Super Vitus 971 French frameset info?
03-09-06 | 06:33 PM
#1
Thread Starter
Old Skeptic
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,044
Likes: 9
From: New Mexico, USA
Bikes: 19 road bikes & 1 Track bike
Super Vitus 971 French frameset info?
Just purchased a vintage French frameset and I've never heard of the brand. It is labelled "Valgan, Chambord" but I suspect it may have actually been built by one of the larger French manufacturers... probably during the mid or late 1970s.
Here is the eBay auction URL:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7223544593
Frameset is Super Vitus 971 extra-legere tubing - which, if I recall correctly, was comparable to double-butted 531 of the same era. My guess is the long-point lugs are a Bocama 'Competition' or a Prugnat 'Professional' set - but it's just a guess.
Bike was parted out by the seller and was originally built up with some of the flashiest French bling-bling components of the '70s: Simplex Super LJ derailleurs with their deluxe retro-friction shifters [all GOLD-anodized versions] ~ Mafac Competition brake calipers & levers [again, all GOLD-anod.]. Also, had a Stronglight mod. 93 crankset, Competition headset & bottom bracket ~ Maillard 700 'Team Issue' h/f hubs with Mavic Monthlery tubular rims, ~ Maillard 700 pedals ~ Campy two-bolt seatpost (26.6mm) ~ AVA bar and stem. About as French as a bike could be built up and all components appear to have seen virtually no use... Bike was from the estate of a doctor in up-state NY.
Serial number appears to be quite low [003XXX], so it might have actually been made by a short-lived company which had arrived too late and then died quickly - along with the bulk of the French component industry toward the end of the 70s. In any case, think I got a great buy for $129 + $25 shipping... [FYI: Rear derailleur sold for $118]
Would greatly appreciate any info on this mysterious "ghost" brand bike.
Here is the eBay auction URL:
https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=7223544593
Frameset is Super Vitus 971 extra-legere tubing - which, if I recall correctly, was comparable to double-butted 531 of the same era. My guess is the long-point lugs are a Bocama 'Competition' or a Prugnat 'Professional' set - but it's just a guess.
Bike was parted out by the seller and was originally built up with some of the flashiest French bling-bling components of the '70s: Simplex Super LJ derailleurs with their deluxe retro-friction shifters [all GOLD-anodized versions] ~ Mafac Competition brake calipers & levers [again, all GOLD-anod.]. Also, had a Stronglight mod. 93 crankset, Competition headset & bottom bracket ~ Maillard 700 'Team Issue' h/f hubs with Mavic Monthlery tubular rims, ~ Maillard 700 pedals ~ Campy two-bolt seatpost (26.6mm) ~ AVA bar and stem. About as French as a bike could be built up and all components appear to have seen virtually no use... Bike was from the estate of a doctor in up-state NY.
Serial number appears to be quite low [003XXX], so it might have actually been made by a short-lived company which had arrived too late and then died quickly - along with the bulk of the French component industry toward the end of the 70s. In any case, think I got a great buy for $129 + $25 shipping... [FYI: Rear derailleur sold for $118]
Would greatly appreciate any info on this mysterious "ghost" brand bike.
03-09-06 | 09:44 PM
#2
If I own it, I ride it
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,685
Likes: 821
From: Cardinal Country
Bikes: Lejeune(14), Raleigh, Raysport, Jan De Reus, Gazelle, Masi, B. Carré(4), Springfield, Greg Lemond, Andre Bertin, Schwinn Paramount
Go to this link
CR archives
and type in your search. Not much there, but a start.
I think you got a good deal on your frame. It looks well made. I think it is kind of fun to own the lesser known brands.
CR archives
and type in your search. Not much there, but a start.
I think you got a good deal on your frame. It looks well made. I think it is kind of fun to own the lesser known brands.
03-09-06 | 10:23 PM
#3
Senior Member
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 808
Likes: 11
From: Tucson, AZ
I have an older (1988) bike magazine with a materials comparison article in it. It mentions Super Vitus 983 as a superstrong steel alloy from France. Whether that is a step up from your 971 in strength and year of manufacture I don't know.
03-09-06 | 10:52 PM
#4
If I own it, I ride it
Joined: Nov 2005
Posts: 5,685
Likes: 821
From: Cardinal Country
Bikes: Lejeune(14), Raleigh, Raysport, Jan De Reus, Gazelle, Masi, B. Carré(4), Springfield, Greg Lemond, Andre Bertin, Schwinn Paramount
The following is a quote from the Classic Rendezvous archives....
"If anyone knows of a stash of affordable Vitus 971 or other quality
Vitus tubes, metric dimentions or otherwise, please let me know. Vitus
971 makes nice frames.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA"
I would say that is a pretty good recommendation.
"If anyone knows of a stash of affordable Vitus 971 or other quality
Vitus tubes, metric dimentions or otherwise, please let me know. Vitus
971 makes nice frames.
Brian Baylis
La Mesa, CA"
I would say that is a pretty good recommendation.
03-10-06 | 02:00 AM
#5
Thread Starter
Old Skeptic
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,044
Likes: 9
From: New Mexico, USA
Bikes: 19 road bikes & 1 Track bike
Appreciate the tips. [DUH! - I should have thought to check out the CR Archives].
If Brian Baylis liked working the tubing, it's as good as gold to me.
I just did a CR search for "Valgan Chambord", as well. Found a few comments on an earlier sighted example from some years back. But, alas, the bike's origin still remains a mystery. Someone suggested it could have been the work of one of the good small contract builders in Ste. Etienne and perhaps there were LeJeune badged near twins out there.
Ah well, I could think of many worse ways to spend a Summer than knocking on old shop doors along the sunny Loire Valley (near the Chateau de Chambord)... wearing a Sherlock Holmes cycling cap, of course.
If Brian Baylis liked working the tubing, it's as good as gold to me.
I just did a CR search for "Valgan Chambord", as well. Found a few comments on an earlier sighted example from some years back. But, alas, the bike's origin still remains a mystery. Someone suggested it could have been the work of one of the good small contract builders in Ste. Etienne and perhaps there were LeJeune badged near twins out there.
Ah well, I could think of many worse ways to spend a Summer than knocking on old shop doors along the sunny Loire Valley (near the Chateau de Chambord)... wearing a Sherlock Holmes cycling cap, of course.
12-16-09 | 02:40 PM
#6
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 6
Likes: 1
From: In france Near PARIS
Bikes: Wolhauser 65-Motobecane 76
I' m restauring an old bicycle, Wolhauser in super vitus 971.
I'll send you a link to a document about vitus.
https://www.yellowjersey.org/vitus.html
You can watch my bicycle at this link: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...5&hl=wolhauser
and an other , a motobécane: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...=9844&hl=jacky
I'll send you a link to a document about vitus.
https://www.yellowjersey.org/vitus.html
You can watch my bicycle at this link: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...5&hl=wolhauser
and an other , a motobécane: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...=9844&hl=jacky
02-16-12 | 03:01 PM
#7
Junior Member
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 6
Likes: 1
From: In france Near PARIS
Bikes: Wolhauser 65-Motobecane 76
I' m restauring an old bicycle, Wolhauser in super vitus 971.
I'll send you a link to a document about vitus.
https://www.yellowjersey.org/vitus.html
You can watch my bicycle at this link: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...5&hl=wolhauser
and an other , a motobécane: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...=9844&hl=jacky
I'll send you a link to a document about vitus.
https://www.yellowjersey.org/vitus.html
You can watch my bicycle at this link: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...5&hl=wolhauser
and an other , a motobécane: https://www.velotaf.com/index.php?sho...=9844&hl=jacky
