Apollo FS.26 SE ?

petestew

i work in halfords, and it makes me soooo angry wen people come in and ask for cheap bikes, wen u try and show them carreras or gt's they think ur a sales person trying 2 take theyre money, and go for the cheaper bike, expecting it 2 last forever, then they bring it back in and are angry wen it hasnt lasted, wat really pisses me off is wen people bring bikes back 2 us all scratched and rusted and say that its our fault theyre bike has failed, as with any bike company, the warranty will only cover normal use and its the responsibility of they owner to maintain the bike, i hate wen people refer 2 us as halfrauds, as we can only advise people, if they choose 2 take a crap bike thats theyre choice if u look at the reviews on our carrera and gt bikes ull find they usually get very good reviews, and the carrera vulcan won best bike 4 under £300 this year

chrisjsmith

Sorry to start a rant but:

I can see why you work in Halfords. Commas are not the only punctuation marks used in the English language.

This is precisely the impression I got in Halfords. I bought a cheap (for a reason) Apollo FS 26 MTB. I wanted the cheapest thing based on the justification that I could not ride at the time and would purchase another bicycle if I could master the basics on that one based on my fitness and precise requirements. I had to listen to sales drivel for ages, despite outlining these points. During the sales pitch, I noticed:

* A Halfords employee knocked over a bike he was working on and then fell on it.
* The two people at the bike counter were stoned.
* There were tools and bike parts everywhere. All over the floor and counter. That is just completely unacceptable.
* They couldn't find the bike in the store room. It took them three attempts to go and get it after checking on the computer (which said six stock). That just stinks of incompetence.
* There was a language barrier between the staff and myself despite being the same nationality and language. They thought they were black but they obviously weren't (apart from the bike grease on everything).
* They assembled the bike with the front wheel the wrong way round.
* The front and rear brakes fell to bits after approximately 4 miles of riding on it.

On the plus point, I've flogged the bike now (it served its purpose) and bought myself a Dawes Sahara which fulfills all of my (shopping trolley and commuting) cycling requirements.

On another matter, if something is crap, shouldn't you not be selling it rather than persuading people not to purchase it?

Halfords have a very bad reputation for a reason!

GT Destroyer

chrisjsmith wrote:

Sorry to start a rant but:

I can see why you work in Halfords. Commas are not the only punctuation marks used in the English language.

* A Halfords employee knocked over a bike he was working on and then fell on it.

This bit had me in stitches, absolutely classic!!

My local halfords are OK - The lad is quite enthusiastic, he is helping me source some bits for the bike which they don't stock. He often gives advice based on fact, ie his own experience of riding or his mates' bikes etc....

chrisjsmith

Yeah I'm not slating all of them, just my local one which is comparable to the Muppets' Christmas special.

It's a shame as it's 50 yards from my door

petestew

sorry bout the commas, but u dont have to be good at english to be good with bikes, what halfords did u go to? it certainly wasnt my one. As you ignored his advice and looked around you probably didnt hear him say that these bikes are intended for leisure, and not for everyday use. i can only say that the practice you saw in that store does not reflect every halfords, and the bikes we sell, yes, some of them are rubbish, but not for someone who goes out once a month, i dont see how halfords have a bad reputation, maybe the shop near you does, but as a whole youll find that halfords leads the market in anything it does, for example, sat navs, cd players, and also bikes. Just one question, if you knew halfords had a bad reputation, then why did u go there?

Dan.hkr

*ammended*

i agree with the other guys think u will only spend more in the long run by saving a few quid now, once you get into it, you will notice the differance in bikes in diferant price ranges.

thanks

GT Destroyer

post amended.

chrisjsmith

Well done GT. Another strike for the anti-thought police movement.

It was a cultural reference rather than the skin colour. You'd know if I was making a colour reference.

So what's the politically correct thing to say now?

RichMTB

I sometimes go into a halfords as a distraction if the gf has dragged me shopping.

I always go in with anticipation that there might be some cool stuff in there or a might talk mince with the staff to kill five minutes, I generally leave with a bottle of Muck Off and a frown. What I keep forgetting is that just because they sell bikes doesn't mean they are actually a bike shop

shin0r

That bike would be absolutely fine for riding around the park or on the street (come on guys, everyone aged 25-35 probably had an apollo or raleigh when they were a kid, and they were fine) - but if you take it up a mountain it will come down in pieces, and so will you.

You'd be better off spending the money on a decent entry-level hardtail (carerra vulcan or the likes) - far more suited to taking a beating.

gthang

I'm 28, had a Raleigh Mustang when i was 12, used it for getting about on and doing small dirt jumps etc. It lasted well.... if you class 2 collapsed wheels, crank arms that kept falling off, and real wheel drop outs that opened up. It literally fell appart and my Dad scrapped it when I was 14. Then got a Diamond back that was robbed after a year and replaced by a £450(ish) GT Timberline and still have it now.

Bottom line you get what you pay for.

petestew

exactly my point! you get what you pay for. and i only wish people would understand this, it doesnt just include bikes, im not sure what halfords use go to? the one i work at must be the only one that works well, but i usually find that alot of problems stem from customers not being clear about what they want, for example, i must have 15 customers a day asking for headsets, bottom brackets, things like that, and when you ask them what size they need, they shrug and say do you not no? i have a (usually a cheap bike no ones heard of) also, it doesnt take a surgeon to built bikes, but if you ask to speak to a specialist, youll get good advice, as they have to have come from a biking background.and have spend years dealing with peoples problems

clas

dont buy a hardtail under £200 if you plan going off road seriously (unless you have a big maintenance budget)
NEVER buy a full susser under £750! If you are buying a full susser for its performance off road a £200 lead lump like this will neither last nor be very enjoyable. However it will be a superb training aid. the act of hauling the thing uphill will help your fitness no end!
Seriously I would avoid this thing like the plague buy a harttail, improve your skills then when you can, and if you want buy a decent full susser. with some exceptions that are pretty rare you do get what you pay for in bikes. Pay peanuts you get an elephant! :?

02walkerj

People are saying that Halfords is bad, and recommend the Carerra Vulcan .
Will a Carerra Vulcan from Halfords be any good ?

SCOTT-E

It shouldnt really be any worse than buying the same bike from anywhere else .. BUT ( notice it`s a BIG BUT ) dont forget to check its put together properly , all nuts n bolts tight etc. before you ride it .. i say that with high hopes in the knowledge that tomorrow night i pick up a carrera fury from halfords

Father Faff

Provided Halfords build it up correctly then Carrera bikes seem good value for money. Unfortunately Halfords have a reputation for employing unqualified staff who can't build up bikes correctly. However that's not to say that there aren't some good people working for Halfords who will build up a bike properly, or indeed that there aren't bad people working for LBSes who can't build up bikes properly. Personal recommendation is always a good bet!

Mat The Hat

I have now purchased a Carrera Subway, basic but very good and so much more lighter than the Apollo's - and my wife has stopped laughing at me!!!! The only problem is i brought a pretty good D lock (Bull Dog) and found there isn't enough room to clip the D lock into it's bracket for storeage, so it has to go in the bag with my lunch!!!! Any advice?

supersonic

If you lock the bike in the same place, leave the lock locked at the place. Or its rucksack I am afraid.

GT Destroyer

Looking at the thread title and how "not good" the bike is, its weird how this is the biggest active thread at the moment!

And yeah leave the big lock locked up to whatever you use, its like having a reserved space in a car park!

Mat The Hat

Thanks for the advice guys. The funny thing is that when ever I’ve seen one of those locks left behind; I thought it was because someone had somehow managed to the steal the bike!!!!
Pretty stupid when I think about it now.

Just another little note about HALFORDS: I think for many people like myself who don't know much about bikes and are just learning, go into a shop such a Halfords because we believe we will be given advice about what bike to buy - I certainly wasn't told NOT to buy Apollo (quite the opposite!) I wasn’t given any good advice, but have only found that out now by reading others reviews on this forum. In fact I never would have gone into Halfords if I’d previously been on this forum. But if it wasn't for Halfords selling me such crappy and un-professionally assembled bikes I wouldn't have even looked for reviews! We learn by our mistakes. Halfords does deserve a bad reputation, as a company if they trained ALL staff properly they wouldn't be in this situation. It’s not good to say its pot luck when you walk into a Halfords store whether or not you get good advice, good service or a correctly assembled bike. It is damned right dangerous to let someone ride off on any bike of any price (no matter how cheap) when the customer is under the belief it's Safe and it isn't. They should be ashamed. Sorry to rant on but this could cause serious injury or even death if the issue isn't addressed. :x
Halfords should be charged with false advertising and negligence.

schmako

I see they have all their shockwave 'mountain bikes' and bmx's at half price at the moment. Extremely gutting. They are up there with the worst bikes i've ever seen, feel sorry for any kid getting them for christmas.

supersonic

Its not nice for the genuine helpful and knowledgeable staff who are cripppled by the system and have to build these shocking excuses for bikes.

coolanin7

MY FS 26 GOT NICKED-I THOUGHT THE FRAME WAS A BIT HEAVY-I NEED A NEW BIKE AND IS THIS ANY GOOD??? PLZ TELL ME I GOTA KNOW ASAP PLZZ :? :?

coolanin7

IS THIS ANY GOOOOD??? :? :? :? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yrn_90909#

BlackSpur

Did you not read through the thread before you hi-jacked it? Do not touch an FS mountain bike unless you have a whole lot more money. If £130 is your max, look at second hand hardtails on ebay or gumtree.

Ciaran500

coolanin7 wrote:

IS THIS ANY GOOOOD??? :? :? :? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yrn_90909#

Nope its a load of shite, stay well away

I love how they used triple clamp forks and butted frame to make it look good and strong.

dav1

coolanin7 wrote:

IS THIS ANY GOOOOD??? :? :? :? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yrn_90909#

is it me or does the guy riding it look like he is saying "please tell my wife and kids i love them, this bike is gonna f****** kill me by the end of this photo shoot".

halfords do much better bikes then this at £300 so i cant understand why they even sell that pile of crap knowing full well it will wind up broken and back in their workshop before its been ridden 100miles.

coolanin7

Dav1 wrote:

coolanin7 wrote:

IS THIS ANY GOOOOD??? :? :? :? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yrn_90909#

is it me or does the guy riding it look like he is saying "please tell my wife and kids i love them, this bike is gonna f****** kill me by the end of this photo shoot".

halfords do much better bikes then this at £300 so i cant understand why they even sell that pile of crap knowing full well it will wind up broken and back in their workshop before its been ridden 100miles.

is it that bad??? i gota know by the way-i only got 130quid-is that the best bike i can get worth that??? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :? :?

dav1

no i would avoid a bike like that all together. It wouldnt be safe toi take out on a good XC ride.

Ideally you want to start buying a bike for £200+ and from a good local bike shop. The more you can get to spend the better as you will have nicer components which will stand up to the abuse of off roading better,

take a look at the what bike thread for suggestions of bikes.

Ciaran500

coolanin7 wrote:

is it that bad??? i gota know by the way-i only got 130quid-is that the best bike i can get worth that??? :?

Where do you plan on riding the bike?


Even on road a bike like that will give you problems and off road it would be a death trap.