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Panasonic, Vitus or Cannondale

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Panasonic, Vitus or Cannondale

Old 10-07-11, 08:16 PM
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Panasonic, Vitus or Cannondale

I'm looking to add another keeper bike to my collection. Here are 3 bikes that appeal to me.

Vitus 979 Dural, full DA , not sure what year late 80's?

1986 Panasonic DX5000, all original down to the saddle

1989 Cannondale 3.0 Original owner, still has all paperwork from purchase.

All 3 bikes are my size and priced right and are in excellent condition.

I really like the Vitus its beautiful plus has the full DuraAce but not sure of the reliability of the frameset. I think each bike has its own qualities..decisions, decisions.

Opinions?
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Old 10-07-11, 08:24 PM
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You really should try French if you haven't yet done so yet....Vitus! You will certainly appreciate the DA7400(?) group on it too....

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Old 10-07-11, 08:59 PM
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Originally Posted by Chuckk
All three are winners - "Collect them all"?
Vitus is prettiest, but going to be the most fragile. Probably going to have the most value in the long run.
The Cannondale is going to be bulletproof, and was the bargain racer around then - I think all 89's were Crit geometry if it's a SR.
Panasonic DX5000 is expertly done steel, and also a bargain racer from the time.

I've got two of them - and I'd grab a DX if one shows up (one of my buddies was CAT3 racing on a DX5000 back then)
I'm leaning towards the Vitus, I haven't seen it in person yet but the owner is a professional photographer and the pictures show the bike to be amazing plus the DA is appealing and it comes with a CatEye Vectra CC-7000 cycle computer, almost new Schwalbe Ultremo R tires, Cinelli Giro d'Italia handlebars and a Zefal HPX3 tire pump.

Nice bikes Chuckk

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Old 10-07-11, 11:33 PM
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Originally Posted by Chombi
You really should try French if you haven't yet done so yet....Vitus! You will certainly appreciate the DA7400(?) group on it too....

Chombi
I completely agree
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Old 10-07-11, 11:51 PM
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Tough decision. I would probably get the vitus because I am a dura ace fanboy and they're really light. Old cannondales are nice but they're somewhat commonplace, though their performance is undeniable. Probably can't go wrong with the panasonic either but I couldn't tell you much about it.
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Old 10-08-11, 06:54 AM
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Vitus for me.

I love the vintage aluminum frames, especially the Vitus, which seems to get the most respect and more money than most of the rest. They seem pretty well sought after by collectors to. While I love the worksmanship of lugged steel frames, I also think the bonded aluminum frames are just gorgeous to look at too. Very smooth looking and they still look modern 20-30 years later.

I ride a Miyata 1400A, and find the ride to be very nice and the frame is really light and responsive. Some flex I guess, but nothing disconcerting at all. I would think that aluminum would not be to good for a super heavyweight rider though.

And with a full DA, it's the Vitus...
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Old 10-08-11, 10:25 AM
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You cann't go wrong with Dura-Ace, no matter what it's on. Vitus is light but some say it's not a good sprinter because the frame flexes. Later if you don't like it sell the frame and move the parts to a new frame.
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Old 10-08-11, 01:14 PM
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+1 Buy all 3.
They are all desirable bikes. And at different ends of the spectrum.
I'd get them all, ride them and compare, if one rises to the top, keep that one. And you can also swap the best components onto it before selling the other two.
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Old 10-08-11, 02:06 PM
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Since the price is right, +1 Get them all. Then decide where they fit in to your fleet. Myself, I always evaluate potential keepers against my current fleet. One comes in, one goes out.

Occasionally I bend the rules a bit. Hey, we have two homes, so each house needs its own keeper fleet, right?

The Vitus and Panasonic are no brainers to me. Both have their strong merits at the right price. I have several Panasonics in my fleet right now, the workmanship is superb. As for the Vitus, what's not to like about DA? On the Cannondale, I have had so many of them, to me no big deal either way. Finding a Cannondale later should be fairly easy. Finding another DX5000 would be a lot more difficult (at least around here).
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Old 10-08-11, 02:31 PM
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I'll more or less +1 what everyone else has already said. If you can't take all three and you're deciding between two I'd skip the cannondale. As much as I love mine they are not difficult to find. The Vitus and the Panasonic are both really nice as well, a bit quirkier and don't pop up nearly as often, especially if they're at a decent price.
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Old 10-09-11, 11:49 AM
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I have owned all three, but did not actually ride the Panasonic much since it was much to big. As for Vitus vs Cannondale? The Vitus wins hands down for quality of ride, not to mention its pleasing aesthetics.
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