Joseph
I have no interest in becoming a cyclist. The only bikes I own are rusty cruisers with big, spring-loaded seats about a foot wide. I’ll be pedaling, but there’s no way for me to become a “bicycle guy”. I’m not interested in 24 speed drivetrains and technical installation and maintenance boots. I don’t wear Spandex or learn a bunch of French racing terms.
Hell, I don’t even want to wear a helmet. Mostly, I want to listen to Rancid and sweat for miles.
Turns out, Apollo, from Priority bikes, perfect for my special needs collection, and is specifically designed to not only be low maintenance, but virtually No maintenance. You may have to change the hub oil every few years or 3,000 miles.
Do you ride 3000 miles?
Apollo is located in gravel class—Bikes that can be ride anywhere. Get out on the road for serious training. Start pedaling to work as you say you will. Smash it through the woods. Even for a multi-purpose bike, it’s built to be versatile – a light, fast and affordable bike that can be your everyday commuter. It’s also its first gravel bike—and most importantly, the only gravel production bike with a harness, an internally 11-speed axle, and drop-bar shifters for the hybrid qualities of speed and response.
By now, you probably haven’t heard of bikes priority. It’s a small company founded by Dave Weiner, one of the illustrious software CEOs who left the corporate world to start a grounded company more in tune with his own beliefs. He had a cycling background and was tired of asking his friends which bike they should buy. Essentially, he quit his job to start a bike company and create the exact type of bike they had to buy that didn’t require tuning for every moving part every time they wanted to ride.
Usually these kinds of stories are not that simple. This is one.
His goal was to keep service quality, reasonable cost, and use as simple as possible. First, it moves. Shifting and braking is simple, responsive and can be done with one hand. Low maintenance is also a good option if you don’t have a garage or work space. If you are not sure how to maintain it, you are unlikely to use your bike.
And while a full line of durable bikes fits that description, perhaps it doesn’t embody the concept better than the Apollo, a light bike that you can grab, pound away from any kind of terrain, rinse (or not?) and live your life.
Take the most common aspects of bikes that need maintenance: cassettes that collect accumulated road junk and gravel grime, track lines that break down, and chains that need lubrication and replacement. Now eliminate them all.
The priority signature is the grease-free Gates Carbon Drive Belt (it also won’t rust, which is amazing in coastal areas with salty air). Carbon also means it won’t break. And care is literally a quick hose.
Apollo means you never have to watch a YouTube video of a European explaining how to measure chain wear. No disrespect for popular technology equipment. They are responsible for advancing every sport we love. But we are talking specifically about a bike for people who are not cyclists. And here’s the thing – bike enthusiasts love it too, which speaks volumes for quality and futuristic design. It might be all you’re looking for. It comes in four sizes to ensure an effective fit and also transfers very well.
Reviewing the list, the Apollo has tubeless-ready 40mm gravel tires: quick on the pavement and steady on the dirty. You can even get this thing on some simple mountainous terrain.
And you should start to feel like you’ve become…… a bike guy… Apollo is open to more tech upgrades. But you can cross that bridge when you get to it.
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