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Apollo Bicycles
Apollo Bicycle Co. Pty. Ltd., of NSW, Australia was started in 1978 by John Carroll, who imported Kuwahara and Gitane bicycles and distributed throughout Australia them via his World of Wheels Australian dealer group. He exported many Apollos to Canada via Fred Deeley Cycles of Vancouver under Kuwahara/Apollo/Deeley branding.
Shop sticker for John Carroll's Turrumurra Cycle Centre
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An empty street without cars, people, or bikes. This dark tunnel of trees frames the question “Is 26” really dead?“. With the sad answer that perhaps, maybe there could be a future for 26” as simply a “recreational mountain bike.”
From Apollo's 2016 catalog.
1983 Mountaineer
Pic from print ad. SunTour AG Tech, 10 speeds. No Kuwahara stickers - but a Kuwahara headset. A full review of this bike was made in Freewheeling http:Freewheeling #20, June/July 1983, pages 37-39.
1983 Mountaineer
Freewheeling #20, June/July 1983, page 14.
1984 Himalaya
Freewheeling #27, Sept 1984, page 68.
1985 Kosciusko
Named after Australia's tallest mountain. SunTour AR II (1984-85), 15s, slingshot stem.
1985 Kosciusko
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1986 Kosciusko
SunTour AG Tech GTL (1985-87)
1986 Kosciusko
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1987 Everest
Deore shifters (1987-88), u-brakes, front derailleur, slinshot stem, new rear.
1987 Everest
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1988 Himalaya
The “Apollo” logo tries out sitting on the top tube for this one model. The frame uses flat seat stay caps, which is different from all other Apollos, which use fast back seat stays.2) Shimano RD-M531 (1988)
Note the Apollo signature on the chainstay.
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1988 Himalaya
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1990 Kosciusko
RD-M200GS (1990+), biopace.
1990 Kosciusko
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1991 Alpine
RD-M200GS (1991+), biopace.
1991 Alpine
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Fred Deeley Connection
Fred Deeley imported Apollo bicycles from Australia to Vancouver, Canada. 3). He kept the Apollo head badge, put “Kuwahara” on the downtube and placed small “Fred Deeley” stickers on the seat tubes. Although they're triple branded, they're placed in this timeline under Kuwahara.
Perhaps Apollo didn't export these from Australia? All of the frames Apollo of Australia sold from 1984 → 1987 used fast back seatstays. All of the Canadian Apollos used flat stay caps. The only pure Kuwahara we have, from 1983-4, differs significantly from the Australian and Canadian flavors. Interestingly, the Canadian Apollo headbadges differ from the Australian. The Australian Apollo looks quite similar to Kuwahara's, with twinned laurel branches surrounding the brand name. Perhaps Deeley's frames came straight from Kuwahara, especially made for Fred Deeley's specifications?
