I bought an Apollo Scooter - don’t make the mistake I made. Three weeks ago I received my new Apollo City Pro, 2023 model. I was very excited to ride this scooter, it being quite well reviewed and a premium quality product. While it was priced accordingly I was prepared to pay a little extra knowing the company was based in Canada and I should expect a level of service reflecting this. The idea of flitting around the Vancouver streets in my short tennis skirt on the little device was a picture I found very appealing. I am also very committed to the environment and having an electric solution to short journeys fed a part of my soul that feels a little awkward about leaving my children a world that is destined to be burned to a cinder in a few years. Perhaps this was part of the solution. To be fair to Apollo the design and build quality appear good. And for two days it was. Until the first flat in the ‘self sealing’ tubeless tires. Here’s where things began to go wrong. The tires don’t ‘self seal’. As the tire deflated so did my spirits, however it’s just a tire change, right? Well, no. First I got hold of customer service through the chat system on their site. I was told a new tire would be dispatched immediately and that I should expect it within two business days. That was over two weeks ago. I am still waiting. Eventually I decided that I should take the old tire off the scooter, so that when the new tire did arrive it would be ready and I could start to enjoy the last of the warm weather. After all, I fix motorcycles, I’ve changed the main bearing on a D6 Caterpillar - this should be well within my ability limits. And that’s when things really went awry. At first I followed the instruction on the video describing how to remove the old tire. I was directed to this via Apollo’s support pages. The only problem was that it was not for the model I had bought. But you only find that out when you’re already deeply into the exercise. The video described the removal of a tire from a split rim wheel. The City Pro doesn’t have a split rim wheel. Instead it uses a tubeless tire on a 10 inch rim, which in practice is virtually impossible to remove without a tire press. Not many of us have such a unit in our Vancouver apartment. Surprised that I’d been misdirected to this video I searched for other videos without luck. Eventually I contacted Apollo again, and found that yes, there was a video. It wasn’t mentioned on their support pages, but their customer service dweeb sent me the URL. I started working on this until I found I couldn’t get the tire off the rim. Perhaps there was special technique. I contact support through the website again. I was promised a call back. That was 2 days ago. Nothing. These are nylon tubeless tires and are notoriously hard to remove from the rim. You can use a little washing up liquid to lubricate the bead of the tire to make it easier, however, even using tire pry levers they are still hard to remove. And in doing so you’re sure to knock around the paint work on the engine casing. After several hours of trying I finally decided to paint my nails and go to the spa instead. Still without a tire I finally gave up. Not before I received this priceless advice from one of their customer support people - “Hi, Gio here from Apollo Scooters, thanks for your patience. I’m sorry to learn that you’re experiencing an air leak with your tire. I’m not entirely sure what the issue is except for the flat tire. It may sound silly but have you tried pumping air into it? You’d want to use an electric pump rather than manual.” Now, as you know I work for an advertising agency. In more than two decades of working in the field of marketing I can honestly say that suggesting to your client that they are a complete imbecile is not a winning strategy. To be fair, the scooter industry is still in its infancy. We can expect Apollo to go tits up like many others before one or two sound companies emerge and dominate the field. I guarantee that Apollo will not be one of them. No company with this kind of customer service culture will survive long. As these great devices develop further some competent companies will emerge. In the meantime we will have to come up with our own fixes and create our own support networks, just as early adopters have had to in many other fields over the years. Apollo clearly have no idea how to run a business, although they don’t build a bad scooter. However, their pricing suggests that you’re paying a little extra for customer support. They don’t deliver this in my experience. Instead the buying experience has been stressful, humiliating and entirely unpleasant. Not what anyone expects from a Canadian company. When Sylvester, my mechanic, stopped by for coffee this morning he said one of his friends will pick it up and deal with it. Apparently it’s not the first time he’s had to do exactly this with an Apollo scooter. So, sitting here looking at a partially disassembled scooter I can honestly say, No, don’t waste your money on an Apollo scooter. There are other options. Trying to find a company that provides credible back up, instead of one simply claiming to, is probably a good idea. It’s not a mistake I will make again. I will never buy a product of theirs ever again. My best advice to my readers is to not make the mistake I did. I should point out that this company is not representative of most Canadian companies. Generally companies here are geared to a level of customer service that excels. Sadly Apollo doesn’t appear to value this approach. Fiona
What happened to your tire that it went flat? Also, the Apollo city pro in the video does not have split rims so it should be the same as yours. Also, why are you pretending to be a girl? WTF is going on??
One year on I still haven't had a call from Apollo. Having said that I have learned a lot about scooters. One thing is, you can put any tire that will fit on the back of this, self sealing or otherwise, and it works fine. Next, is it is a good product. Apollo drop the ball by suggesting they have a level of customer service that is anything but appalling. Really, it's a good product, but horribly let down by the idea you'd get any help for anything from Apollo. My solution was to find a good mechanic who now takes care of anything on this. I use a company in Vancouver called Fatwhip. They're good and know scooters. So, there it is. You have to find your own solutions. Apollo built a good product, but don't think for an instant they will back it up with any form of customer service.
I got the Phantom V4 and it has been fantastic. The tubed system is great considering I don’t need to rely on replacing the entire tire itself unless there’s a blowout. Unlike the City Pro, the Phantom uses split rims. Additionally, the customer service for me hasn’t been terrible as they provided every detail when my stem came loose and recommended the appropriate tools to repair it, though I ended up taking it to a repair shop recommended on their website that specializes in Apollo scooters.
Yes, Apollo doesn’t have customer support. I brought my 2023 City Pro to an “Authorized Repair Shop” in Fort Lauderdale Florida. The shop is called Techy and they were far from an “Authorized Repair Shop” for Apollo. They did have the sticker on the window advertising as such. But they could’t fix the flat after having the scooter for a month. I’ve also seen Phantom issues online with recalls and those recalls being “fixed” only to break again. I also live in a city and I’ve had to turn my living room into a garage to get the tire off and now I’m in the process of getting the tire on with all sorts of tools. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I am handy. I’m a former welder and rode Harley’s. What I can say is that with a limited amount of tools and living in the city, so far no one has been able to help and I’m on my own trying to muscle a new tire on the wheel / motor that isn’t split and you have to work around the power supply wire. Total pain in the balls. I’d hardly call this an Apollo City Pro 2023. I’m renaming it Hardly a Davidson.
Apollo, you make a really great scooter. And that scooter is about 25 times harder to change a tire for than this video would indicate. Especially if you don’t have the exact right tools, including tire irons that will not damage the tire, you have almost 0 chance of success doing this on your own. I have done many bicycle repairs in my life with a pretty strong record of success, but this tire replacement almost broke me. When I took it to the guys at Apollo maintenance in New York, they looked at me like I have three heads when I said that I had attempted it on my own. They told me that they have a rule that they do not do it with less than two guys. I am sure that some people will not buy a scooter where they think they need a professional’s help to change the tire. But lots of people that you want to buy your scooters will also not buy another one from Apollo if we are always wondering if your supposedly user-serviceable parts are actually user-serviceable! I really really think you guys ought to take this one down.
Good video! Lucky for me, as a teenager, I worked at an auto center and have changed thousands of car tires so this is seriously easy for me. If you want it easier, at home you could find Windex, spray around the bead of the tire and it will help it slip on much easier! and it smells good. We did use this slimy stuff but Windex is great in a jam (when we ran out of the slimy stuff) Also, with this scooter it's pointless, but when I had a hard time pinpointing a tire leak in the water tank... I would take a Windex spray bottle and spray it around the tire to find the leak. Windex bubbles right up and makes finding any leak extremely easy. Also, here too as a bonus... it smells good 🤣.
I did it by myself and here is my solution. Was able to push the tire back in with my hands only (note that I'm probably a bit stronger than the average human). Heat it up in the oven (at around 80 degres Celsius/175 Fahrenheit). Heat it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Once out, you must act a little quick so make sure you know which direction your tire goes prior to this. Take about 7 tie wraps and tighten them around the tire so that the inside lips of the tire are pretty much closed shut all around. Put a bit of dish soap diluted in water around the rim and around your tire. Push and work it on the rim one edge first and the reste should follow quite easily. Cut the tie wraps once it is installed! It was quite easy that way for me and I almost died from a heart attack trying to do it the way they showed.
This worked great and quite easily. With how painful taking the tire off, I didn’t even attempt to try their method but instead tried yours. Thanks a lot
Does the tire not cool down by the time you’ve put all those plastic ties on lol. And what about the puncture self healing gel layer crap they apparently have? Does the oven not affect that?
I don’t think this is an accurate representation of what it’s like to actually replace the tire. This was so incredibly difficult and I can’t even get it on the rim. My rims are messed up and scratched up now.
@@fnotirre I finally just had to take it to a guy and he used vice grips. In my opinion it is near impossible to get it on by yourself. Also, some thing that really helped me with the flat tires was buying automatic tire pressure thing. Because it is tubeless it is really important that the tire pressure stays at 45 psi to keep a perfect seal. Otherwise it is more susceptible to getting flats. It was a great investment and it takes two seconds. I check it every other day, and usually the back wheel is under 40, which is the one that kept getting flat
Yep I know exactly what you mean. I've been trying for the last hour trying to get the front tyre off and it's not budging. Jesus Apollo - if you[re going to post a self help video at least accurately show the effort it takes. I suspect that tube has been removed and replaced a few times before he had to get it off on camera...
“Just like that.” This guy should not be allowed to use those words in a sentence. He does so on most of the fix-it videos and my experience is nothing goes like he says.
For a guy like me that isn't mechanically inclined this is not a good video. Many time your hands are in the way of what you are doing. There is no camera angle change to see what is being done. The verbal communication is nice but would like to see what is looks like to execute. Please make another video with better camera angles
It is actually f&%$ing impossible to put the tire back on. Impossible. I have been at it for 2 hours and it keeps slipping through, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!!! I actually hate this scooter now, and hate Apollo. Why they decided with these stupid f#$%ing tires is beyond me - they have been nothing but trouble from the start - and now impossible to get on. Thanks. Apollo - I've wasted over $10k on your shoddy products and this is the last time I buy or recommend something of yours.
And when is that going to happen? This is the worst process I've evewr had to be apart of in my life. NOT EVERYONE IS THIS MECHANICALLY INCLINED@@ApolloScooters
Will you? Been a couple years and you still havent made a better video. Also lets be more honest about the fact that every single part is going to be stuck together. Terrible engineering, brain dead design, and awful support. I will never recommend your company to anyone. @ApolloScooters
The self sealing tires do not work. Additionally it takes many hours to change a tire. This is a misleading video. If Apollo are serious they need to provide proper back up. I had a deflective tire, and supposedly it would take 2 business days to replace. Still counting at 10 days. No back up from Apollo.
Man my back tire unsealed while riding just now. I used to love it and annoyed by the haters but I hate this scooter now. So much to fix: throttle, regen brake, kick stand broke, charger broke (2x; first and second stopped charging), display panel plastic broke where the screws go in, and now the tire has unsealed.
Similar scenario for me too. 😢 I’m so fed up with all the stuff that’s gone wrong with my City 2022. I’m not able to do these fixes myself, and even my local service centre refuses to deal with Apollo now because they don’t respond to warranty enquires. Apollo after-purchase support is lousy.
Bull$hit video. 2nd guy comes in like deus ex machina to help at the end of the video. what if you don't have someone to help you? I have been trying to change this tire for nearly 2 weeks straight and all I have accomplished is deforming and destroying 2 separate tires so the bead will never seal even if I could get it on. I have had 3 people try and help me and even my LBS say they can't do it. $1600 for a scooter I can never ride again.... Because of a F*&^%king flat tire?!
Apollo customer service is way below par. After getting a flat tire and trying to change it by myself is just as bad as a nightmare. First of all, the video does not apply to a 2023 city pro scooter, so why would you send this video out to people like me that own a 2023. There are way more things you have to do than what this video portrays. You have to have at least 2 people to pry the tire off the motor. Almost impossible to do by yourself. It is by no means as easy as this video makes it out to be. So after 3-4 hours of taking the tire off and putting a new one on, of course the tire wouldn’t inflate with air. Trying to get any type of a call back is a complete disaster. How can you sell $2,000 scooters and not call people back within days or weeks. So, After sending the scooter back after hours of frustration with the tire, of course I get an invoice of a bunch of nonsense things wrong. Apollo doesn’t let you know prior to billing you what is wrong with your scooter. They just go ahead and pretty much fix what they want and charge you full price. The warranty is complete BS. I would suggest not get it if you don’t have to. Best part is after my first invoice they email back again with another invoice that has another fix that has to be done without even notifying me. So, if i paid the first invoice would i also have to pay the second one haha. Company is a total joke, and wouldn’t even deduct any cost off the bill. What a Great way to do business with people paying good money for pricey scooters. To sum up this great experience i would say if you have to send your scooter back for repair expect to pay at least $300+.
For all those reading, USE THE ZIP TIE METHOD. Look it up, replacing a tire with zip ties. It’s used a lot on bikes, scooters and motorcycles. I followed all the steps involved in the video and had trouble putting the new tire on the rim. My issue was that the tire I received was too “stiff” compared to the one in the video. I eventually decided to use the zip tie method. I went from spending several hours trying, what felt like forever, trying to push the new tire in with pry bars, to having it fully seated in 30 minutes with the help of zip ties. For anyone who decides to do this themselves, the zip tie method is THE way to go. I wish Apollo would’ve mentioned this in their video and it even allows you to only use one crow bar and no more than one person necessary. The way this method I mentioned works, you wrap zip ties (with the tread on the tire facing the ground) inside and around to help push the bead/lip of the tire together. It squeezes the tire and holds the tire tight together/more compact to allow you to push it in the rim a little easier.
Man, it is a pain in the ass. The tire in the video is used. So, it's softer. I scratch the hell out of my rim, trying to use pry bars. Almost wanted to grab the scooter and throw it out the front door. Not for a single person job. Tire is to small for a one man job. Thank you for the advice. I will look for your video. Also have a 2022 apollo city
@@acejackhammer google it.Theres a couple videos out there. "Zip-tie tire mounting motorcycle" and the same concept applies to the scooter. I only had to use 4 zip ties.
@@MegaDante5 I agree with you. I got so frustrated and they made the replacement look so easy in the video. I had someone mention pouring hot water and that would technically work but you risk ruining your self healing compound inside the tire. Just got with the zip-tie tire mounting method. It will save you a lot of time and headaches. Its soo easy that I am going to buy snow tires and replace the city2022 tires by myself for the winter. That method makes the process much easier trust me.
I tried the zip tie method too. looping on the axels and cinching one part of the rim tight. When I work the rest of the tire around the rim, the pressure required to pop it over the lip breaks the zip tie. Nearly a month now trying to get this tire on using every trick imaginable.
Hey Brandon, The new City 2022 already comes with self-healing tires! Check out this video where we put them to the test! Are the Apollo City's Tires INDESTRUCTIBLE?!?! - ruclips.net/video/8V7cKivMP2c/видео.html
I was able to change the tire in about 15 minutes using the supplied tools and 3 tire irons and a rachet strap to seal the bead. I didnt have a tire pump so I used the hand pump that came with the kit. I am not sure why so many people have been having issues. The key to installing the new tire is to make sure that, while youre spooing in the bead, the rest of the bead on the opposite side should sit in the center which pushes the tire closer to the side your spooning in so you dont have to manhandle the spoons so hard. It was a lot easier to install than a dirtbike tire. If you're continuing to have problems, I would watch dirtbike tire install videos, its very similar. I prefer this tubeless set up over a split rim with a tube or a solid rubber tire for sure. If you're having trouble, I would take it to a motorcycle dealer, not a bicycle dealer to install for you.
Opening up the inside to unplug the motor straight up doesn't work. Couple of the allen screws were already stripped the first time I opened it up, I've tried everything knowing apollo's bad history with repairs, why do I feel like this was done on purpose so that I have to ship it to them and then get charged🙃
I'm being quoted $300 to ship back and forth my scooter for repair, plus I'd assume extra to "repair" it since the cs representative keeps telling me extra charges may happen even though i'm on warranty Both the city and pro(2023) have been my worst purchases ever.. what went from wanting to support a local business turned into nightmare.
0/10 stars, horrible support, blatant false adversiting, this company shouldnt even exist with how it operates. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE. BUY AMERICAN MADE INSTEAD.
There’s gonna be maintenance on whatever kind of PEV you buy, that’s the trade off unfortunately for having a more comfortable ride. I think replacing the tires is worth it to have a smoother ride. I’d rather be able to change the tire myself on a scooter than having to pay someone to change 4 tires on a car. 4 new tires on a car can buy you like 6 or more new tires on the Apollo city 2022.
This guys setup is nothing like my 2022. So many details missing from this video. As someone who's change many dirtbike tires, this is a terrible video. Why even make such garbage.
It's possible to perform this repair by yourself with three pry bars, but if you can get someone to help you, it makes the job a lot quicker and easier!
Hey there Cody, Sorry to hear your unit was delivered with a flat tire. What you pointed out could be a possibility, or it is possible that the valve is leaking and needs to be tightened as it is not sealing itself. Reach out to our support team for any assistance with this they'll be glad to help out!
Probably is. Both of my tire had the same problem had it for like 4 weeks the scooter and I've had problems almost the whole time. The first week went smooth then the charger it came it malfunction they sent a replacement and that one also was faulty just got my second replacement I only used it once let see long it last. Front tire didn't wanna seal they sent me a tired it fixed and now the back is not sealed and im waiting on there replay i have a stem wobble to like problems just keep popping up one after another.
Ive never seen so many complaints on a video before. All scooters require maintenance. If you cant maintain youre own scooter, then you probably shouldn't own one.
Is the Apollo City 2022 the only scooter in all the Apollo lines of scooters to have self healing tires? It's those tires alone that are really selling me on buying from Apollo as im not mechanically inclined to wanna deal with flats.
Hey Jose, yes, for the time being only the new City 2022 has these self healing tires! The reason we can't add them to our other existing models is due to their split rim design.
Wouldn't recommend anymore was a good scooter but I'm having so many flaws im just wasting time and money on this and there policy's makes it impossible for a refund for a messed up scooter they send.
I pray to the scooter gods that this well never be something I'd have to deal with for a very long time if your self healing tires are truly as good as you market them to be. This process still looks like a real pain in the ass.
@@ApolloScooters these tires cannot be filled with air if they go flat. My back tire somehow went completely flat while the front tire was fine. I try filling the tire and air leaks of the side so I try applying pressure to the apex of tire while filling with air like they do in this video and the air leak just moves to a different part of the tire. the tire refuses to seal on the right side, air just leaks out
(UPDATE: I fixed it. Check the comments) My tire went completely flat and will not fill up with air. Air keeps leaking out of the side. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone with tubeless because I have a completely flat tire that will not fill no matter what I do. Your support team was no help either
I bought an Apollo Scooter - don’t make the mistake I made.
Three weeks ago I received my new Apollo City Pro, 2023 model. I was very excited to ride this scooter, it being quite well reviewed and a premium quality product. While it was priced accordingly I was prepared to pay a little extra knowing the company was based in Canada and I should expect a level of service reflecting this.
The idea of flitting around the Vancouver streets in my short tennis skirt on the little device was a picture I found very appealing. I am also very committed to the environment and having an electric solution to short journeys fed a part of my soul that feels a little awkward about leaving my children a world that is destined to be burned to a cinder in a few years. Perhaps this was part of the solution.
To be fair to Apollo the design and build quality appear good. And for two days it was. Until the first flat in the ‘self sealing’ tubeless tires. Here’s where things began to go wrong. The tires don’t ‘self seal’. As the tire deflated so did my spirits, however it’s just a tire change, right? Well, no. First I got hold of customer service through the chat system on their site. I was told a new tire would be dispatched immediately and that I should expect it within two business days. That was over two weeks ago. I am still waiting.
Eventually I decided that I should take the old tire off the scooter, so that when the new tire did arrive it would be ready and I could start to enjoy the last of the warm weather. After all, I fix motorcycles, I’ve changed the main bearing on a D6 Caterpillar - this should be well within my ability limits. And that’s when things really went awry. At first I followed the instruction on the video describing how to remove the old tire. I was directed to this via Apollo’s support pages. The only problem was that it was not for the model I had bought. But you only find that out when you’re already deeply into the exercise. The video described the removal of a tire from a split rim wheel. The City Pro doesn’t have a split rim wheel. Instead it uses a tubeless tire on a 10 inch rim, which in practice is virtually impossible to remove without a tire press. Not many of us have such a unit in our Vancouver apartment.
Surprised that I’d been misdirected to this video I searched for other videos without luck. Eventually I contacted Apollo again, and found that yes, there was a video. It wasn’t mentioned on their support pages, but their customer service dweeb sent me the URL. I started working on this until I found I couldn’t get the tire off the rim. Perhaps there was special technique. I contact support through the website again. I was promised a call back. That was 2 days ago. Nothing.
These are nylon tubeless tires and are notoriously hard to remove from the rim. You can use a little washing up liquid to lubricate the bead of the tire to make it easier, however, even using tire pry levers they are still hard to remove. And in doing so you’re sure to knock around the paint work on the engine casing. After several hours of trying I finally decided to paint my nails and go to the spa instead.
Still without a tire I finally gave up. Not before I received this priceless advice from one of their customer support people -
“Hi,
Gio here from Apollo Scooters, thanks for your patience.
I’m sorry to learn that you’re experiencing an air leak with your tire.
I’m not entirely sure what the issue is except for the flat tire. It may sound silly but have you tried pumping air into it? You’d want to use an electric pump rather than manual.”
Now, as you know I work for an advertising agency. In more than two decades of working in the field of marketing I can honestly say that suggesting to your client that they are a complete imbecile is not a winning strategy.
To be fair, the scooter industry is still in its infancy. We can expect Apollo to go tits up like many others before one or two sound companies emerge and dominate the field. I guarantee that Apollo will not be one of them. No company with this kind of customer service culture will survive long. As these great devices develop further some competent companies will emerge. In the meantime we will have to come up with our own fixes and create our own support networks, just as early adopters have had to in many other fields over the years. Apollo clearly have no idea how to run a business, although they don’t build a bad scooter. However, their pricing suggests that you’re paying a little extra for customer support. They don’t deliver this in my experience. Instead the buying experience has been stressful, humiliating and entirely unpleasant. Not what anyone expects from a Canadian company.
When Sylvester, my mechanic, stopped by for coffee this morning he said one of his friends will pick it up and deal with it. Apparently it’s not the first time he’s had to do exactly this with an Apollo scooter.
So, sitting here looking at a partially disassembled scooter I can honestly say, No, don’t waste your money on an Apollo scooter. There are other options. Trying to find a company that provides credible back up, instead of one simply claiming to, is probably a good idea. It’s not a mistake I will make again. I will never buy a product of theirs ever again. My best advice to my readers is to not make the mistake I did.
I should point out that this company is not representative of most Canadian companies. Generally companies here are geared to a level of customer service that excels. Sadly Apollo doesn’t appear to value this approach.
Fiona
What happened to your tire that it went flat? Also, the Apollo city pro in the video does not have split rims so it should be the same as yours. Also, why are you pretending to be a girl? WTF is going on??
Thanks a lot. I was just about to buy an Apollo City pro 2023. I might just opt for the Chinese Mantis V2.
One year on I still haven't had a call from Apollo. Having said that I have learned a lot about scooters. One thing is, you can put any tire that will fit on the back of this, self sealing or otherwise, and it works fine. Next, is it is a good product. Apollo drop the ball by suggesting they have a level of customer service that is anything but appalling. Really, it's a good product, but horribly let down by the idea you'd get any help for anything from Apollo. My solution was to find a good mechanic who now takes care of anything on this. I use a company in Vancouver called Fatwhip. They're good and know scooters. So, there it is. You have to find your own solutions. Apollo built a good product, but don't think for an instant they will back it up with any form of customer service.
I got the Phantom V4 and it has been fantastic. The tubed system is great considering I don’t need to rely on replacing the entire tire itself unless there’s a blowout.
Unlike the City Pro, the Phantom uses split rims.
Additionally, the customer service for me hasn’t been terrible as they provided every detail when my stem came loose and recommended the appropriate tools to repair it, though I ended up taking it to a repair shop recommended on their website that specializes in Apollo scooters.
Yes, Apollo doesn’t have customer support. I brought my 2023 City Pro to an “Authorized Repair Shop” in Fort Lauderdale Florida. The shop is called Techy and they were far from an “Authorized Repair Shop” for Apollo. They did have the sticker on the window advertising as such. But they could’t fix the flat after having the scooter for a month. I’ve also seen Phantom issues online with recalls and those recalls being “fixed” only to break again. I also live in a city and I’ve had to turn my living room into a garage to get the tire off and now I’m in the process of getting the tire on with all sorts of tools. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it, I am handy. I’m a former welder and rode Harley’s. What I can say is that with a limited amount of tools and living in the city, so far no one has been able to help and I’m on my own trying to muscle a new tire on the wheel / motor that isn’t split and you have to work around the power supply wire. Total pain in the balls. I’d hardly call this an Apollo City Pro 2023. I’m renaming it Hardly a Davidson.
Apollo, you make a really great scooter. And that scooter is about 25 times harder to change a tire for than this video would indicate.
Especially if you don’t have the exact right tools, including tire irons that will not damage the tire, you have almost 0 chance of success doing this on your own. I have done many bicycle repairs in my life with a pretty strong record of success, but this tire replacement almost broke me. When I took it to the guys at Apollo maintenance in New York, they looked at me like I have three heads when I said that I had attempted it on my own. They told me that they have a rule that they do not do it with less than two guys.
I am sure that some people will not buy a scooter where they think they need a professional’s help to change the tire. But lots of people that you want to buy your scooters will also not buy another one from Apollo if we are always wondering if your supposedly user-serviceable parts are actually user-serviceable! I really really think you guys ought to take this one down.
Good video! Lucky for me, as a teenager, I worked at an auto center and have changed thousands of car tires so this is seriously easy for me. If you want it easier, at home you could find Windex, spray around the bead of the tire and it will help it slip on much easier! and it smells good. We did use this slimy stuff but Windex is great in a jam (when we ran out of the slimy stuff) Also, with this scooter it's pointless, but when I had a hard time pinpointing a tire leak in the water tank... I would take a Windex spray bottle and spray it around the tire to find the leak. Windex bubbles right up and makes finding any leak extremely easy. Also, here too as a bonus... it smells good 🤣.
I did it by myself and here is my solution. Was able to push the tire back in with my hands only (note that I'm probably a bit stronger than the average human). Heat it up in the oven (at around 80 degres Celsius/175 Fahrenheit). Heat it in the oven for about 10 minutes. Once out, you must act a little quick so make sure you know which direction your tire goes prior to this. Take about 7 tie wraps and tighten them around the tire so that the inside lips of the tire are pretty much closed shut all around. Put a bit of dish soap diluted in water around the rim and around your tire. Push and work it on the rim one edge first and the reste should follow quite easily. Cut the tie wraps once it is installed! It was quite easy that way for me and I almost died from a heart attack trying to do it the way they showed.
This worked great and quite easily. With how painful taking the tire off, I didn’t even attempt to try their method but instead tried yours. Thanks a lot
Does the tire not cool down by the time you’ve put all those plastic ties on lol. And what about the puncture self healing gel layer crap they apparently have? Does the oven not affect that?
I don’t think this is an accurate representation of what it’s like to actually replace the tire. This was so incredibly difficult and I can’t even get it on the rim. My rims are messed up and scratched up now.
Did you ever figure it out? Im in the same boat as you
@@fnotirre I finally just had to take it to a guy and he used vice grips. In my opinion it is near impossible to get it on by yourself. Also, some thing that really helped me with the flat tires was buying automatic tire pressure thing. Because it is tubeless it is really important that the tire pressure stays at 45 psi to keep a perfect seal. Otherwise it is more susceptible to getting flats. It was a great investment and it takes two seconds. I check it every other day, and usually the back wheel is under 40, which is the one that kept getting flat
Yep I know exactly what you mean. I've been trying for the last hour trying to get the front tyre off and it's not budging. Jesus Apollo - if you[re going to post a self help video at least accurately show the effort it takes. I suspect that tube has been removed and replaced a few times before he had to get it off on camera...
“Just like that.” This guy should not be allowed to use those words in a sentence. He does so on most of the fix-it videos and my experience is nothing goes like he says.
Looks like a nightmare to replace, i'm scared I might screw something up 😫
It is. And don't expect any help from Apollo.
For a guy like me that isn't mechanically inclined this is not a good video. Many time your hands are in the way of what you are doing. There is no camera angle change to see what is being done. The verbal communication is nice but would like to see what is looks like to execute. Please make another video with better camera angles
Thank you for the feedback! We will do better.
It is actually f&%$ing impossible to put the tire back on. Impossible. I have been at it for 2 hours and it keeps slipping through, EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!!!! I actually hate this scooter now, and hate Apollo. Why they decided with these stupid f#$%ing tires is beyond me - they have been nothing but trouble from the start - and now impossible to get on. Thanks. Apollo - I've wasted over $10k on your shoddy products and this is the last time I buy or recommend something of yours.
And when is that going to happen? This is the worst process I've evewr had to be apart of in my life. NOT EVERYONE IS THIS MECHANICALLY INCLINED@@ApolloScooters
Will you? Been a couple years and you still havent made a better video. Also lets be more honest about the fact that every single part is going to be stuck together. Terrible engineering, brain dead design, and awful support. I will never recommend your company to anyone. @ApolloScooters
where does the thicker third washer go. the one you didnt show in the vid.
The self sealing tires do not work. Additionally it takes many hours to change a tire. This is a misleading video.
If Apollo are serious they need to provide proper back up. I had a deflective tire, and supposedly it would take 2 business days to replace. Still counting at 10 days. No back up from Apollo.
Man my back tire unsealed while riding just now.
I used to love it and annoyed by the haters but I hate this scooter now. So much to fix: throttle, regen brake, kick stand broke, charger broke (2x; first and second stopped charging), display panel plastic broke where the screws go in, and now the tire has unsealed.
Similar scenario for me too. 😢 I’m so fed up with all the stuff that’s gone wrong with my City 2022. I’m not able to do these fixes myself, and even my local service centre refuses to deal with Apollo now because they don’t respond to warranty enquires. Apollo after-purchase support is lousy.
Bull$hit video. 2nd guy comes in like deus ex machina to help at the end of the video. what if you don't have someone to help you?
I have been trying to change this tire for nearly 2 weeks straight and all I have accomplished is deforming and destroying 2 separate tires so the bead will never seal even if I could get it on. I have had 3 people try and help me and even my LBS say they can't do it. $1600 for a scooter I can never ride again.... Because of a F*&^%king flat tire?!
Did you ever get it sorted?
Apollo customer service is way below par. After getting a flat tire and trying to change it by myself is just as bad as a nightmare. First of all, the video does not apply to a 2023 city pro scooter, so why would you send this video out to people like me that own a 2023. There are way more things you have to do than what this video portrays. You have to have at least 2 people to pry the tire off the motor. Almost impossible to do by yourself. It is by no means as easy as this video makes it out to be. So after 3-4 hours of taking the tire off and putting a new one on, of course the tire wouldn’t inflate with air. Trying to get any type of a call back is a complete disaster. How can you sell $2,000 scooters and not call people back within days or weeks. So, After sending the scooter back after hours of frustration with the tire, of course I get an invoice of a bunch of nonsense things wrong. Apollo doesn’t let you know prior to billing you what is wrong with your scooter. They just go ahead and pretty much fix what they want and charge you full price. The warranty is complete BS. I would suggest not get it if you don’t have to. Best part is after my first invoice they email back again with another invoice that has another fix that has to be done without even notifying me. So, if i paid the first invoice would i also have to pay the second one haha. Company is a total joke, and wouldn’t even deduct any cost off the bill. What a Great way to do business with people paying good money for pricey scooters. To sum up this great experience i would say if you have to send your scooter back for repair expect to pay at least $300+.
For all those reading, USE THE ZIP TIE METHOD. Look it up, replacing a tire with zip ties. It’s used a lot on bikes, scooters and motorcycles.
I followed all the steps involved in the video and had trouble putting the new tire on the rim. My issue was that the tire I received was too “stiff” compared to the one in the video. I eventually decided to use the zip tie method. I went from spending several hours trying, what felt like forever, trying to push the new tire in with pry bars, to having it fully seated in 30 minutes with the help of zip ties.
For anyone who decides to do this themselves, the zip tie method is THE way to go. I wish Apollo would’ve mentioned this in their video and it even allows you to only use one crow bar and no more than one person necessary.
The way this method I mentioned works, you wrap zip ties (with the tread on the tire facing the ground) inside and around to help push the bead/lip of the tire together. It squeezes the tire and holds the tire tight together/more compact to allow you to push it in the rim a little easier.
Where can I get instructions on the zip tie method? Gotta replace my rear tire on my Apollo City Pro 2022
Man, it is a pain in the ass. The tire in the video is used. So, it's softer. I scratch the hell out of my rim, trying to use pry bars. Almost wanted to grab the scooter and throw it out the front door. Not for a single person job. Tire is to small for a one man job. Thank you for the advice. I will look for your video. Also have a 2022 apollo city
@@acejackhammer google it.Theres a couple videos out there. "Zip-tie tire mounting motorcycle" and the same concept applies to the scooter. I only had to use 4 zip ties.
@@MegaDante5 I agree with you. I got so frustrated and they made the replacement look so easy in the video. I had someone mention pouring hot water and that would technically work but you risk ruining your self healing compound inside the tire.
Just got with the zip-tie tire mounting method. It will save you a lot of time and headaches. Its soo easy that I am going to buy snow tires and replace the city2022 tires by myself for the winter. That method makes the process much easier trust me.
I tried the zip tie method too. looping on the axels and cinching one part of the rim tight. When I work the rest of the tire around the rim, the pressure required to pop it over the lip breaks the zip tie.
Nearly a month now trying to get this tire on using every trick imaginable.
I watch these videos for the music
Is there a torque spec for the 21mm nut?
In the video, the lock rings remove with ease. I'm finding that ones on my City Pro won't budge an inch and am stuck.
Same, it just won't come off
It's hopeless. My City Pro has been immobile more days than it functioned.
Those are tire irons not pry bars 😉 Very good video, thanks!
Are you able to take off 1 side of the drum to slide the tire on easier just like in a previous video?
Do you recommend any specific tubeless or run flat type of tire?
Hey Brandon,
The new City 2022 already comes with self-healing tires! Check out this video where we put them to the test!
Are the Apollo City's Tires INDESTRUCTIBLE?!?! - ruclips.net/video/8V7cKivMP2c/видео.html
@@ApolloScooters I just bought a phantom V2. Do you have a suggestion for the phantom?
@@ApolloScootersSelf-healing, my foot! I’ve had two flats from normal city riding. 🙄
@@marchair Did you fill up your tires?
So what tire can I buy to replace the tire on my apollo city 2022
I was able to change the tire in about 15 minutes using the supplied tools and 3 tire irons and a rachet strap to seal the bead. I didnt have a tire pump so I used the hand pump that came with the kit. I am not sure why so many people have been having issues. The key to installing the new tire is to make sure that, while youre spooing in the bead, the rest of the bead on the opposite side should sit in the center which pushes the tire closer to the side your spooning in so you dont have to manhandle the spoons so hard. It was a lot easier to install than a dirtbike tire. If you're continuing to have problems, I would watch dirtbike tire install videos, its very similar. I prefer this tubeless set up over a split rim with a tube or a solid rubber tire for sure. If you're having trouble, I would take it to a motorcycle dealer, not a bicycle dealer to install for you.
Can we install aftermarket 10x3 tubeless tires though? Also frame sliders? 🤔
Opening up the inside to unplug the motor straight up doesn't work. Couple of the allen screws were already stripped the first time I opened it up, I've tried everything
knowing apollo's bad history with repairs, why do I feel like this was done on purpose so that I have to ship it to them and then get charged🙃
I'm being quoted $300 to ship back and forth my scooter for repair, plus I'd assume extra to "repair" it since the cs representative keeps telling me extra charges may happen even though i'm on warranty
Both the city and pro(2023) have been my worst purchases ever.. what went from wanting to support a local business turned into nightmare.
0/10 stars, horrible support, blatant false adversiting, this company shouldnt even exist with how it operates. DO NOT BUY FROM THESE PEOPLE. BUY AMERICAN MADE INSTEAD.
No split rim?
No, because of the self-healing tires, we need to use a solid rim design in order for it to work :-)
Apollo said they were looking to make maintenance easy. This is not that. Pain in the bloody ass.
There’s gonna be maintenance on whatever kind of PEV you buy, that’s the trade off unfortunately for having a more comfortable ride. I think replacing the tires is worth it to have a smoother ride. I’d rather be able to change the tire myself on a scooter than having to pay someone to change 4 tires on a car. 4 new tires on a car can buy you like 6 or more new tires on the Apollo city 2022.
Crazy how every reviewer scream about hpw good tubeless tyres are yet almost all these comments are people saying the opposite
Are you able to get the winter tires on there? I’m looking to get one but it might be during the cold snowy winter!
Save your money.
What’s the measurements for the ratchet wrench.
This guys setup is nothing like my 2022. So many details missing from this video. As someone who's change many dirtbike tires, this is a terrible video. Why even make such garbage.
So what if we don't have a "third hand"?
The genetic gene pool just isn’t fair now is it?
It's possible to perform this repair by yourself with three pry bars, but if you can get someone to help you, it makes the job a lot quicker and easier!
My 2 city pro 2022 scooters just came in and one has a front flat tire and won't take in any air. Is this likely a bad seal between the Tire and rim?
Hey there Cody,
Sorry to hear your unit was delivered with a flat tire. What you pointed out could be a possibility, or it is possible that the valve is leaking and needs to be tightened as it is not sealing itself.
Reach out to our support team for any assistance with this they'll be glad to help out!
Probably is. Both of my tire had the same problem had it for like 4 weeks the scooter and I've had problems almost the whole time. The first week went smooth then the charger it came it malfunction they sent a replacement and that one also was faulty just got my second replacement I only used it once let see long it last. Front tire didn't wanna seal they sent me a tired it fixed and now the back is not sealed and im waiting on there replay i have a stem wobble to like problems just keep popping up one after another.
Is this the same for the 2023 model??
Ive never seen so many complaints on a video before. All scooters require maintenance. If you cant maintain youre own scooter, then you probably shouldn't own one.
i was waiting for a deep voice to do the voice over
Is the Apollo City 2022 the only scooter in all the Apollo lines of scooters to have self healing tires? It's those tires alone that are really selling me on buying from Apollo as im not mechanically inclined to wanna deal with flats.
Hey Jose,
yes, for the time being only the new City 2022 has these self healing tires! The reason we can't add them to our other existing models is due to their split rim design.
Shouldn't say self healing i got 2 flats and there was no puncher holes ended up being the seal not being right 😒 so many flaw with my scooter
@@LuisHernandez-zl8or I’m having the same problem. So how did you fix it?
there is no comment on thee washers???
Man o man looks too difficult for me...if hust bring it back to the shop i bought the scooter from and get them to do it!
how much for a set of new tires?
Why is my odo meter saying 6665 I know its not right. What's wrong??
this seems similar as changing a car tire
I thought this were tubeless? I just got a flat on the back tire found out it had a nail 🙄😒🤔 is this false advertisement by Apollo?
The self healing tire doesn't work.
You can get flats even without tubes, what are you talking about? You think cars never have flats? Your comment makes no sense.
Never buying tubeless again. I'd rather replace a tube every day than deal with this crap
Wouldn't recommend anymore was a good scooter but I'm having so many flaws im just wasting time and money on this and there policy's makes it impossible for a refund for a messed up scooter they send.
I pray to the scooter gods that this well never be something I'd have to deal with for a very long time if your self healing tires are truly as good as you market them to be. This process still looks like a real pain in the ass.
That's the goal! We just wanted to have the video up in case anyone ever needs it :-)
@@ApolloScooters these tires cannot be filled with air if they go flat. My back tire somehow went completely flat while the front tire was fine. I try filling the tire and air leaks of the side so I try applying pressure to the apex of tire while filling with air like they do in this video and the air leak just moves to a different part of the tire. the tire refuses to seal on the right side, air just leaks out
Keep praying. I can't believe how let down I have felt with Apollo.
@apolloscooters I don’t get it, why don’t you guys make these with solid tires?
@@reysolo You have to reseat the beads once the tire goes flat and then refill.
The lock ring coming off this easy is a lie lmao, show how to actually do the job you scammers. Worst scooter company
(UPDATE: I fixed it. Check the comments) My tire went completely flat and will not fill up with air. Air keeps leaking out of the side. Maybe you shouldn’t have gone with tubeless because I have a completely flat tire that will not fill no matter what I do. Your support team was no help either
Same problem currently
@@TheElronan I tried everything they told me and even bought an electric pump like the one in this video and still can’t get the tire to fill
@@reysolo I’m trying the electric pump tomorrow. The other thing I see is people using a rachet strap to hold the tire and then using the pump
@@TheElronan I wish you luck man I’m hoping I hear back from them tomorrow
@@reysolo still no luck on my end.