|
|
RIDING THE APOLLO GRAN TOURISTE
 All
in all, the Apollo Gran Touriste is a beautiful bicycle to behold.
The ride is no less impressive, however; I did not like the feel of the
tires. The bicycle accelerated well and tracked like a train.
That king of handling was not what I am used to, though. The Apollo
is a touring bicycle, designed for long hauls and heavy loads. With
these design intentions in mind, I guess that I can live with the slight
sluggish feel when cornering at lower
speeds. Other than that, if I had more room, the Apollo would still
live in Thunder Bay, keeping other nice bicycles company in The Old Shed.
It really is a nice bicycle.
When
I purchased the Apollo, I intended to sell the bicycle and that is, pretty
much, what I did. Once checked over, I fitted my pedals and took the
bike out for a couple of hours, just to ensure that all was well.
Actually, I also wanted to see, if I could talk myself into keeping this
lovely old road bike.
 Riding a
vintage road bicycle, for such a short time, is no way to get to know the
bike. To really understand a bicycle's vices and virtues, one must
spend a good part of a season putting the bicycle though its paces.
I did not do this with the Apollo Gran Touriste. Had I not been in
the process of downsizing my bicycle collection, I might have kept the
Apollo, for
the balance of the season. The again, I am not a touring rider.
I consider myself lucky, to be able to spend a complete afternoon on a ride,
a couple of times a week. The Apollo was built for much longer hauls
than that. The fellow, who bought
the bicycle from me, was quite pleased with his purchase, commenting on how
good of condition the bicycle was in. I cannot help but believe that
he and the Gran Touriste will see a great many miles together, in days to
come.
|
|
