Hello and thank you for the videos! Fyi for future reference, I just replaced the front sprocket with the 46T and didn't need to remove crank components. Just loosened rear wheel and belt adjustments removed rear wheel to get the belt off the sprocket and removed the sprocket by simply sliding it over the crank/pedal and installed the 46T same way. Took about 20 minutes. - I see it's already been noted before lol. Thanks again for your videos and time!
Hi Steve, Sorry it's taken me a bit of time to respond. Yes! This method would have been much faster. Not sure why this wasn't obvious to me, live and learn. :) Thanks for watching. We appreciate the comment. Enjoy the Ride
Brantley, we changed our Apollo front sprocket from stock 50T to 46 T by removing rear wheel then just removing the belt from front sprocket, then removed the 5 bolts on the sprocket and chain guard. Then slipped the sprocket off the crank arm and pedal, no need to open bottom bracket. We did it with the bike upside down, super easy that way to reposition rear wheel and tension the belt.
Hey Charles, Someone else pointed out that I could have changed the front cogs without removing the crank assembly. It's a great point and for some reason it didn't occur to me to try that. It sort of seems obvious to try that once you point it out, I guess I got stuck in a thought process and didn't question it. But we're glad you watched the video anyway. :) Thanks for watching BBB and for the comment. We love hearing from viewers. Enjoy the Ride
@@HarveyLMiller21 Thanks for your feedback, but we won't be taking the episode down and while there must be an easier way to accomplish the gear change, the method represented in this episode gets the job done. Enjoy the Ride
I'm interested in your experience with the Apollo. Sometimes it's hard to know if the reviews out there are legit. Thanks for you authenticity and candor in your videos. Now, I'm looking forward to hearing your plans for "Buses Bikes & Beers Do America." 😀
Hey Craig, Great to hear from you and thanks for continuing to watch BBB. Overall we are very happy with the Apollo bikes but the stock set up wasn't really aligned with our goals for long distance touring but we knew that when we ordered them. The people at Priority have been super helpful and supportive of us as we've made the modifications to make our Apollos touring bikes. If you want to chat more about the Apollo or have other specific questions, reach out to us, our email is in the "about" page of the BBB UA-cam channel. We'd love to hear from you. Stayed tuned for this week's video and the weeks that follow. We'll be covering a lot more of our plans and preparations in the weeks to come as we approach our start date of June 10. Thanks again for the comment. Enjoy the Ride
If you plan to change the chain ring on the other bike too, I saw a video once of someone doing it without taking the bottom bracket apart. He freed the old chain ring by removing the bolts. Then he slipped it over two of the spokes of the chain ring "holder", then over the other three. Then he slid the chain ring down the crank and over the pedal. Installation of the new chain ring was just the reverse. Looked pretty easy on the video. The other advantage of this was that once the old chain ring was loose, there was no need to remove the rear wheel to release the belt! Anyway, thanks for the informative video.
Hi Jim, I've already done both bikes but after reading your comment, I wondered why I didn't think about the fact I could have changed the cog with the crank still installed in the bottom bracket. It makes total sense. Oh well. I guess sometimes you get stuck in a certain thought process and you close your mind to alternatives. I appreciate you pointing out an alternative. Maybe on the bright side, I got more practice at removing the rear wheel assembly so if I ever have to do it in the field, it'll be a bit easier. Thanks for watching Buses Bikes and Beers and for the great comment. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Regan, Thanks...it's a 1970 and is For Sale. Interested? :) Thanks for watching and for the comment. BTW, we love our Apollo bikes and after the gear changes were super happy with how they performed as touring bikes. Are you are considering getting one? Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Hey thanks! I mentioned the Ghia cause it was my late brother’s favorite car. He had a 1973 convertible Ghia that he was restoring before he passed away suddenly. With help, I finished it for him. But I am 6’5” tall & 230lbs so me & the Ghia weren’t the best fit. So i sold it. But it is such a beautiful car and reminds me of my brother. I am sure you’ll have no problem selling it. They are real collector items. I plan to buy a priority bike to commute & tour on. I am torn btwn the 600 & the apollo. I like to gravel ride & tour… but i also like going fast on the road. But I prefer flat bars & 700c wheels, so I am confused! 🤔 I’m leaning towards the 600 for the flat bars…but I know some have converted the apollo to a flat bar bike… so i am looking into that as well. Haven’t decided yet!
@@Regantdarcy Thanks for sharing the story about you brother's Ghia, it's so cool that you finished the restoration. Must have been a little hard to sell given the history. We bought ours with the intention of doing an electric conversion. There are several conversion kits on the market that are pretty much turn key and allow you to bolt on an electric motor to the original transaxle. I thought it would be a great little run around town car. I've realized that I have way too many projects and need to pair them down and also allow enough time, energy and money to more bike touring. I understand your dilemma between the 600 and the Apollo. The 600 is 30 pounds out of the box and the Apollo is 24, but you do have to put fenders on the Apollo and the 600 has the integrated lights and dyno front hub. If you keep the Apollo light, I think it will be faster on the road and probably handle better on gravel. As you point out there are a few folks that have converted the Apollo to flat bars and I think mico-shift (the company that make the Apollo brake/shifter might have a flat bar 11 speed shifter that would work. The 600 is a great bike and has a lot of what you'd already want for touring like fenders, lights, etc and has a wider gear range. We ended up changing the front and rear cogs on our Apollos to get the gearing where we wanted it for touring with fully loaded bikes and big hills to climb. My advice would be to prioritize your usages (commute, tour, gravel, fast road) because some of those drive different requirements for a bike. Both of these bikes are awesome. BTW. When you do decide to order, we are part of the Priority Affiliate program and if you use our link we'll get credit for your purchase and it helps us with our relationship with Priority and we'll get a small commission for the sale. Here's the link: www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&merchant_id=1d722773-d301-4e39-a018-1a3be7d8566a&website_id=adf6ba4c-17d3-477b-bf83-1530131a91d5&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prioritybicycles.com%2F Don't hesitate to reach out as you make your decision and if there are questions we might be able to help with. busesbikesbeers@gmail.com Enjoy the Ride
With that lowered gearing, you’re gonna need bigger racks and panniers for all the extra weight you will be able to carry while cycling over the Rockies! Good luck with the final month of preparation and planning. Woohoo!👍💪🏼❤️🍻🚴🏽♀️
Hey Todd, I think you might have it backwards...the reason we need the lower gears is because of the large pannier and all the stuff we have to take to be self-sustained during the long (but awesome) journey. We did a practice run this weekend and spent the night in our new tent in the yard of a friends cabin above the Bone Store. Learned a ton, but was super happy to have the lower gears. Thanks for the comment. Enjoy the Ride
Priority now lists the stock gearing as 50 / 26. I'm hanging on for the end of the cross country and am hoping that a long term review of the Apollo's is included at the end. Really impressive efforts by you both!
Hey Leon It's interesting Priority has changed the stock gearing although not surprising. I think the 50/26 is a better setup for most people. Unless you are doing some long distance touring like The Apollo Mission or just want a lower gear, the 46t front cog probably isn't necessary. However we continue to be super happy with our Apollo set up. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Warner, We are happy to hear you found it useful. We have lots of experience with these bikes now that we rode them across the US on The Apollo Mission. Let us know if you have any specific questions. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
@@rex758 Both Marybeth and I had large rear panniers and I had smaller front panniers. When we first started The Apollo Mission I did some weight adjustment to reduce the front pannier weight some to help with downhill/higher speed stability. After that the bikes handled great.
Brantley, I think viewer world is ready for your next adventure. Any guess as to largest cog that could be placed in back without requiring a belt change? Doing my first RAGBRAI this year. I hope to see you there. Thanks for any help.
Hey Lance, Thanks for the comment. Trust me...we are ready for our next big adventure but unfortunately some other life circumstances have managed to get higher on the priority list. We do have some smaller and bigger adventures in the planning stages. Thanks for sticking with us. I actually don't know how large of a cog could be put on the rear. The good folks at Priority are very responsive to such questions and can provide good guidance. When I was looking to lower the gearing, my main objective was achieving a certain final drive ratio (crank to rear wheel) based on my experience with other bikes. The 46t/26t cogs got me there. By the way, I haven't changed them back to more stock gears. I'm very happy with the overall performance of the bike with these cogs. Absolutely hope to catch up in Iowa. We'll be using our Instagram (@busesbikesbeers) to coordinate some sort of meet up like we have in previous years. Enjoy the Ride
Thank you very much for taking the time to document your modifications, and sharing your thoughts about the end product. Curious to know where you sourced your 46T 5-BOLT CDX cog? I really like your set up; your thorough run through of your modifications have helped me tremendously.
Hey Chris, Thanks for watching and for the comment. I purchased the new cogs directly from Priority. Their price was competitive and it gave me confidence the new cogs would be physically and cosmetically correct for the Apollo. It's great to hear you like the modifications we did to convert the Apollo from a gravel bike to a touring bike. If you haven't seen it, we also did a review of the final bike configurations for The Apollo Mission. ua-cam.com/video/6n6D26fQKSQ/v-deo.html You will likely enjoy that episode as well. Don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions about the Apollo. Our email is in the "about" section of the BBB Adventures UA-cam channel or you can DM us on IG @busesbikesbeers. Thanks again for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Steven, First, thanks for watching BBB Adventures. Second, I'm glad you found this video if you have an Apollo and are wanting to lower the gearing. We used these gears on The Apollo Mission with the bikes fully loaded as touring bikes and really liked the lower gears and didn't really feel like we sacrificed the high gearing since we didn't need to go very fast. Bottom line is we'd recommend the 46t/26t gearing on the Apollo. Enjoy the Ride Wear a Helmet
I run a 46T/26T gearing ratio and, if anything, I wish I could have one or two lower gears. There are hills out there and studded tires are sluggish even under the best circumstances.
Hi Frostbiker! (burrrrr) I can only imagine riding studded tires on the ice and snow uphill. I'm too lazy and whimpy to ride outside in Idaho in the winter. The lower gearing did well for us with the bikes loaded climbing hills on The Apollo Mission but that's different than the riding you're doing. I'm not sure you can get lower gearing than what you currently have. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Patrick, We ordered the 46t cogs directly from Priority. I suggest you send an email to info@prioritybicycles.nyc and ask for the link to where you can order it from them. We love our 46T/26T set up and have no regrets after putting some miles on the bikes with fully loaded panniers. Thanks for watching Buses Bikes and Beers. Enjoy the Ride
Hi, I'm wanting to swap to 46t on my Apollo for the hills at RAGBRAI (see ya there?) - where did you find the little spline tool for the crank arm removal process, or did it come with the sprocket? Thanks!
Hi Fernando, First, we will be at RAGBRAI this year and our current plan is to bring the Red Dragon (our tandem bike) like we did in 2021. We'll be staying with Pork Belly Ventures but you can look for us on the route and we'll likely organize a meet up or something for folks that want to say "hi". I ordered that spline tool off Amazon, but after doing this video several people pointed out that it's possible to change the front cog without taking the bottom bracket and crank apart so you might want to look at that. The idea is you loosen the belt by moving the rear wheel assembly forward, then you take the "chain guard" off the crank (if it has one) and then you can take the screws out of the cog and remove it with the crank still installed. Reverse the process to install the smaller cog. Something worth looking into for sure. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Fernando, Thanks for watching and for the question. First, we will be at RAGBRAI this year and are planning on brining the Red Dragon our tandem bike like we did in 2021. Look for us at Pork Belly camp or on the route. We'll probably also organize a meet up for folks that want to say "hi" so tune into our Instagram for that. I ordered the tool from Amazon. However, after publishing this video, several people pointed out that is likely possible to change the front cog with out taking the crank out of the bottom bracket. The idea is you move the rear wheel assembly forward to loosen the belt. Then take the "chain guard" off the crank if it has one. I know some of the Apollos shipped with cranks from different manufacturers and not all had guards like ours do. Then you remove the screws that hold the cog to the crank and you should be able to remove the cog. Then reverse those steps to install the smaller cog and retention the belt. Hope this helps. Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
I just had my local bike shop switch my Apollo to a 46T front sprocket, but the Shimano Alfine now only has 9 gears as opposed to 11. I understand that there are some sacrifices to changing the front sprocket, but is this one of them? I am just trying to get opinions of others before going back to my local bike shop to have them adjust it.
Hey David, There is no way the cogs (front or rear) have any impact on the number gears in the transmission. It will always have 11 gears no matter what cogs are on the crank or hub. I would suspect the shift cable isn't properly installed or adjusted. Let me know if there are any other questions I can help with. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Thank you! I was able to get them to fix it. The bike climbs a little bit better, but I was hoping for more climbing power. Oh well, I will take what I can get. Thank again for your help.
ACK! I hope someone has pointed out that that dust cap on the non-drive side crank arm is VERY necessary and is actually a preload adjuster. Just like your stem cap preloads your headset for steering, you should install that cap first before tightening the 2 crank arm pinch bolts. You use that small round tool and hand tighten that cap so there's appropriate preload on the bearings of the bottom bracket. Please check that out just in case your crankset is loose inside your bottom bracket.
Thanks Michael, Actually, you're the first person to point that out so I appreciate it very much. I must have gotten lucky because the bottom bracket on both bikes seem fine and we are now 2400+ miles into The Apollo Mission. I don't have the little tool for the cap with us but have had the bikes checked at several bikes shops along the way. Next time I remove the crank, I'll be sure to reassemble it following the proper sequence. Thanks again for the valuable information and thanks for watching BBB Adventures. Enjoy the Ride
I've been watching bits and pieces of The Apollo Mission and when this gearing modification video popped up on my You Tube page I too immediately wondered what happened to the left crank arm's pre-load bolt? You're going to need this in order to get a precise fit of the crank shaft on the bottom bracket.
I noticed on your front chain ring installation that you installed it off by one bolt hole. If you notice the little point on the inside of the chain ring should be lined up with the crank arm. Not that it will make a difference but I believe with traditional chain rings the alignment arrow is to assist in gear changes on a multi front chain rings. Otherwise great video!
Howdy, Thank for watching and for the comment and feedback. Honestly, I didn't know about that alignment feature on the cog. Luckily as you point out, it doesn't matter on this particular set up given the cogs and belt and "fixed" gear ratio and the gearing is all in the Shimano Alfine hub. Your feedback is very timely however as I'm in the middle of replacing a one of the three gear rings on the front of our Co-Motion Tandem. I'll make sure to look for that alignment feature. We did ride those Apollo bikes 3490 miles last summer on The Apollo Mission with zero issues and basically zero maintenance. We are super happy with the performance of these bikes. Hopefully you've had a chance to watch some of those episodes. Enjoy the Ride
Congratulations on your amazing ride! I did get an Apollo as well and love it! I did change out the current tires to 700X32 slicks for my commute so it rides a little faster. I’m saving the factory tires for my future bike packing adventures in the future. Just like you I also got a tandem bike by TerraTrike, the Tandem Pro, a recumbent bike. We love it because it has the IPS system that allows either rider to stop pedaling if needed! No more synchronized stops or starts and no unclipping needed. Definitely not a marriage breaker!😊
Hi Gaye, We installed Versa cage holders from Topeak. Got them on Amazon. They were easy to install and have been working great. VersaCage a.co/d/aOvQPlc
Hey Greer, Nice to hear from you. It's a good hill for climbing training. As you continue to ride and train on that route, you can eventually get all the way to the Bone Store which is a fun place to visit and get something to eat before coming back down to town. Let us know when you have some time and we can plan a ride together. Enjoy the Ride
I just got an Apollo and am looking for an extra gear or two for climbing. Better fitness is one part but lower gearing would help in the Rockies. My Apollo came with 50/26 sprockets. I read that if you decrease the front and increase the back by the same number of teeth you don’t have to swap the belt, do you know if that’s true? If so, I’m looking to do a 48/28 hoping that gives me at least one extra gear (hoping for 2 though). Like you, the downhill speed is more than enough as is so I’m not worried about losing a gear or two of top speed if I can get and extra gear or two for climbs.
Hey Keith, Thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the comment/question. Our Apollo bikes originally came with 50/24 which were fine for unloaded riding on the flat or small hills but we knew that when we had them loaded as touring bikes and would be climbing big hills, these gears weren't enough. First we changed the rear to a 26t and it made a notable difference but not quite enough so we ended up with a 46/26 setup which worked very well for us on The Apollo Mission. With the 46/26, the rear wheel assembly is pretty close to using up all the adjustment in the frame. I've not hear the rule of keeping the same number of teeth in relation to the center to center distance between the cogs and belt length. I would have to suggestions for you. Go the the Gates website because I believe they have a belt length and center-center distance calculator. You could compare the numbers for the stock set up to the 46/26 set up we have and the 48/28 you are proposing. The second thing I'd do is reach out to the good folks at Priority and ask them about this set up relative the the belt. I did a quick calculation and the final low gear drive ratio of our stock 50/24 setup was 1.098. That drops to 0.932 for our 46/26 setup and would be 0.903 for your proposed 48/28 setup, so you'd definitely end up with at least a couple lower gears and guess it'll feel like more. Please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to chat more about this. Enjoy the Ride
Hi, you're supposed to preload the bottom bracket bearings with the plastic spline retainer, about 1 NM then torque down the 5mm retaining bolts to 12-14 NM, hope this helps
Hey Jerome, I didn't know that at the time but someone else also pointed it out but we had more than 2,000 miles on the bikes after I changed the front cogs and luckily we had no issue with the bottom brackets. I must have gotten lucky. Next time I have the bikes on the repair stand I plan on double checking the bottom bracket bearing tension. Thanks for pointing this out and thanks for watching BBB Adventures. Enjoy the Ride
Congrats on making the 1,000+ subscribers level! I know that was a goals, well deserved accomplishment! Yoga for cyclist, tell me more! I’ve had the right knee scoped twice and the inside is now bone on bone (plus osteoarthritis), fine as long as I don’t get out of the saddle and straighten out the right leg. I think that’s something I should try. What can you tell me so I can get started. Tks
Yes, we are super happy and excited we hit 1000!!! It's a key milestone and thanks to the support of great people like you. Yoga for Cyclist - I just searched on UA-cam and found a bunch of 20 to 30 minute Yoga practices that target the areas of the body that are problematic for cyclists (shoulders, mid and lower back, hip flexors, quads, calves, hamstrings, etc.). I've been doing it for a few weeks now and believe it's making a difference in terms of flexibility, range of motion and most importantly it's strengthening the muscle system that supports my knees. I'm also doing a series of step ups, squats and lunges for strength training. Here are some of the Yoga practices I've been doing: ua-cam.com/video/YWzRE1BiAvw/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/5vyAfArtNzc/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/ZBwCs2s6o70/v-deo.html ua-cam.com/video/p3PhLRTPbbs/v-deo.html Enjoy the Ride
@@stevederr4927 Yes. At first it seemed like I couldn't get anywhere near the level of flexibility the instructors on UA-cam have but as I've continued to do the Yoga practices, I've noticed I get incrementally more flexible over time. Just keep after it for a while and I'm sure you'll see the same result.
Great video as always! I reached out about a year ago to ask about the gear swapping, and so glad to see the full swap in action. I'm thinking about doing the same thing, as there are hills here in Georgia (very similar to the hills of my youth in Albany Ny and The Adirondacks) that call out for Lower gearing. Even without the bike being weighed down with tour gear, would you still recommend the swap? Lastly, would love a follow from you both, as we both call Ryan and the Folks @ Priority, Friends 😎 Keep up the great work, we'll connect soon!
Howdy, Nice to hear from you and thanks for watching BBB Adventures. Good question about the gearing. I think the answer depends on the kind of riding you do. If you like to ride fast going downhill or are a strong rider on the flats and like to go fast, then you might notice the loss of high end gearing that results from the 46t/26t setup. There were a few times during The Apollo Mission when I got to high gear going downhill but I was probably going close to 30 mph which for me is fast enough. We were both very happy with the new gearing on The Apollo Mission given we were carrying about 50 pounds worth of gear and had many hills to climb. Also, I have bad knees and like to ride with a high cadence and lower forces which helps my knees so the overall lower gearing is better for me. We won't be changing the gear back to stock on our Apollos, we like the new gearing. Hope this helps. We are happy to follow you, is UA-cam or Instagram better for that? Thanks again for watching and for the comment. Enjoy the Ride
Thanks for the response and glad y’all had a great Holiday. I’m thinking I’m gonna go ahead and do the swap, one because the hills here in Ga, can be a beast :) I’ll be reaching out to Dave to order up the new gears. Lastly, to answer your question, we’d love a follow on YT and the ‘Gram 😎 Have an awesome NYE and we’ll connect again in 2023!
One thing to keep in mind is the gearing was selected for the maximum torque rating of the Alfine gear hub. A smaller chainring will drastically increase the torque potential applied to the hub.
Hey John, Thanks for watching and for the comment. You are absolutely correct, there is a limit to how low of gears you should pair with the Shimano Alfine 11 hub. Shimano recommends a 2:1 ratio as the lowest ratio and the 46/26 set up we ended up with is 1.77:1 so it's within what is recommended. We now have nearly 5000 miles on this set up and a majority of those miles were during The Apollo Mission with the bikes fully loaded as touring bikes. We've had no issues with the Shimano hubs. Thanks again for the comment, we appreciate the engagement. Enjoy the Ride
I have the continuum, same issue with the gearing since we have hilly streets in seattle. I wonder should i get the 28t cog instead of 26t? Please advise
Hey Chan, Thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the comment/question. The drive train on the Continuum is very similar to the drive train on the Apollo. Changing the cogs would absolutely help lower the gearing and make hill climbing more pleasant. It will reduce your high end gearing at the same time but I'm guessing you don't find yourself in high gear too often and would rather have better climbing gears. You'll have to decide if you want to change just the front cog, the back cog or both. We ended up changing both to get the gears where we wanted them for The Apollo Mission. I would recommend contacting Priority to discuss this further including what cogs you should get that will allow you to keep the stock belt, like we did on the Apollos. They are very helpful and responsive. I would also recommend buying the new cogs from Priority to ensure you get the right ones. Contact them at: info@prioritybicycles.nyc Thanks again for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Steve, The Priority Apollo bike comes with a Shimano Alfine 11 internal gear hub which as an overall gear range of 409%. It's similar to the Rohloff hub from Germany if you're familiar with that product. It's part of the super low maintenance drivetrain which also includes the Gates Carbon Drive belt system. We rode these bikes 3500 miles across North America without any issue. I've been very happy with the performance of this drivetrain. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
@BBB_Adventures wonder if I could get that on my surly ogre I'm planning on building this fall....need something for climbing steep hills on the pacific coast trail.
What is your normal cadence now? Also, I would think a belt drive would be less friendly for cross country trips. I'm sure you wouldn't trust it for a world trip, right?
My cadence runs in the high 80s to mid 90s rpm. But I also tend to keep the gearing selection fairly low so that I'm not stressing my knees too much. I'm never going to be a bike racer. :) My opinion of the belt drive is that it's actually better for a cross country ride than a traditional drive train. It's essentially the same belt design and system that is used on many motorcycles and have proven themselves in the field to go around 100k Km with no issues and no maintenance. If we were riding bikes with traditional drivetrains, I'd be having to clean the chain, oil the chain, adjust the derailers to keep them shifting smoothly. I think the only area of concern is the reliability of the Shimano Alfine 11 internal gear hub. Since we got the Apollos, we probably got more than 1,000 miles on them so I think the hubs don't seem to have any manufacturing defects or other early life issues. Shimano introduced this hub back in 2010 so they have been well field tested. I guess we'll see how well the system holds up this summer when we put close to 4000 miles on these bikes. Thanks for watching and for the comment. Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures I guess I'm a power rider who relies on lower 70s cadences. Faster cadences are not my strong suit. If not doing episodes along the way, I hope you can keep us interested with some Shorts here.
@@lightdark00 Our plan is to carry a laptop and edit and post episodes along the way. Hopefully that doesn't become too overwhelming. We will also be posting Instagram and can also include Shorts here as well.
What experience do you have with traditional gearing, aka cassettes and derailleurs? I'm curious what this is in relation to, say a 1x drivetrain with an 11x36 cassette.
Hey Arthur, Thanks for watching and for the comment. We do have experience with traditional drivetrains on our other bikes like our road bikes and our Co-Motion tandem. Here's something of a comparison of gear ratios. Our Giant road bikes have a 52t/36t on the crank and a cassette with 11t/32t on the back. That gives a ratio of 1.125 for low gear and a ratio of 4.727 for high gear. The stock Apollo comes with a 50t cog in the front and a 24t cog in the back. Accounting for the gearing in the Alfine-11 hub that gives a final ratio of 1.098 for low gear and 4.485 for high gear. For use this wasn't low enough for touring when loading the bikes with 50+ pounds of panniers and gear. Our final solution was a 46t cog in the front and a 26t cog in the rear which again accounting for the gearing in the hub gives us a final low gear ratio of 0.932 and a high gear ratio of 3.809. During The Apollo Mission we found this final solution to work very well for us as we climbed over the Rockies with the bikes loaded. There were a few times where I hit high gear going downhill but I was already going fast enough and so I didn't really care I didn't have more gears. If someone is using the Apollo as a gravel bike or commuter/get around town bike, the stock set up works well. I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to let me know if you have further questions. Thanks again for watching BBB Adventures. Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures thanks for that detailed explanation. That's a nice range of gearing. And just to confirm, it comes stock with a 26t cog in the back, not a 36t, correct?
@BBB Adventures Thank you for taking the time to give us your gearing, ratios, and how they worked. I was also curious as to whether this last gearing change was enough for your trip. Will use your ratios as a guide to where i will end up for Ragbrai on my seven speed. Once again, thank you, and be well.
@@dfriz8513 The final gear ratios ended up working very well for us during The Apollo Mission. They are pretty low overall but considering we were carrying 50ish pounds of gear on each bike we enjoying the lower gears climbing hills. There were a few times going downhill I hit high gear but by then was going better than 30 mph which is plenty fast on a loaded touring bike. I've been riding the Apollo around town and find the gearing just fine. Long story short, I plan on leaving it where it is.
This is ANOTHER conversation Lance and I've been having recently. I HATE uphill. We live at the foothills of the Adirondacks and its all uphill from our driveway, so I've been wondering if the gearing on the Apollo needs some tweaking. I really don't want to sacrifice the flats though. I think I just need more riding on it before I change the cogs. I will, however, buy an extra belt for our adventures. I recognize that Ryan's issue was extreme circumstances AND user neglect, but I don't want to get stuck without one.
Hi Barb, Another interesting coincidence that you guys were talking about gearing AND fenders as our last few episodes were posted. I guess it is that time of year we look at our bikes and our plans for the summer riding season and try to figure out what needs to be done to make sure the bikes are ready to go. In terms of sacrificing the top end of the gears when you change to the 46/26 set up, one thing you could think about is how often do you have your Apollo with the current gearing in 11th gear? If you are a fast rider and spend a lot of time in 11th gear on the flats, then maybe it is something to be concerned about. However, if you are more like us and don't actually use the highest gear then the sacrifice may be worth it to get lower gears for steep hills. In other words, with the standard Apollo gearing I often wished for lower gears and never wished for higher gears. We are also carrying an extra belt with us across the country. Chances are we won't need it, but it's definitely better to have one a spare as insurance. We bought ours from the Priority website. Thanks for watching and for the comment. Enjoy the Ride
Where did you find/purchase your front cog? I’m planning on changing mine out for RAGBRAI and want to make sure I have the right one. I’ve reached out to Priority but they didn’t provide a link to where I could purchase it. Thank you!
We actually bought them from Priority. I'm surprised they didn't send you a link to buy the cogs from them. I suggest you reach back out to them at info@prioritybicycles.nyc and ask them for a link to the 46t cog for the Apollo. Let us know if we can be of any further assistance updating your bike with the lower gearing. We love the lower gears and don't have any regrets. Thanks for watching Buses Bikes and Beers. Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Thank you for your reply! Priority at the time was out of stock. But it looks like they should be back in stock soon so I placed my order this morning! Thank you again! Looking forward to watching your journey across the USA and hope to meet you on RAGBRAI!
@@jrtaray Excellent. I think you're going to really like the lower gearing. Thanks for follow along The Apollo Mission, we need all the support and encouragement we can get. :) See you in Iowa. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Michael, Great suggestion. I actually had a professional bike fit done a few years ago for my Giant road bike by a guy that primarily serves bike racers and he ended up putting a smaller crank on which made a huge difference in my performance and my knee pain. I should do the same thing for the Apollo. Thanks for watching and for the recommendation. Enjoy the Ride
Great video for us Apollo owners. Thank you, thank you! After changing the rear cog on my 2021 Apollo, I also had to adjust the rear brakes (rubbing). I also had to adjust the barrel adjuster to get the yellow line realigned on the rear hub when in 6th gear. BTW, did you readjust the belt tension after riding it? I tend to keep mine in the 42-45 Hz range (after Ryan's experience). I also bought an extra belt, just in case, want to avoid a Duzer moment. Have you changed the oil in the rear hub yet, since you have over 1,000 miles on it now? I haven't seen any leakage on mine and was thinking about not changing it. You need to go tubeless! If you do, pick up some Stan's plugs, patches and/or bacon strips for times when the puncture doesn't seal with just the sealant in the tire. You will have to tape the wheels to set the bike up tubeless (wish they were already taped for tubeless setup). I noticed you have spd pedals installed, what are you wearing during the cross-country trip, mountain bike shoes, sandals, etc equipped with spd cleats or are you putting back on the original pedals and wearing sneakers? I have 4 of the Revelate Design bags (well bult and waterproof), the Tangle Frame bag, Mag-Tank bag, Mountain Feedbag and Shrew saddle bag. Used them on RAGBRAI and I love them! I believe Ryan and/or Kevin Does used them on their Great Divide ride. I also have the Top Peak rear rack and slide on bag (nice that it clips on and off of the rack). No panniers yet. A suggestion for the kickstand (yours looks like mine), for $3 the local bike shop sold me a rubber cap for the end of the kickstand, the cap widens out the end of the kickstand (size of a quarter) and prevents the kickstand from digging into the ground (more stable). I think at some point Priority should sell the Apollo with 46/26 cogs, tubeless ready (pre-taped wheels), kickstand and fenders as their standard Apollo model. Hydraulic brakes on the 2022 model are a nice upgrade, although I have been happy with the manual ones (but would have rather had hydraulic ones). Can't wait for the next video! Enjoying the ride! :)
Hey Steve, Thanks for watching and for the great comment. I did check the shifter adjustment after changing the cogs and it was still good. I haven't checked the belt tension again yet, but plan to before we head to Oregon. We are doing a practice overnight ride with the bikes fully loaded this weekend so I'll check the belts after that. I haven't changed the oil in the rear hub yet. I did buy a kit for changing the oil but it's a good idea. I think I'll add that to my list before we head to Oregon. We haven't switched to tubeless, but I did get your email which was super helpful, thank you. We will be tubeless before the big ride. I've also heard from others the importance of carrying the plugs and bacon strips so we'll definitely get some of those. We do have spd pedals and will be wearing cycling sandals. We got them last year for RAGBRAI and put spd pedals on the Red Dragon. We really like them and the pedals always allow riding with street shoes since they are flat on the opposite side. I took the kickstand off my bike. I got tried of it hitting the crank arm and no matter how tight I got the mounting screw, it would still rotate and interfere with the crank arm. I recently threw away an old tent but kept the fiberglass poles and so I fabricated some homemade "click stands" that we'll be using on the ride this weekend to field test them. We had our brakes adjusted at the bike shop and it made a HUGE difference. We are quite happy with the brakes now. Probably something I should have done when we first built the bikes. The guy at the bike shop pointed out that the manual brakes are very common and getting parts and or repairs done is easy and all bike shops stock the cables, pads, etc. Hydraulic brakes can be more problematic for field repairs. But they are also very reliable, but it's an interesting point. I also think it would good if Priority offered several gearing options for the Apollo since some people how only ride gravel without loaded down the bikes probably like the stock gears, but those of us that want to use them for more touring need the lower gears. Thanks for you continued support of BBB. Enjoy the Ride
Hi Brently - Nice job on making your way across America on the Apollo. BTW. What made you decide to choose the Apollo over the Priority 600 for example?
I faced that same question. The answer, for me, was that the 600 was much heavier (30.5 lbs. vs 24 lbs.). Pedal strikes on the 600 are frequent on off-road terrain due to the low bottom bracket. I prefer my own lights and aluminum fenders, not the ones that come with the 600. The 600 isn't configured for gravel while the Apollo can do road and gravel well. The 600 is, officially, $500 more or $300 more during a sale. The highest gear on the 600 is too low for me and the 600 has one less midrange gear than the Apollo with too many low gears for me (though that's good when carrying weight uphill) as I will be using the Apollo unladen the great majority of the time.
Howdy, First, thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the comment. Engagement with our viewers/subscribers is one of our favorite aspects of our endeavors on BBB Adventures. We appreciate the interaction. You are asking a good question. When we first starting thinking about riding across the US back around 2018 while watching Ryan VanDuzer and Love Cycles, I started searching for the right bike. At the time we were living in Taiwan and doing bike touring on our all carbon road bikes and I knew we'd need legit touring rigs for a cross US ride. I was also inspired by Ryan's use and promotion of the Gates carbon drive belt drivetrain. There were a few manufactures like Co-motion that were offering carbon belt drives but there weren't many and they were all essentially custom bikes and very expensive. So I looked hard at the Priority 600 but there were several features that weren't ideal for touring. Another viewer, Iazurm did a good job of summarizing some of those concerns with the 600 in his reply to your comment. So I was back to considering a custom bike from Co-motion and trying to decide if I wanted to spend many $1000 on two bikes. Then Priority announced the Apollo which addressed the concerns I had with the 600 and after a bit of discussion with good folks at Priority and some research on the Shimano Alfine 11 hub, it seemed like the remaining gaps between the stock Apollo and the touring bike I wanted could easily be addressed. We ordered our within the first few days there were available for order. At the time we were still living in Taiwan but were making preparation to return to the US. The bikes were waiting for us when we moved back. The rest of the story of how I turned them into touring bikes is fairly well documented on various episodes on BBB Adventures, including the challenges with fenders and gearing. In the end, we couldn't be happier with the performance of the bikes during The Apollo Mission. Hope this answers your question. If you have any additional specific questions or want to discuss anything in further detail, let me know. You can reach me on busesbikesbeers@gmail.com or message me on Instagram @busesbikesbeers. Thanks again for watching BBB Adventures. Enjoy the Ride Wear a Helmet
Hi Iazum, Thanks for the comment and reply to Mid Miles great question. I also added some specifics for our decision process for picking the Apollo in a reply to his original question. Thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the great interaction. I really appreciate it. Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures I appreciate your well rounded reply. I'm a novice in cycling. Watching folks like you, Duzer, and others have piqued my interest considerably.
Hey Rene, Looking forward to seeing an updated picture of your bike. We also have some updates on our schedule for when we'll be in Nebraska. We can discuss more via email. Thanks for continuing to support BBB. Enjoy the Ride
Hi Steve, Yep...I figured that out after completing this episode. I like your perspective though on getting to know the bike better. The good news is we are still very happy with the performance of the new gearing even after our 3500 mile trip across North America on The Apollo Mission. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Seems like Priority should offer a high or low option upon purchase. The consumer should not have to go through this much effort just to use the bike for basic riding. Thanks!
I don't disagree although configuration options cause supply chain and fulfilment complexity, but it's possible for sure. Also, the higher gearing that comes with the bike is well suited for gravel riding. We wanted lower gearing for the fully loaded touring we planned for the bikes. I wonder how many buyers are using them for touring. I believe Priority has changed the standard rear cog from a 24t to a 26t to reduce the gearing a bit from when the Apollo was first launched. But your point is a good one. Thanks for watching. Enjoy the Ride
Hey Iazurm, When I made this video I didn't have the right adapter to go between my 1/4" sockets/bits and my 3/8" torque wrench. I did go back after securing the adapter and checked the torque on all the important fasteners on both bikes. Thanks for the concern and the comment. And thanks for watching BBB Adventures. Enjoy the Ride
Hello and thank you for the videos! Fyi for future reference, I just replaced the front sprocket with the 46T and didn't need to remove crank components. Just loosened rear wheel and belt adjustments removed rear wheel to get the belt off the sprocket and removed the sprocket by simply sliding it over the crank/pedal and installed the 46T same way. Took about 20 minutes. - I see it's already been noted before lol. Thanks again for your videos and time!
Hi Steve,
Sorry it's taken me a bit of time to respond.
Yes! This method would have been much faster. Not sure why this wasn't obvious to me, live and learn. :)
Thanks for watching. We appreciate the comment.
Enjoy the Ride
Brantley, we changed our Apollo front sprocket from stock 50T to 46 T by removing rear wheel then just removing the belt from front sprocket, then removed the 5 bolts on the sprocket and chain guard. Then slipped the sprocket off the crank arm and pedal, no need to open bottom bracket. We did it with the bike upside down, super easy that way to reposition rear wheel and tension the belt.
Hey Charles,
Someone else pointed out that I could have changed the front cogs without removing the crank assembly. It's a great point and for some reason it didn't occur to me to try that. It sort of seems obvious to try that once you point it out, I guess I got stuck in a thought process and didn't question it. But we're glad you watched the video anyway. :)
Thanks for watching BBB and for the comment. We love hearing from viewers.
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures You should delete this video because it's totally wrong compared to what the user should do. It's bad advice completely.
@@HarveyLMiller21 Thanks for your feedback, but we won't be taking the episode down and while there must be an easier way to accomplish the gear change, the method represented in this episode gets the job done.
Enjoy the Ride
I'm interested in your experience with the Apollo. Sometimes it's hard to know if the reviews out there are legit. Thanks for you authenticity and candor in your videos. Now, I'm looking forward to hearing your plans for "Buses Bikes & Beers Do America." 😀
Hey Craig,
Great to hear from you and thanks for continuing to watch BBB. Overall we are very happy with the Apollo bikes but the stock set up wasn't really aligned with our goals for long distance touring but we knew that when we ordered them. The people at Priority have been super helpful and supportive of us as we've made the modifications to make our Apollos touring bikes. If you want to chat more about the Apollo or have other specific questions, reach out to us, our email is in the "about" page of the BBB UA-cam channel. We'd love to hear from you.
Stayed tuned for this week's video and the weeks that follow. We'll be covering a lot more of our plans and preparations in the weeks to come as we approach our start date of June 10.
Thanks again for the comment.
Enjoy the Ride
If you plan to change the chain ring on the other bike too, I saw a video once of someone doing it without taking the bottom bracket apart. He freed the old chain ring by removing the bolts. Then he slipped it over two of the spokes of the chain ring "holder", then over the other three. Then he slid the chain ring down the crank and over the pedal. Installation of the new chain ring was just the reverse. Looked pretty easy on the video. The other advantage of this was that once the old chain ring was loose, there was no need to remove the rear wheel to release the belt! Anyway, thanks for the informative video.
Hi Jim,
I've already done both bikes but after reading your comment, I wondered why I didn't think about the fact I could have changed the cog with the crank still installed in the bottom bracket. It makes total sense. Oh well. I guess sometimes you get stuck in a certain thought process and you close your mind to alternatives. I appreciate you pointing out an alternative.
Maybe on the bright side, I got more practice at removing the rear wheel assembly so if I ever have to do it in the field, it'll be a bit easier.
Thanks for watching Buses Bikes and Beers and for the great comment.
Enjoy the Ride
Nice Karmann Ghia in the background. 👍🏼
Hey Regan,
Thanks...it's a 1970 and is For Sale. Interested? :)
Thanks for watching and for the comment. BTW, we love our Apollo bikes and after the gear changes were super happy with how they performed as touring bikes. Are you are considering getting one?
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Hey thanks! I mentioned the Ghia cause it was my late brother’s favorite car. He had a 1973 convertible Ghia that he was restoring before he passed away suddenly. With help, I finished it for him. But I am 6’5” tall & 230lbs so me & the Ghia weren’t the best fit. So i sold it. But it is such a beautiful car and reminds me of my brother. I am sure you’ll have no problem selling it. They are real collector items. I plan to buy a priority bike to commute & tour on. I am torn btwn the 600 & the apollo. I like to gravel ride & tour… but i also like going fast on the road. But I prefer flat bars & 700c wheels, so I am confused! 🤔 I’m leaning towards the 600 for the flat bars…but I know some have converted the apollo to a flat bar bike… so i am looking into that as well. Haven’t decided yet!
@@Regantdarcy Thanks for sharing the story about you brother's Ghia, it's so cool that you finished the restoration. Must have been a little hard to sell given the history. We bought ours with the intention of doing an electric conversion. There are several conversion kits on the market that are pretty much turn key and allow you to bolt on an electric motor to the original transaxle. I thought it would be a great little run around town car. I've realized that I have way too many projects and need to pair them down and also allow enough time, energy and money to more bike touring.
I understand your dilemma between the 600 and the Apollo. The 600 is 30 pounds out of the box and the Apollo is 24, but you do have to put fenders on the Apollo and the 600 has the integrated lights and dyno front hub. If you keep the Apollo light, I think it will be faster on the road and probably handle better on gravel. As you point out there are a few folks that have converted the Apollo to flat bars and I think mico-shift (the company that make the Apollo brake/shifter might have a flat bar 11 speed shifter that would work. The 600 is a great bike and has a lot of what you'd already want for touring like fenders, lights, etc and has a wider gear range. We ended up changing the front and rear cogs on our Apollos to get the gearing where we wanted it for touring with fully loaded bikes and big hills to climb. My advice would be to prioritize your usages (commute, tour, gravel, fast road) because some of those drive different requirements for a bike. Both of these bikes are awesome.
BTW. When you do decide to order, we are part of the Priority Affiliate program and if you use our link we'll get credit for your purchase and it helps us with our relationship with Priority and we'll get a small commission for the sale. Here's the link:
www.avantlink.com/click.php?tt=cl&merchant_id=1d722773-d301-4e39-a018-1a3be7d8566a&website_id=adf6ba4c-17d3-477b-bf83-1530131a91d5&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.prioritybicycles.com%2F
Don't hesitate to reach out as you make your decision and if there are questions we might be able to help with. busesbikesbeers@gmail.com
Enjoy the Ride
Nice, synopsis of the climb gears and test ride. Found via tim active & ryan van duzer algorithms. Subscribed & tour ON! 🎉
With that lowered gearing, you’re gonna need bigger racks and panniers for all the extra weight you will be able to carry while cycling over the Rockies! Good luck with the final month of preparation and planning. Woohoo!👍💪🏼❤️🍻🚴🏽♀️
Hey Todd,
I think you might have it backwards...the reason we need the lower gears is because of the large pannier and all the stuff we have to take to be self-sustained during the long (but awesome) journey. We did a practice run this weekend and spent the night in our new tent in the yard of a friends cabin above the Bone Store. Learned a ton, but was super happy to have the lower gears.
Thanks for the comment.
Enjoy the Ride
Priority now lists the stock gearing as 50 / 26.
I'm hanging on for the end of the cross country and am hoping that a long term review of the Apollo's is included at the end.
Really impressive efforts by you both!
Hey Leon
It's interesting Priority has changed the stock gearing although not surprising. I think the 50/26 is a better setup for most people. Unless you are doing some long distance touring like The Apollo Mission or just want a lower gear, the 46t front cog probably isn't necessary. However we continue to be super happy with our Apollo set up.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
50/26 may be OK for 20 year olds but of you want realistic gearing I suggest you visit ua-cam.com/video/qf9tFJFXV5o/v-deo.html
thank you for your video, very informative.
Hey Warner,
We are happy to hear you found it useful. We have lots of experience with these bikes now that we rode them across the US on The Apollo Mission. Let us know if you have any specific questions.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
Yes, thank you. How was with the panniers. How was to handle the full weight?
@@rex758 Both Marybeth and I had large rear panniers and I had smaller front panniers. When we first started The Apollo Mission I did some weight adjustment to reduce the front pannier weight some to help with downhill/higher speed stability. After that the bikes handled great.
Brantley, I think viewer world is ready for your next adventure.
Any guess as to largest cog that could be placed in back without requiring a belt change?
Doing my first RAGBRAI this year. I hope to see you there.
Thanks for any help.
Hey Lance,
Thanks for the comment. Trust me...we are ready for our next big adventure but unfortunately some other life circumstances have managed to get higher on the priority list. We do have some smaller and bigger adventures in the planning stages. Thanks for sticking with us.
I actually don't know how large of a cog could be put on the rear. The good folks at Priority are very responsive to such questions and can provide good guidance. When I was looking to lower the gearing, my main objective was achieving a certain final drive ratio (crank to rear wheel) based on my experience with other bikes. The 46t/26t cogs got me there. By the way, I haven't changed them back to more stock gears. I'm very happy with the overall performance of the bike with these cogs.
Absolutely hope to catch up in Iowa. We'll be using our Instagram (@busesbikesbeers) to coordinate some sort of meet up like we have in previous years.
Enjoy the Ride
Thank you very much for taking the time to document your modifications, and sharing your thoughts about the end product. Curious to know where you sourced your 46T 5-BOLT CDX cog? I really like your set up; your thorough run through of your modifications have helped me tremendously.
Hey Chris,
Thanks for watching and for the comment.
I purchased the new cogs directly from Priority. Their price was competitive and it gave me confidence the new cogs would be physically and cosmetically correct for the Apollo.
It's great to hear you like the modifications we did to convert the Apollo from a gravel bike to a touring bike. If you haven't seen it, we also did a review of the final bike configurations for The Apollo Mission. ua-cam.com/video/6n6D26fQKSQ/v-deo.html
You will likely enjoy that episode as well.
Don't hesitate to reach out if you have more questions about the Apollo. Our email is in the "about" section of the BBB Adventures UA-cam channel or you can DM us on IG @busesbikesbeers.
Thanks again for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
thanks for showing all for that.
Hey Steven,
First, thanks for watching BBB Adventures.
Second, I'm glad you found this video if you have an Apollo and are wanting to lower the gearing. We used these gears on The Apollo Mission with the bikes fully loaded as touring bikes and really liked the lower gears and didn't really feel like we sacrificed the high gearing since we didn't need to go very fast. Bottom line is we'd recommend the 46t/26t gearing on the Apollo.
Enjoy the Ride
Wear a Helmet
I run a 46T/26T gearing ratio and, if anything, I wish I could have one or two lower gears. There are hills out there and studded tires are sluggish even under the best circumstances.
Hi Frostbiker! (burrrrr)
I can only imagine riding studded tires on the ice and snow uphill. I'm too lazy and whimpy to ride outside in Idaho in the winter. The lower gearing did well for us with the bikes loaded climbing hills on The Apollo Mission but that's different than the riding you're doing.
I'm not sure you can get lower gearing than what you currently have.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
Good to know. Where did you get your 46T chain ring ? Thanks
Hey Patrick,
We ordered the 46t cogs directly from Priority. I suggest you send an email to info@prioritybicycles.nyc and ask for the link to where you can order it from them.
We love our 46T/26T set up and have no regrets after putting some miles on the bikes with fully loaded panniers.
Thanks for watching Buses Bikes and Beers.
Enjoy the Ride
Hi, I'm wanting to swap to 46t on my Apollo for the hills at RAGBRAI (see ya there?) - where did you find the little spline tool for the crank arm removal process, or did it come with the sprocket?
Thanks!
Hi Fernando,
First, we will be at RAGBRAI this year and our current plan is to bring the Red Dragon (our tandem bike) like we did in 2021. We'll be staying with Pork Belly Ventures but you can look for us on the route and we'll likely organize a meet up or something for folks that want to say "hi".
I ordered that spline tool off Amazon, but after doing this video several people pointed out that it's possible to change the front cog without taking the bottom bracket and crank apart so you might want to look at that. The idea is you loosen the belt by moving the rear wheel assembly forward, then you take the "chain guard" off the crank (if it has one) and then you can take the screws out of the cog and remove it with the crank still installed. Reverse the process to install the smaller cog. Something worth looking into for sure.
Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
Hey Fernando,
Thanks for watching and for the question.
First, we will be at RAGBRAI this year and are planning on brining the Red Dragon our tandem bike like we did in 2021. Look for us at Pork Belly camp or on the route. We'll probably also organize a meet up for folks that want to say "hi" so tune into our Instagram for that.
I ordered the tool from Amazon. However, after publishing this video, several people pointed out that is likely possible to change the front cog with out taking the crank out of the bottom bracket. The idea is you move the rear wheel assembly forward to loosen the belt. Then take the "chain guard" off the crank if it has one. I know some of the Apollos shipped with cranks from different manufacturers and not all had guards like ours do. Then you remove the screws that hold the cog to the crank and you should be able to remove the cog. Then reverse those steps to install the smaller cog and retention the belt. Hope this helps.
Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
I just had my local bike shop switch my Apollo to a 46T front sprocket, but the Shimano Alfine now only has 9 gears as opposed to 11. I understand that there are some sacrifices to changing the front sprocket, but is this one of them? I am just trying to get opinions of others before going back to my local bike shop to have them adjust it.
Hey David,
There is no way the cogs (front or rear) have any impact on the number gears in the transmission. It will always have 11 gears no matter what cogs are on the crank or hub. I would suspect the shift cable isn't properly installed or adjusted.
Let me know if there are any other questions I can help with.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Thank you! I was able to get them to fix it. The bike climbs a little bit better, but I was hoping for more climbing power. Oh well, I will take what I can get. Thank again for your help.
ACK! I hope someone has pointed out that that dust cap on the non-drive side crank arm is VERY necessary and is actually a preload adjuster. Just like your stem cap preloads your headset for steering, you should install that cap first before tightening the 2 crank arm pinch bolts. You use that small round tool and hand tighten that cap so there's appropriate preload on the bearings of the bottom bracket. Please check that out just in case your crankset is loose inside your bottom bracket.
Thanks Michael,
Actually, you're the first person to point that out so I appreciate it very much. I must have gotten lucky because the bottom bracket on both bikes seem fine and we are now 2400+ miles into The Apollo Mission. I don't have the little tool for the cap with us but have had the bikes checked at several bikes shops along the way. Next time I remove the crank, I'll be sure to reassemble it following the proper sequence.
Thanks again for the valuable information and thanks for watching BBB Adventures.
Enjoy the Ride
I've been watching bits and pieces of The Apollo Mission and when this gearing modification video popped up on my You Tube page I too immediately wondered what happened to the left crank arm's pre-load bolt? You're going to need this in order to get a precise fit of the crank shaft on the bottom bracket.
I noticed on your front chain ring installation that you installed it off by one bolt hole. If you notice the little point on the inside of the chain ring should be lined up with the crank arm. Not that it will make a difference but I believe with traditional chain rings the alignment arrow is to assist in gear changes on a multi front chain rings. Otherwise great video!
Howdy,
Thank for watching and for the comment and feedback. Honestly, I didn't know about that alignment feature on the cog. Luckily as you point out, it doesn't matter on this particular set up given the cogs and belt and "fixed" gear ratio and the gearing is all in the Shimano Alfine hub. Your feedback is very timely however as I'm in the middle of replacing a one of the three gear rings on the front of our Co-Motion Tandem. I'll make sure to look for that alignment feature.
We did ride those Apollo bikes 3490 miles last summer on The Apollo Mission with zero issues and basically zero maintenance. We are super happy with the performance of these bikes. Hopefully you've had a chance to watch some of those episodes.
Enjoy the Ride
Congratulations on your amazing ride! I did get an Apollo as well and love it! I did change out the current tires to 700X32 slicks for my commute so it rides a little faster. I’m saving the factory tires for my future bike packing adventures in the future. Just like you I also got a tandem bike by TerraTrike, the Tandem Pro, a recumbent bike. We love it because it has the IPS system that allows either rider to stop pedaling if needed! No more synchronized stops or starts and no unclipping needed. Definitely not a marriage breaker!😊
what water bottle holder did you install on the forks....looks much more sturdy than what i have seen...thank you in advance and enjoy your ride
Hi Gaye,
We installed Versa cage holders from Topeak. Got them on Amazon. They were easy to install and have been working great.
VersaCage a.co/d/aOvQPlc
I went up that hill last weekend, but only up 800 feet. I think I need to work on my downhill, that felt scarier.
Hey Greer,
Nice to hear from you. It's a good hill for climbing training. As you continue to ride and train on that route, you can eventually get all the way to the Bone Store which is a fun place to visit and get something to eat before coming back down to town.
Let us know when you have some time and we can plan a ride together.
Enjoy the Ride
I just got an Apollo and am looking for an extra gear or two for climbing. Better fitness is one part but lower gearing would help in the Rockies. My Apollo came with 50/26 sprockets. I read that if you decrease the front and increase the back by the same number of teeth you don’t have to swap the belt, do you know if that’s true? If so, I’m looking to do a 48/28 hoping that gives me at least one extra gear (hoping for 2 though). Like you, the downhill speed is more than enough as is so I’m not worried about losing a gear or two of top speed if I can get and extra gear or two for climbs.
Hey Keith,
Thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the comment/question.
Our Apollo bikes originally came with 50/24 which were fine for unloaded riding on the flat or small hills but we knew that when we had them loaded as touring bikes and would be climbing big hills, these gears weren't enough. First we changed the rear to a 26t and it made a notable difference but not quite enough so we ended up with a 46/26 setup which worked very well for us on The Apollo Mission. With the 46/26, the rear wheel assembly is pretty close to using up all the adjustment in the frame. I've not hear the rule of keeping the same number of teeth in relation to the center to center distance between the cogs and belt length. I would have to suggestions for you. Go the the Gates website because I believe they have a belt length and center-center distance calculator. You could compare the numbers for the stock set up to the 46/26 set up we have and the 48/28 you are proposing. The second thing I'd do is reach out to the good folks at Priority and ask them about this set up relative the the belt.
I did a quick calculation and the final low gear drive ratio of our stock 50/24 setup was 1.098. That drops to 0.932 for our 46/26 setup and would be 0.903 for your proposed 48/28 setup, so you'd definitely end up with at least a couple lower gears and guess it'll feel like more.
Please don't hesitate to reach out if you'd like to chat more about this.
Enjoy the Ride
Hi, you're supposed to preload the bottom bracket bearings with the plastic spline retainer, about 1 NM then torque down the 5mm retaining bolts to 12-14 NM, hope this helps
Hey Jerome,
I didn't know that at the time but someone else also pointed it out but we had more than 2,000 miles on the bikes after I changed the front cogs and luckily we had no issue with the bottom brackets. I must have gotten lucky. Next time I have the bikes on the repair stand I plan on double checking the bottom bracket bearing tension. Thanks for pointing this out and thanks for watching BBB Adventures.
Enjoy the Ride
Congrats on making the 1,000+ subscribers level! I know that was a goals, well deserved accomplishment!
Yoga for cyclist, tell me more! I’ve had the right knee scoped twice and the inside is now bone on bone (plus osteoarthritis), fine as long as I don’t get out of the saddle and straighten out the right leg. I think that’s something I should try. What can you tell me so I can get started. Tks
Yes, we are super happy and excited we hit 1000!!! It's a key milestone and thanks to the support of great people like you.
Yoga for Cyclist - I just searched on UA-cam and found a bunch of 20 to 30 minute Yoga practices that target the areas of the body that are problematic for cyclists (shoulders, mid and lower back, hip flexors, quads, calves, hamstrings, etc.). I've been doing it for a few weeks now and believe it's making a difference in terms of flexibility, range of motion and most importantly it's strengthening the muscle system that supports my knees. I'm also doing a series of step ups, squats and lunges for strength training. Here are some of the Yoga practices I've been doing:
ua-cam.com/video/YWzRE1BiAvw/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/5vyAfArtNzc/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/ZBwCs2s6o70/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/p3PhLRTPbbs/v-deo.html
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures cool 😎! I’ll try the yoga & lunges. Tks!
@@BBB_Adventures been trying the yoga. Found that I have no flexibility at all ow! Guess it takes time, will keep working on it.
@@stevederr4927 Yes. At first it seemed like I couldn't get anywhere near the level of flexibility the instructors on UA-cam have but as I've continued to do the Yoga practices, I've noticed I get incrementally more flexible over time. Just keep after it for a while and I'm sure you'll see the same result.
Great video as always! I reached out about a year ago to ask about the gear swapping, and so glad to see the full swap in action. I'm thinking about doing the same thing, as there are hills here in Georgia (very similar to the hills of my youth in Albany Ny and The Adirondacks) that call out for Lower gearing. Even without the bike being weighed down with tour gear, would you still recommend the swap? Lastly, would love a follow from you both, as we both call Ryan and the Folks @ Priority, Friends 😎 Keep up the great work, we'll connect soon!
Howdy,
Nice to hear from you and thanks for watching BBB Adventures.
Good question about the gearing. I think the answer depends on the kind of riding you do. If you like to ride fast going downhill or are a strong rider on the flats and like to go fast, then you might notice the loss of high end gearing that results from the 46t/26t setup. There were a few times during The Apollo Mission when I got to high gear going downhill but I was probably going close to 30 mph which for me is fast enough. We were both very happy with the new gearing on The Apollo Mission given we were carrying about 50 pounds worth of gear and had many hills to climb. Also, I have bad knees and like to ride with a high cadence and lower forces which helps my knees so the overall lower gearing is better for me. We won't be changing the gear back to stock on our Apollos, we like the new gearing.
Hope this helps.
We are happy to follow you, is UA-cam or Instagram better for that?
Thanks again for watching and for the comment.
Enjoy the Ride
Thanks for the response and glad y’all had a great Holiday. I’m thinking I’m gonna go ahead and do the swap, one because the hills here in Ga, can be a beast :) I’ll be reaching out to Dave to order up the new gears. Lastly, to answer your question, we’d love a follow on YT and the ‘Gram 😎 Have an awesome NYE and we’ll connect again in 2023!
@@familyridesatl Done.
One thing to keep in mind is the gearing was selected for the maximum torque rating of the Alfine gear hub. A smaller chainring will drastically increase the torque potential applied to the hub.
Hey John,
Thanks for watching and for the comment. You are absolutely correct, there is a limit to how low of gears you should pair with the Shimano Alfine 11 hub. Shimano recommends a 2:1 ratio as the lowest ratio and the 46/26 set up we ended up with is 1.77:1 so it's within what is recommended. We now have nearly 5000 miles on this set up and a majority of those miles were during The Apollo Mission with the bikes fully loaded as touring bikes. We've had no issues with the Shimano hubs.
Thanks again for the comment, we appreciate the engagement.
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Glad to hear it worked for you. I have broken my hub with stock gearing already, without any packs, in less than 500 miles.
@@JohnB-kc6ii That's unfortunate. Was the hub under warranty from Shimano?
@@BBB_Adventures No. I just missed it by a month.
@@JohnB-kc6ii That sucks.
I have the continuum, same issue with the gearing since we have hilly streets in seattle. I wonder should i get the 28t cog instead of 26t? Please advise
Hey Chan,
Thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the comment/question.
The drive train on the Continuum is very similar to the drive train on the Apollo. Changing the cogs would absolutely help lower the gearing and make hill climbing more pleasant. It will reduce your high end gearing at the same time but I'm guessing you don't find yourself in high gear too often and would rather have better climbing gears. You'll have to decide if you want to change just the front cog, the back cog or both. We ended up changing both to get the gears where we wanted them for The Apollo Mission.
I would recommend contacting Priority to discuss this further including what cogs you should get that will allow you to keep the stock belt, like we did on the Apollos. They are very helpful and responsive. I would also recommend buying the new cogs from Priority to ensure you get the right ones. Contact them at: info@prioritybicycles.nyc
Thanks again for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
Thanks for your quick response I have been watching your videos, love them. Good luck with your journey, stay warm
What gear hub are you using on the rear wheel?
Hey Steve,
The Priority Apollo bike comes with a Shimano Alfine 11 internal gear hub which as an overall gear range of 409%. It's similar to the Rohloff hub from Germany if you're familiar with that product. It's part of the super low maintenance drivetrain which also includes the Gates Carbon Drive belt system. We rode these bikes 3500 miles across North America without any issue. I've been very happy with the performance of this drivetrain. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
@BBB_Adventures wonder if I could get that on my surly ogre I'm planning on building this fall....need something for climbing steep hills on the pacific coast trail.
What is your normal cadence now?
Also, I would think a belt drive would be less friendly for cross country trips. I'm sure you wouldn't trust it for a world trip, right?
My cadence runs in the high 80s to mid 90s rpm. But I also tend to keep the gearing selection fairly low so that I'm not stressing my knees too much. I'm never going to be a bike racer. :)
My opinion of the belt drive is that it's actually better for a cross country ride than a traditional drive train. It's essentially the same belt design and system that is used on many motorcycles and have proven themselves in the field to go around 100k Km with no issues and no maintenance. If we were riding bikes with traditional drivetrains, I'd be having to clean the chain, oil the chain, adjust the derailers to keep them shifting smoothly. I think the only area of concern is the reliability of the Shimano Alfine 11 internal gear hub. Since we got the Apollos, we probably got more than 1,000 miles on them so I think the hubs don't seem to have any manufacturing defects or other early life issues. Shimano introduced this hub back in 2010 so they have been well field tested.
I guess we'll see how well the system holds up this summer when we put close to 4000 miles on these bikes.
Thanks for watching and for the comment.
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures I guess I'm a power rider who relies on lower 70s cadences. Faster cadences are not my strong suit.
If not doing episodes along the way, I hope you can keep us interested with some Shorts here.
@@lightdark00 Our plan is to carry a laptop and edit and post episodes along the way. Hopefully that doesn't become too overwhelming. We will also be posting Instagram and can also include Shorts here as well.
What experience do you have with traditional gearing, aka cassettes and derailleurs? I'm curious what this is in relation to, say a 1x drivetrain with an 11x36 cassette.
Hey Arthur,
Thanks for watching and for the comment.
We do have experience with traditional drivetrains on our other bikes like our road bikes and our Co-Motion tandem. Here's something of a comparison of gear ratios. Our Giant road bikes have a 52t/36t on the crank and a cassette with 11t/32t on the back. That gives a ratio of 1.125 for low gear and a ratio of 4.727 for high gear. The stock Apollo comes with a 50t cog in the front and a 24t cog in the back. Accounting for the gearing in the Alfine-11 hub that gives a final ratio of 1.098 for low gear and 4.485 for high gear. For use this wasn't low enough for touring when loading the bikes with 50+ pounds of panniers and gear. Our final solution was a 46t cog in the front and a 26t cog in the rear which again accounting for the gearing in the hub gives us a final low gear ratio of 0.932 and a high gear ratio of 3.809. During The Apollo Mission we found this final solution to work very well for us as we climbed over the Rockies with the bikes loaded. There were a few times where I hit high gear going downhill but I was already going fast enough and so I didn't really care I didn't have more gears.
If someone is using the Apollo as a gravel bike or commuter/get around town bike, the stock set up works well.
I hope this helps. Don't hesitate to let me know if you have further questions.
Thanks again for watching BBB Adventures.
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures thanks for that detailed explanation. That's a nice range of gearing. And just to confirm, it comes stock with a 26t cog in the back, not a 36t, correct?
Sorry about the typo, good catch. The Apollo comes stock with a 50/24 set up. We changed it to a 46/26.
@BBB Adventures Thank you for taking the time to give us your gearing, ratios, and how they worked. I was also curious as to whether this last gearing change was enough for your trip. Will use your ratios as a guide to where i will end up for Ragbrai on my seven speed. Once again, thank you, and be well.
@@dfriz8513 The final gear ratios ended up working very well for us during The Apollo Mission. They are pretty low overall but considering we were carrying 50ish pounds of gear on each bike we enjoying the lower gears climbing hills. There were a few times going downhill I hit high gear but by then was going better than 30 mph which is plenty fast on a loaded touring bike. I've been riding the Apollo around town and find the gearing just fine. Long story short, I plan on leaving it where it is.
This is ANOTHER conversation Lance and I've been having recently. I HATE uphill. We live at the foothills of the Adirondacks and its all uphill from our driveway, so I've been wondering if the gearing on the Apollo needs some tweaking. I really don't want to sacrifice the flats though. I think I just need more riding on it before I change the cogs. I will, however, buy an extra belt for our adventures. I recognize that Ryan's issue was extreme circumstances AND user neglect, but I don't want to get stuck without one.
Hi Barb,
Another interesting coincidence that you guys were talking about gearing AND fenders as our last few episodes were posted. I guess it is that time of year we look at our bikes and our plans for the summer riding season and try to figure out what needs to be done to make sure the bikes are ready to go.
In terms of sacrificing the top end of the gears when you change to the 46/26 set up, one thing you could think about is how often do you have your Apollo with the current gearing in 11th gear? If you are a fast rider and spend a lot of time in 11th gear on the flats, then maybe it is something to be concerned about. However, if you are more like us and don't actually use the highest gear then the sacrifice may be worth it to get lower gears for steep hills. In other words, with the standard Apollo gearing I often wished for lower gears and never wished for higher gears.
We are also carrying an extra belt with us across the country. Chances are we won't need it, but it's definitely better to have one a spare as insurance. We bought ours from the Priority website.
Thanks for watching and for the comment.
Enjoy the Ride
Where did you find/purchase your front cog? I’m planning on changing mine out for RAGBRAI and want to make sure I have the right one. I’ve reached out to Priority but they didn’t provide a link to where I could purchase it. Thank you!
We actually bought them from Priority. I'm surprised they didn't send you a link to buy the cogs from them. I suggest you reach back out to them at info@prioritybicycles.nyc and ask them for a link to the 46t cog for the Apollo.
Let us know if we can be of any further assistance updating your bike with the lower gearing. We love the lower gears and don't have any regrets.
Thanks for watching Buses Bikes and Beers.
Enjoy the Ride
@@BBB_Adventures Thank you for your reply! Priority at the time was out of stock. But it looks like they should be back in stock soon so I placed my order this morning! Thank you again! Looking forward to watching your journey across the USA and hope to meet you on RAGBRAI!
@@jrtaray Excellent. I think you're going to really like the lower gearing. Thanks for follow along The Apollo Mission, we need all the support and encouragement we can get. :)
See you in Iowa.
Enjoy the Ride
For you sore knees, consider getting smaller length cranks (160mm or less)
Hey Michael,
Great suggestion. I actually had a professional bike fit done a few years ago for my Giant road bike by a guy that primarily serves bike racers and he ended up putting a smaller crank on which made a huge difference in my performance and my knee pain. I should do the same thing for the Apollo.
Thanks for watching and for the recommendation.
Enjoy the Ride
Great video for us Apollo owners. Thank you, thank you!
After changing the rear cog on my 2021 Apollo, I also had to adjust the rear brakes (rubbing). I also had to adjust the barrel adjuster to get the yellow line realigned on the rear hub when in 6th gear. BTW, did you readjust the belt tension after riding it? I tend to keep mine in the 42-45 Hz range (after Ryan's experience). I also bought an extra belt, just in case, want to avoid a Duzer moment.
Have you changed the oil in the rear hub yet, since you have over 1,000 miles on it now? I haven't seen any leakage on mine and was thinking about not changing it.
You need to go tubeless! If you do, pick up some Stan's plugs, patches and/or bacon strips for times when the puncture doesn't seal with just the sealant in the tire. You will have to tape the wheels to set the bike up tubeless (wish they were already taped for tubeless setup).
I noticed you have spd pedals installed, what are you wearing during the cross-country trip, mountain bike shoes, sandals, etc equipped with spd cleats or are you putting back on the original pedals and wearing sneakers?
I have 4 of the Revelate Design bags (well bult and waterproof), the Tangle Frame bag, Mag-Tank bag, Mountain Feedbag and Shrew saddle bag. Used them on RAGBRAI and I love them! I believe Ryan and/or Kevin Does used them on their Great Divide ride. I also have the Top Peak rear rack and slide on bag (nice that it clips on and off of the rack). No panniers yet.
A suggestion for the kickstand (yours looks like mine), for $3 the local bike shop sold me a rubber cap for the end of the kickstand, the cap widens out the end of the kickstand (size of a quarter) and prevents the kickstand from digging into the ground (more stable).
I think at some point Priority should sell the Apollo with 46/26 cogs, tubeless ready (pre-taped wheels), kickstand and fenders as their standard Apollo model. Hydraulic brakes on the 2022 model are a nice upgrade, although I have been happy with the manual ones (but would have rather had hydraulic ones).
Can't wait for the next video! Enjoying the ride! :)
Hey Steve,
Thanks for watching and for the great comment.
I did check the shifter adjustment after changing the cogs and it was still good. I haven't checked the belt tension again yet, but plan to before we head to Oregon. We are doing a practice overnight ride with the bikes fully loaded this weekend so I'll check the belts after that.
I haven't changed the oil in the rear hub yet. I did buy a kit for changing the oil but it's a good idea. I think I'll add that to my list before we head to Oregon.
We haven't switched to tubeless, but I did get your email which was super helpful, thank you. We will be tubeless before the big ride. I've also heard from others the importance of carrying the plugs and bacon strips so we'll definitely get some of those.
We do have spd pedals and will be wearing cycling sandals. We got them last year for RAGBRAI and put spd pedals on the Red Dragon. We really like them and the pedals always allow riding with street shoes since they are flat on the opposite side.
I took the kickstand off my bike. I got tried of it hitting the crank arm and no matter how tight I got the mounting screw, it would still rotate and interfere with the crank arm. I recently threw away an old tent but kept the fiberglass poles and so I fabricated some homemade "click stands" that we'll be using on the ride this weekend to field test them.
We had our brakes adjusted at the bike shop and it made a HUGE difference. We are quite happy with the brakes now. Probably something I should have done when we first built the bikes. The guy at the bike shop pointed out that the manual brakes are very common and getting parts and or repairs done is easy and all bike shops stock the cables, pads, etc. Hydraulic brakes can be more problematic for field repairs. But they are also very reliable, but it's an interesting point.
I also think it would good if Priority offered several gearing options for the Apollo since some people how only ride gravel without loaded down the bikes probably like the stock gears, but those of us that want to use them for more touring need the lower gears.
Thanks for you continued support of BBB.
Enjoy the Ride
Hi Brently - Nice job on making your way across America on the Apollo. BTW. What made you decide to choose the Apollo over the Priority 600 for example?
I faced that same question. The answer, for me, was that the 600 was much heavier (30.5 lbs. vs 24 lbs.). Pedal strikes on the 600 are frequent on off-road terrain due to the low bottom bracket. I prefer my own lights and aluminum fenders, not the ones that come with the 600. The 600 isn't configured for gravel while the Apollo can do road and gravel well. The 600 is, officially, $500 more or $300 more during a sale. The highest gear on the 600 is too low for me and the 600 has one less midrange gear than the Apollo with too many low gears for me (though that's good when carrying weight uphill) as I will be using the Apollo unladen the great majority of the time.
Howdy,
First, thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the comment. Engagement with our viewers/subscribers is one of our favorite aspects of our endeavors on BBB Adventures. We appreciate the interaction.
You are asking a good question. When we first starting thinking about riding across the US back around 2018 while watching Ryan VanDuzer and Love Cycles, I started searching for the right bike. At the time we were living in Taiwan and doing bike touring on our all carbon road bikes and I knew we'd need legit touring rigs for a cross US ride. I was also inspired by Ryan's use and promotion of the Gates carbon drive belt drivetrain. There were a few manufactures like Co-motion that were offering carbon belt drives but there weren't many and they were all essentially custom bikes and very expensive. So I looked hard at the Priority 600 but there were several features that weren't ideal for touring. Another viewer, Iazurm did a good job of summarizing some of those concerns with the 600 in his reply to your comment. So I was back to considering a custom bike from Co-motion and trying to decide if I wanted to spend many $1000 on two bikes. Then Priority announced the Apollo which addressed the concerns I had with the 600 and after a bit of discussion with good folks at Priority and some research on the Shimano Alfine 11 hub, it seemed like the remaining gaps between the stock Apollo and the touring bike I wanted could easily be addressed. We ordered our within the first few days there were available for order. At the time we were still living in Taiwan but were making preparation to return to the US. The bikes were waiting for us when we moved back.
The rest of the story of how I turned them into touring bikes is fairly well documented on various episodes on BBB Adventures, including the challenges with fenders and gearing. In the end, we couldn't be happier with the performance of the bikes during The Apollo Mission.
Hope this answers your question. If you have any additional specific questions or want to discuss anything in further detail, let me know. You can reach me on busesbikesbeers@gmail.com or message me on Instagram @busesbikesbeers.
Thanks again for watching BBB Adventures.
Enjoy the Ride
Wear a Helmet
Hi Iazum,
Thanks for the comment and reply to Mid Miles great question. I also added some specifics for our decision process for picking the Apollo in a reply to his original question.
Thanks for watching BBB Adventures and for the great interaction. I really appreciate it.
Enjoy the Ride
@@lazurm I appreciate the explanation. Very informative. Thanks!
@@BBB_Adventures I appreciate your well rounded reply. I'm a novice in cycling. Watching folks like you, Duzer, and others have piqued my interest considerably.
Well as you guys know soon done work hehehe i will send you a picture of my new set up on my bike also i send you a email
Hey Rene,
Looking forward to seeing an updated picture of your bike. We also have some updates on our schedule for when we'll be in Nebraska. We can discuss more via email.
Thanks for continuing to support BBB.
Enjoy the Ride
Yeah you didn’t need to take the cranks off to change the chainring- but you will get to know your way around the bike better for doing it this way-
Hi Steve,
Yep...I figured that out after completing this episode. I like your perspective though on getting to know the bike better. The good news is we are still very happy with the performance of the new gearing even after our 3500 mile trip across North America on The Apollo Mission.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
❤️❤️🇹🇼‼️
Thanks for watching. We appreciate the support.
Enjoy the Ride
Seems like Priority should offer a high or low option upon purchase. The consumer should not have to go through this much effort just to use the bike for basic riding. Thanks!
I don't disagree although configuration options cause supply chain and fulfilment complexity, but it's possible for sure. Also, the higher gearing that comes with the bike is well suited for gravel riding. We wanted lower gearing for the fully loaded touring we planned for the bikes. I wonder how many buyers are using them for touring. I believe Priority has changed the standard rear cog from a 24t to a 26t to reduce the gearing a bit from when the Apollo was first launched.
But your point is a good one.
Thanks for watching.
Enjoy the Ride
No torque wrench? Oh boy....
Hey Iazurm,
When I made this video I didn't have the right adapter to go between my 1/4" sockets/bits and my 3/8" torque wrench. I did go back after securing the adapter and checked the torque on all the important fasteners on both bikes.
Thanks for the concern and the comment. And thanks for watching BBB Adventures.
Enjoy the Ride