vitus 992
 

just scored! It's pretty cool - integrated headset, proprietary aero seatpost, ovalized top tube, lugged aluminum frame. Don't know much about them but it seems like a nice sporty bike.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/001-26.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/002-20.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/003-17.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/004-16.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/005-15.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/006-10.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/007-8.jpg

Beautiful bike, I've never ridden one but I've always found those looks stunning. First ever integrated headset, if I'm not mistaken, and ridden by the pros (like the Belgian lottoteam in the mid 90's). These frames pop up for sale with defective headsets from time to time, so I guess it's very hard to find a replacement or have it fixed.

Great looking bike. I'm starting to lean much more toward Vitus and Super Vitus frames. The 979/992 is definitely one I want to own someday.

You are going to adore this machine. It was the refinement on the 979 (which I have). A great find, and I doubt that you will ever be able to let it go. Vitus sometimes coated the aluminum with something that I have never been ever to identify. At first I thought it was clear lacquer. Anyway, these frames can be burnished to gleam like polished silver. Just whatever you do, don't forget the joints are interference fitted and heat-treated with epoxy. You may tell if you have a specially prepared team bike because sometimes pins were used to reinforce the joints.

The coating on the aluminum lugs could br a resin type of coating or Nyalic if it is not clear anodizing. The coating can be replaced if you decide to polish the lugs. Look into a coating system called "Everbrite". The stuff is supposedly easy to apply because it is self leveling and can be reapplied periodically to refresh the finish
The 979s and earlier Carbones had no anodizing or coating on their lugs, so like on my Carbone Plus 7, I would just have to buff them up once in a while when they start to tarnish
Congratulations on the 992, it should shine up real nice with a little bit of elbow grease!

Chombi

I tried to clean up the head tube spotting (which I'm guessing is the "coating") with some aluminum polish. It improved, but very little. But, I didn't try very hard. The headset is smooth so hopefully it will last a while, apparently replacements are impossible to find.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/jvpro/002-20.jpg

Vitus = beautiful design and so nice to ride. The tubes are anodized and meant to be shiny, but the lugs weren't. The lugs should be smooth but not shiny in comparison.

Thanks for sharing. Never seen a 992 before. I have a 979, and a Vitus fan. They are nice examples of franco industrial design.

Yes, nice find. For me, they are the prettiest aluminium bike ever built. Also they are rapid and responsive.

Here is mine :

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5006/...bfab24c2_b.jpg

my 992 has bent forks, not having any luck in finding replacements!

The production numbers for the 992 must have been much less than the 979 as the 979 forks rarely come up for sale, but I have seen them once in a while at eBay. You just need to continue to be vigilant with your search.
Good luck in finding one.
By the way, am I correct that the 992 steerer tube is a bigger 1 1/8" diameter size? I would have suggested you go with a 979 fork first to get the bike ridable while you search for the 992 fork, but if the steering tube diameters are different then you don't have that option. You can always find an aftermarket fork with the proper size steering tube, Maybe the carbon or aluminum ones made by Look?

Chombi

If you are living in France (judging by your profile), you may consider checking "leboncoin" for bikes/frames to be used as spares. Here's a 992 frame for 80€ :
http://www.leboncoin.fr/velos/246287476.htm?ca=12_s It's smallish unfortunately.

The 992 has a proprietary headset, not sure if that involves a special crown race/steerer tube though.

I thought the "proprietary parts were mostly designed into the headtube where races are pressed in, not the steerer/fork crown....but I might be wrong....

Chombi

I think you are right. The headset on mine felt smooth and worked well, so I saw no need to service it. I sold the bike a few months ago, too many bikes...

I have an insane number of bikes at the moment so I have to stay away from that website! :crash:
Once I pay my taxes and build a new bike shed I'l be back in the game

How does it ride? In its day, rumors were that it was very whippy but that it didn't matter for climbing because it was lightweight.

I think you hit the typical ride characteristic right on the head. Many people say the frame flexes too much, and it does a lot. The tube diameter isn't much different than steel at the time so it lacks support that larger frames like Cannondale had. But Vitus is much lighter. Others, in defense of Vitus flex, show that many top pro's were very sucessful on Vitus so the flex doesn't detract from performance.

Replacement 992 headsets here;
http://www.giroposte.com/Bars_Stem.html

Saw a listing that showed a 992 frame, HS and fork as 2800 grams, about 5.4 lbd. Contemporary cannondale was lighter AND stiffer.

My Jan Janssen-badged Vitus 992. Could not resist because it looked so cool. Needs serious recommissioning though.

http://www.mijnalbum.nl/GroteFoto-BYNSIBIG.jpg

^Interesting claim. But I think we'd need a more comparable matchup, size wise, similar HS weight, and era. A 1993 Cannondale 2.8 or 3.0 series road frame makes sense for such comparison. Not today's Cannondales.

Note: My Vitus 979 bike @ 55cm ctc weighs in around 18-19 lbs. My 93 Cannondale R500 3.0 @ 54.5cm ctt is listed as 22 lbs. The allowance for a triple is 1lb. That still makes it 21 lbs. The components are comparable so their weights are negligible and can't equate to 3 lbs in difference. Just a thought.

I don't find the 992 to be wippy at all, although in a race situation it might be. For the type of riding I do, I find it lively and responsive. The tubing is oval and tapered not unlike the Merckx MXLs that I've seen, so it's more rigid than the earlier 979's and 797's. You do feel a bit of road buzz but on decent roads it's a very willing and exciting bike to ride.

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5041/...20533e68_z.jpg

Old thread I know, just had to club in.

I have three Vitus bikes 2 x 979 and one 992.

The 992 is built up with Dura Ace 7700 and by today's standards at 20lbs probably a bit heavy, however it remains one of my favorite rides. It is a close call between that and my C40, depends on the mood, but for high speed descents I prefer the Vitus.

IMHO the best aluminum frames ever made.

Anyone have a guess on production volumes of the 992 vs the 979? I seldom see 992s for sale. Yet they were produced for several years - 1992 to 1999???