For balance, I was asked to "service" an Apollo last week. Cubester's girlfriend's sister's bike. It was one of those full suss things. First impressions were that it was heavy. Scales confirmed it was 17.5 kg. A first ride round our yard (in the dark) showed me it handled very strangely, with tiny narrow bars and a surprising amount of toe overlap. A check under the light revealed that the fork was on back to front. The chance to fettle a quill stem was a great learning point for Cubester. Next, the rear mech wouldn't shift properly. The B screw was bent out of shape, sitting at the side of the stop. Fortunately they're made out of cheese, so bent back in again and adjusted it did a half-decent job. We then cleaned it up a bit and sorted the brakes and tyres and after all that we test rode it again. It was shoot.
As a purveyor of bike parts, Halfords aren't bad. Fall lucky, and the bargain, well equipped bikes they do sell are awesome. Some mechanics are good. I know most of the ones at Huddersfield by name and because they are nearly all local MTB riders. What's more, they're open on a Sunday and in the evenings for those last minute bits and pieces you need for the ride that day, so it's hard to slag them off too much.
