Elev12k

A while ago I were able to get my hands on a Mavic Zap groupset, Mavic's first groupset with electronic gear change. Excited as I were, I started considering the various options for hanging the groupset on: Panasonic PR-6000, Serotta, Jan de Reus? It remained undecided, untill I encountered the dreamed candidate for the quirky French kit: A Vitus ***9 frameset. I went outside for some pics and here it is -->




"Composite"


"***9". The brake cable is routed through the toptube. In the top right corner of the pic you see where the cable leaves.


With the setscrew you fixate the post.

The frame is not very heavy. 1300gr for frame they say and I tend to believe that.

The '***' in '***9' stands for Fibre Carbon Kevlar. The '9' for 9 composite tubes: Three in main triangle, two chainstays and four for seatstays.

I think the ***9 was carried from late 80s to late 90s (correct?). Given the graphics I would think my frame is from early 90s.

junkfoodjunkie

That is nice! Looking forward to the the progress.

Jake

Chombi

If this is your first Vitus Carbone, welcome to the club!



I enjoyed very much restoring and building up my Carbone 7 (which for some reason have the same number of CF tubes as the 9) last year. Started out as a Shimano DA7400 restoration project, but ended up a mostly Mavic build-up when the original to the bike DA components turned out a bit too "tired".
Your frame looks to be in great shape to make for a very successful build-up.
Enjoy the build-up and share with us the results when you are done!

Chombi

Exit.

I'm stoked to see this Zap groupset. I've never seen/heard of it before, and it sounds awesome.

Elev12k

Chombi,

Very nice bike you have there. I hope my build will turn as nice as yours in the end.

Elev12k

Here the donor of the Zap: A Vitus 979. sadly way too small for me. There are Colnago decals and one Buckler sticker present on the frame. I do not have a decent explanation for it. I did not pick it up myself. The person who did pick it up for me were told it belonged to a famous rider, but my connection couldn't recall who...




There are two control units: One on top the bar and one under the brake lever >>


In the right bar end the battery can be found.


The mech >>


Only the rear mech is electronic operated.


Old fashion hand power operated brake calliper >>




Old world quality: Proper bearings >>

theschwinnman

This is really cool. I look forward to seeing this finished.

PDXaero

Well, now that you mention a full mavic group I am well on board. If you want some 46cm mavic bars (square bend) I am looking around for 40s or maybe a 42 and don't need to hold on to the big ones.
Good luck finding the mavic seatpost. 25.0 is the most sought after size, one sold on ebay last month for $164.
I thought about using a zap or mektronic setup for mine but ultimately chose manual to keep it lighter. Sometimes I still hunt for mektronic bits although after seein the zap setup from your donor it doesn't look as slipshod as I first assumed.

Welcome to the tout mavic carbon fiber club.

Chombi

Was afraid to post "Uhmmm.....do you have the seatpost for that frame??"....I'm even more afraid to ask if that later Carbones like this one also require the super odd sized 23mm Vitus/Rubis post that my Carbone 7 has, although Mike Fraysse had a few on sale at ebay the past couple of weeks that didn't seem to all have sold, so there is still hope if you really need one.

Chombi

Chombi

PDXaero

Frayse had a 27.2 for sale for a while and I know forum member "mtnbike" is needing one.
It could be 23mm as well but from my recollection i thought it was 25mm.
Also an edit to my last post, 44cm bars CTC, sorry, I have been looking for itm bars measured to the outside. My mind is still not straight

Chombi

IIRC, the 25mm size Vitus/Rubis post was what was used on the 979 alu frames. It would have been smart of Vitus if they did change the Carbones to that size too for brand spec consistency but it could be down to what the ID size of the CF/Kevlar tubes are.

Chombi

Elev12k

The frame came with a post. It is an aero style post with milled down lower section. It is closed underneath. It is a quality post and I think it is the original for this frame.

Elev12k

I will not be sourcing specific expensive parts for the build. I only use what I have laying around or what I coincidently stumble upon - like I always do actually. Over the weekend I considered some cockpit options. An important matter was that the bar had to allow the battery assembly. That was the starting point. Stems I considered were: Syncros Altura (light!), black XA "Cinelli" panto'ed stem (elegant!), Modolo Equipe (oddball!) ...but in the end I decided for a relatively boring, but very good 3T Mod 84/3T bar combo.

The Zap groupset is in very good shape and works flawlessly. From the 1st pic in post #6, pic of the full 'Colnago' 979, you probably got your initial 'slipshod' thought, probably due to the bleached seat and that I had just took the tape off what gives a lousy impression, but the groupset in fact looks really good. Minimal traces of wear, for example no heel touche spots on cranks. The bike came with an empty battery and it was only a couple days later the shops opened again so I could buy a new battery. It will not sound as a surprise that I were really looking forward to shop opening and being able to test the Zap. As I said, function turned out to be flawless - phew.

prettyshady

This build plan looks fantastic, looking forward to seeing it done!

91MF

this thing is going to rule.