As fate would have it, I had to make exactly the same decision at the
end of Feb.
I ended up going with the Apollo (from Bayswater).
I must say I am pretty happy with it. I have made one modification and
added some bar ends. This has made SOOOO much difference, especially on
the climbs.
I commute to work - only about 5 km - and it handles well on the bike
tracks (Scotchman's creek). I have even taken it out on beach road on a
Sunday or two with some friends with some serious road bikes and have
clocked up 30 kms each time with them. I took it on the Great Melbourne
Bike Ride a couple of weeks ago and it did OK.
My only problems with it are:
- The low gear is possibly a little too low. I tend not to use it
much at all
- The front and rear deraillers needed a bit of fine-tuning by a
knowledgable friend but run well now
- It is hard to go really fast on them (> 55+ kms), even down-hill. This
could just be that I am not that good a rider though ...
- The Avanti looks a little bit nicer 🙂
So if your needs are similar to the ones I have expressed below than I
would recommend it.
Good luck 🙂
Mark
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