Apollo FS 26 Review

Overall Rating

Front & rear suspension
sturdy
lightweight for what it is
hard-wearing factory-fitted V-brake pads
comfortable seat
>clever system makes chain dislodging rare

no mud guard(s)
height adjustments are very limited
factory tyres are of a very poor quality

The Apollo FS26 was for us a very cheap - about £105 - replacement for my previous Barracuda bicycle (which had cost about £250) that had recently been stolen out of my homes vacinity, therefore not being covered by household insurance.

The bike didn't seem to lack anything that I wanted, and I really liked the appearance of the spokes of the tyres. Circular handle gears are mandatory for most manufacturers now, or so they fell, so the addition of these of this bike was of no surprise since the technology had been in use for some time now, anyway.

The bike gives a very comfortable ride. The Appole Full-Suspension Technology gives a real smooth a cheery feeling to your riding and the bell, although illegal to not have, is still nice to have there.

It only took me about 3 months of weekly short bursts of use to wear the tyre treads down to pretty much nothing, but still about 1 years and 10 months later the tyres still do work to some degree although they may not be worthy of riding on A or M categorized roads - which I do not do anyway. If you were to fell you need new tyres, they would cost you a maximum of £19.99 each for the original, but strengthened, set. If that's too much you can always substitute for a cheaper alternative from anywhere else so as long as you get the right size.

Although a mountain bike, there doesn't seem to have been made any effort to look after the rider during mountainous riding; there are no mud guard, shoe holds or even a drinks holder...but these can all be added optionally by you at a cost at a later time if you wish for these commodities.

I have had this bike for over a 2 years now and in that time I have grown! That seat and those handles have quickly crept up and now both are at their limits and have been for about 6months. This is irritating because in the future this could mean that the bike is poor for my needs and I may need to invest more money in a larger bike in the future. Still, I guess that's partly my fault, although I still feel that more effort should have been made to allow the bike to be more expandable.


But, all-in-all, this is a fantastic bike!