Vitus 979 Dural?
 

A friend of mine was offered Vitus 979 frame which is rather confounding (at least for me) He says that the main triangle is aluminum and the fork and the chain/seat stays are steel.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...aeb828d5f.jpeg
https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...c50bf6242.jpeg
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b551bbb6a.jpeg
https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...edda86a6a.jpeg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...d2f3bbdab.jpeg
Has anybody seen such a frame and can identify it? Thanks!

Hi , 80s Vitus 979 decals on something else . Interesting frame . Hopefully someone here will recognise it .

I've owned a couple of 979s and studied the lineage, but this unlike any 979 I've ever seen or read about. Unlike the (real) 979, this frame and fork must be steel.

Magnet test.

post Mfg paint. Hopefully paint and not powdercoat.

Yeah, my mate did the test with a magnet. The frame is indeed partially steel, i.e. the rear triangle, and otherwise made from aluminum...

Whoah I thought "screwed and glued" was just a saying about frames that were bonded and riveted.

Philips head screws to attach the seat stays?

Photo below is from this previous Bike Forums thread. The consensus in that thread seems to be that the frame was probably built in Japan and originally labeled a Mangusta (Italian for Mongoose), the name Mongoose used for their short-lived road bike model.

https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...b2fbc5b8e8.jpg.

Solved. Brilliant. Thanks!