xc26s was a good £179.99 bike but regularly priced at £249.99 or more so during promo periods through the year it looked a bargain at £179.99 to the man in the street . The Phaze is being marketed in a similar way, its worth about £190 at a push but the write up on the bike means nothing in the real world ' What exactly does powerful & reliable braking in all conditions mean when talking about a bike of £200. And what on earth does built with quality & performance in mind mean. The crazy thing is the carrera vulcan v spec is currently going for £279.99 and most people in the trade would rate this as an excellent entry level off road bike,not a BSO ( bicycle shaped object) Just to add insult to injury (sorry ) did you get the best advice on size and did they put it together properly or did the work experience boy assemble it & the non cycling cycle staff check his work before handing it over ?


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## cyberknight (30 May 2010)

Looks good for the price.

many will be put off by halfords but if the bike does what you need for the price you paid and is put together properly i cannot see a downside


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## festival (30 May 2010)

just re read my reply and i think i was a bit mean, i meant well, sorry. 
Having worked in the trade, both Halfords & Independent I know the pros and cons of both . There are some good people working in Halfords bike huts but they are few and far between and a lot of customers would get a better result if they are lucky to have met someone in store who cares. 
As others have said, enjoy .


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## mcshroom (30 May 2010)

Hi boy racer & festival and welcome


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## boy racer (31 May 2010)

palinurus said:


> Been out on it yet? what do you think of it? that's what counts.


No im going to take it out for the first time tonight. It did feel comfortable and light sitting on it in store though.


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## boy racer (31 May 2010)

Banjo said:


> Get out , have some fun on it ,it isnt a high quality bike but it will do the job . *Be a bit carefull with the brakes, disc brakes need to bed in a bit before they reach full stopping power*.


cheers mate, il bare that in mind


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## battered (31 May 2010)

My honest opinion? It's OK. Not great, not garbage, but OK. Get out on it and have fun, use it for what it's intended. Don't spend a fortune "upgrading" it, just use it and if abything falls off then replace it. After a couple of years you will know what y9u want out of your *next* bike so sell this one in the paper (or use it for going down the paper shop) and get what you want. I did this with a £400 bike 15 years ago, I now have 5 bikes (2 under repair) and the original £400 bike has had almost every moving part worn out and replaced at least once, so it can't be all bad. It's currently a shopping/pub bike, at current rates it will wear me out first.


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## alci4 (1 Jun 2010)

dont know if the bike is any good or not but had to laugh when i read the q & a section for the bike "can you fit a hamas child seat to it" lmfao. hope your not from Israel


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## sleekitcollie (1 Jun 2010)

I bought a saracan ruftrax 2 from halfords when I got into cycling about 3 years ago . It was "reduced" from supposidly £299 to £149 and I got £50 worth of accessories "free" . ( nice wireless computer and toepeck bar bag that i ended up getting both for the £50 as bike wasn't ready when I went to collect . ALWAYS ASK FOR THE MANAGER  )
bike has been really good , I know it's not top end components but decent enough to get me into cycling and last and still going strong , although just replaced cassette chain and front rings . But I did 3500 miles last year alone on it both off road ( nothing to bad but occasional flurry where it shouldn't really have been ) and also fully laden on cpl wee highland tours . 1 on the great glen way ( off roadroute over the hills,rough tracks fully laden ) 
anyway wot I'm saying is my bike has done me great fir £150 and is still going great used it all through the winter ( but washed it off after every run to get salt off ) 
I've now bought a spez tricross sport at £899 and already it's been back to the workshop to have the headset bearing replaced 
so go out enjoy ur bike USE IT LOTS and if in a year or so u'd like to upgrade then go for it .


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## boy racer (1 Jun 2010)

festival said:


> If you intend to ride regularly, by that i mean at least once a week for at least an hour at a time and you mean proper off road not just gently down some easy bridleways etc i am afraid you may have made a poor choice.
> I will explain so you don't think I'm being elitist about it. Your bike looks like the replacement for the appollo xc26s that usually retails for £179.99 but is now on clearance for £149.99 . These may be in short supply now but i am sorry to say Halfords have been massively inflating prices for the last few years e.g. the xc26s was a good £179.99 bike but regularly priced at £249.99 or more so during promo periods through the year it looked a bargain at £179.99 to the man in the street . The Phaze is being marketed in a similar way, its worth about £190 at a push but the write up on the bike means nothing in the real world ' What exactly does powerful & reliable braking in all conditions mean when talking about a bike of £200. And what on earth does built with quality & performance in mind mean. The crazy thing is the carrera vulcan v spec is currently going for £279.99 and most people in the trade would rate this as an excellent entry level off road bike,not a BSO ( bicycle shaped object) Just to add insult to injury (sorry ) did you get the best advice on size and did they put it together properly or did the work experience boy assemble it & the non cycling cycle staff check his work before handing it over ?


I was actually considering the XC26SE both they were all sold out in store. 
Anyway iv now took the Phaze out for a ride and it seems a good ride.


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## boy racer (1 Jun 2010)

battered said:


> My honest opinion? It's OK. Not great, not garbage, but OK. Get out on it and have fun, use it for what it's intended. Don't spend a fortune "upgrading" it, just use it and if abything falls off then replace it. After a couple of years you will know what y9u want out of your *next* bike so sell this one in the paper (or use it for going down the paper shop) and get what you want. I did this with a £400 bike 15 years ago, I now have 5 bikes (2 under repair) and the original £400 bike has had almost every moving part worn out and replaced at least once, so it can't be all bad. It's currently a shopping/pub bike, at current rates it will wear me out first.


Iv only been riding for a few weeks now so its not a bad budget bike, your right its not great. You get what you pay for.

If i keep the cycling up like you say il just buy a better bike a few years down the line. For my lever of cyclist when buying a bike you dont really know exactly what to look for, more cycling will enable me to acquire this knowledge.

Overall though im pleased with the bike


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## StuartG (1 Jun 2010)

A first bike is probably the most difficult choice to make. You may have got it about right.

Pay too little and you get crap which may put you off the whole thing. On the otherhand you can get an expensive beautiful great value bike that isn't suited to your needs. And your needs may change as you get biking.

As other's have said - don't spend money on it yet. Just get biking. You may find it is sufficient for your needs. If you get enthusiastic on using a bike for off road/racing/touring then you will need a more specialised bike. It gives you chance to save up, justify and experience to make a great choice.

And the money already spent on your Apollo will not be wasted. Enthusiastic cyclists need a hack bike in the garage to take to places they wouldn't trust their dream bike or to cover for when it is in for repair or awaiting a component.

So enjoy!


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## RedBike (1 Jun 2010)

*Sadly Apollo has a really bad image to the point it's amost a swear word. 
But for £200 that doesn't look too bad. 

Make sure everything is correctly adjusted. If you don't know how to set your bars/saddle just search on here or ask. 




*


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## kewb (3 Jun 2010)

to be honest 
it looks more cosmetic than functional ,
disc brakes ? at that price id opt for for v brakes to save weight cost and maintenance
manufacturers are throwing out dual disc bikes for £70 that are just terrible they squeal on poor rims fail to stop you because levers bend before brake locks and cables wear out along with pads not long after they bed in , just not worth the hassle on a low cost bike 
imho ,
go off road proper on it - no way ,
nip along a rough track - sometimes ,
road / urban not the nippiest bike but ok id imagine .


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## bauldbairn (4 Jun 2010)

boy racer said:


> ...when buying a bike you dont really know exactly what to look for, more cycling will enable me to acquire this knowledge.
> 
> Overall though im pleased with the bike



More cycling will indeed help you acquire knowledge - we all have to start somewhere. As long as your pleased with the bike, that's all that matters.  

Welcome to the forums boy racer - look forward to seeing more posts from you.


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