No Chain, No Pain: Revolutionary Priority Apollo Gravel Bike Review
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- Опубликовано: 23 сен 2023
- Diving into the intricate details of the unique Priority Apollo Gravel Bike, retailing at $1,899, renowned for its innovative Gates belt drive and internal shifting. We'll explore its advanced features design peculiarities and discuss its place and value in the cycling world. Whether you’re a cycling enthusiast or just looking to learn more about cutting-edge bike technology, this review offers insights into the bike's performance, usability, and maintenance.
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I am amazed how this bike has gone under the radar for so long...every Priority model is lovely and focuses on making lives easier for riders. I still think their 600 is absolutely stunning
This is my daily driver, fantastic bike well worth the money.
For those asking about taking off the rear wheel for tube change and such, it is more involved than Quick release or Thru Axle. Priority has a helpful video on their website explaining the process to do this. It does take a 15mm wrench, which is a bit annoying, but I've gotten used to it. To me, the absolute absence of required bike maintenance is well worth any trade offs of the internal geared hub/belt drive combo. I ride my Apollo and my 600 to work year round in the Midwest and I really only wash them down a couple times a year. This is a massive change from needing to clean/lube/wax whatever chain drivetrain I was using before. Waxing did help the chain drivetrain, but still required reapplying every so often. The belt drivetrain needs nothing. Ever. Just keep a spare one around for when it finally does go so you can swap and keep on riding. I've had my Priority 600 since 2020 and have yet to replace the original belt.
I've been riding the Gates/Alfine combination on different bikes since 2014 and I finally succeeded in shredding the belt on the first of these this summer, after 19,000 miles of 4-season New England riding. In my experience, the IGH hubs do require annual cleaning/lube for all-season riding, as they are not completely sealed, but this is a miniscule headache compared to maintaining a chain. I just picked up the new titanium Apollo and after a few rides, tuning the saddle position, etc., I'm really enjoying it.
I never had a problem with my chain. I've ridden 10s of thousands of miles. I put a few drops of lube on it every few rides. completely quiet. And I ride on silent rear hubs. My riding is for fun. So when it rains, I take a day off. It is the easiest thing ever. Further, I love my bike. I enjoy giving it a bit of TLC and taking care of it.
I'm missing something? or not?
@@stevenr5149 For sure, chain and derailleur bikes are great, but Im more focused on using the belt drive type of bikes for car trip replacement. I'm sure there's some types of cars that you wouldn't drive in snow and inclement weather, but I would never own one of them. Doesn't make sense to me. Same goes for bikes, in my opinion.
Thank you. Just purchased this bike and this comment helped soothe my anxiety
I put a similar setup, gates carbon belt with a Shimano Alfine 8 on one of my bikes that allowed it and it's the smoothest drivetrain I've ever had. I always look forward to riding that bike.
Great review. I wouldn't mind seeing Priority Bikes in Australia, but I won't hold my breathe.
I love my priority 600x they’re such an amazing company
Would like this bike with a flat bar option. They should be able to sell it at this price or lower because the shifters are cheaper.
Such a beautiful perfect bike at a great price this is my dream bike
I have a brilliant cooper belt drive bike and the 0 maintenance is just a god send and its always so clean no grease
Thoughts after riding 8,000 miles. Great price and definitely low maintenance, especially on dusty or muddy trails. Learning curve details. You have to coast shortly to shift gears which can be a challenge going up steep hills. Fixing rear wheel flats is not easy and keeping the wheel centered is difficult (I run 45 tires). If you’re a strong rider you have to really tighten the adjusters and the wheel nuts crazy tight or the wheel will shift after a few miles. Problem nearly fixed if you use heavy puncture resistant tires and keep them rotated and replace before they’re completely worn. Also, make sure change the rear hub oil after the first thousand miles and every three thousand afterwards (the oil change kit costs nearly $40 US). Other than that, it’s a great low maintenance bike for dusty and/or muddy trail conditions.
Love my Apollo! The only mod I’ve done is slime inserts. I do bike in New Orleans
I own the 2022 version with the upgraded hydraulic brakes and carbon front fork. I purchased this to use for gravel touring and some bike packing adventures. It is a bit heavy if you’re expecting a fast gravel bike for racing. Especially the rear wheel. I found the gear ratio too high for my needs and changed the front to a 46 tooth cog and the rear to a 28T and have what seems to work for me riding in Oregon USA.
Did you do a test ride of this bike. I'd like to know how spongy the internal hub is while pedaling. Thanks, Steve
I believe the Hudson Branded brakes, are in house branding. Their shop is on Hudson Street in New York.
Yes, 172 Hudson is Priority's address
So are those just TRP hy/rd brakes?
How hard is it to take the rear rim off to replace the tubes or tire? The rear looks a little intimidating with the belt and looks like there is no quick release.
I’m waiting for my Priority 600 mt bike due in May
Weight is not bad considering the set up. Seems more like a good mixed surface commuter than a racey gravel bike. For many easy shifting is a big plus.
Edit, I have been considering options to chains and derailleurs and all the compatibility issues. A internal hub makes life easier and cleaner. I'll take a closer look .
Definitely not a racing gravel bike, but those who race gravel aren’t looking at this, and they’re a lot fewer than the rest of us 😊. We don’t need this to become a racey gravel bike
What size fame was this bike? you never mentioned it
For the price that this bike the Apollo priority sells you don't get decent metal pedals, you don't get a comfortable seat no racks as well. The focus is on the gates belt and the internal gears of the Shimano affinity. The markup is quite substantial.
I’ve stayed away from alfine because the indexing is cable which means that cable stretch will throw it all off. I also read that the hub doesn’t do well in freezing temps.
There's a Canadian guy from Alberta who rides his Proirity Onyx year round. His channel is called Shifter and he goes over a lot of winter cycling because Alberta is COLD.
Sounds like a good gravel bike and commuter. Like the little maintenance it needs.
Intriguing bike. I wonder what the drive train efficiency is compared to a clean chain/rear derailleur system.
90.5% . Plenty of information about efficiency on the internet if you have a look. I have had two Alfine 11 speed hubs over 10 years used as a gravel/commute/light trail set up.
I wouldn't get a bike without an internal shifting system... The new Priority Gemini.SHIFT Titanium, Pinion gravel bike is almost EXACTLY the bike I've been wanting for a while now. I just have to find out if I can convert it to a flat bar since it has Pinion's electronic shifting system ".SHIFT". 🤞🤞
Just wondering what a rear tire or tube changeout would require. I know its a pain on my rear motor e-bike
Takes 2-3 minutes longer than a regular rear. Not complicated at all, just different. They have a video up to show the process. I have the 2021 version
How about changing tires? Isn‘t that more tricky as at regular chain based groupset?
Looks like a super solid bike!
Front tire is standard thru-bolt. Releasing the rear tire requires releasing the shifting cable from the IGH, then unbolting the hub nuts with a 15mm wrench. Its very simple after you've done it a few times. I carry the wrench in my bike bag with the spare tube, pump and multi-tool.
@@riderstevesounds like tubeless would be better in some ways, but then you have the sealant to check on
I wish they used Pinion gearbox on this. I wonder if this frame has the same geometry as their 600 all road commuter.
Should be easy to upgrade to a Rohloff14 disc. I hate steep sloped frames also.
CDN or CDX belt? I'd like to see this as a steel frame, regardless of added weight.
I've read that it's CDX.
Can you quantify the great range in comparison to say Diverge or Checkpoint? Weight penalty?
Great option to add a dropper seat post. Can ride with trousers without getting grease or grime on it!! Keeps elements out especially on dirt!
This looks like a good bike packing bicycle?
Wt limit on the bike is 275lbs. Would like alt bars instead of drop for touring.
Check out the Priority 600 or 600X
@ktb5741 they still have the same wt limit...because of the carbon fork and aluminum frame. Plus the 600 and 600x don't have braze ons for a front rack.
Do we get this in India what are the disadvantages
mazaak kar raha hai kya bhai...hahahahahahaah.
Even if you do get it, probably not a good idea to buy. Internal shifting gears are scarce. And you probably wouldn't get access to replacement parts as they do. Plus the belt drive. I think marin has a similar bike(flat bar) in some Indian websites.
There is also a belt driven bike made by Scolarian bikes which is an Indian company. It has a similar internal gear hub with only 5 gears. You can read more on their website. Not sure if it will be suitable to ride them in flood like conditions. If water gets in the gear hub it may strip down all the grease and may start to rust if not serviced sooner.
The weight of the Alfine 11 rear hub/mechanism by itself, weighs 1665 grams--100 grams more than both my wheels- combined. My chain works great now. A few drops of lube every few rides. silent as well. Never had a chain break(knock on wood;)
I do get flat tires from time to time and don't want a harder time getting the rear wheel off.
Also, I don't want to be locked into one system. Now I can mix and match with both cheap and high-end parts.
Is this trying to solve a problem for $$$ that we don't really have?
Maybe.
This bike looks great👍 it's a shame the modern planetary hub gears are sealed and you can't add a drop of oil now and then . Meaning the gears WILL self destruct before you can reach any high mileage 😮
3:47 you can see where the hub shows you where to add oil
The weight of the Alfine 11 rear hub/mechanism by itself, weighs 1665 grams-100 grams more than both my wheels- combined. My chain works great now. A few drops of lube every few rides. silent as well. Never had a chain break(knock on wood;)
I do get flat tires from time to time and don't want a harder time getting the rear wheel off.
Also, I don't want to be locked into one system. Now I can mix and match with both cheap and high-end parts.
Is this trying to $olve a problem that we don't really have?
Maybe?
So I have a Brilliant Cooper belt drive from Priority, it's nexus 3 speed with a gates CDN belt, it seems to last forever but the bikes from Priority are really cheap garbage stuff from China, they aren't the good frames from Taiwan so often lots of stuff is wrong with these bikes little annoyances more like it cause again it's crap from China.
The big name bikes use frames from Taiwan which comes from the best frame building factory in the world
Another annoying thing about these belt drive bikes is the weight, it is extremely heavy and another issue these hubs are very weird they can become too tight, and have a shit ton of resistance if they aren't maintained and it's very hard to increase gear ratio because of the fixed gears inside the hub so my 3 speed nexus max speed sucks ass its slow.
On the flip side it works wonders in the rain because a chain bike requires cleaning and new lube once you get accustomed to belts you never want to use chains because you get lazy about maintenance.
However that's about it belt drive bikes are very hard to ride due to weight and resistance and if you're trying to get to work on mornings it makes you sweat.
These carbon fiber parts in these priority bikes are also cheap trash from China they are as heavy as aluminum.
I have a cannondale super six evo and it takes me 40 mins to commute to work with little effort, the priority belt drive 3 speed takes me 55 minutes with tons of sweat. I am looking to sell this belt drive bike and get a Tribal RC520 with space for fender mounts and shimano 105 setup I am done with belt drive bikes I find them awful.
How about riding it?
I don't know how to ride a bike
Riding a bike when reviewing it? Preposterous! Educated opinions mean nothing! Experiences won't relate! Enjoy the mystery of having no perspective presented!
Imagine someone asking how the food was at a restaurant, and all they said was, "I don't know how to eat." Awesome, yeah?
Belt is better! TOP GRAVEL bike
Hmmm 🤔. Out of my price range 😢. At a glance it looks like an old school Schwinn.
I got one and got stolen
sorry to hear that.
Best wishes on your next one. Now I just ride my $199 fixie in the city.
Needs hydraulic brakes
Needs cable TRP Spyre brakes. I have this on my Rohloff14. Stops INSTANTLY. On the front I have a SA XL-FDD dyno drum brake.
ZERO worries or adjustments ever.
Overpriced