Vitus_979

Is the Vitus 979 any good I just got it from my dad and everything on it is like ten years old? It's my first road bike and my first actual adult bike.

ultraman6970

979?? is not a bad frame... is this the one that has big ars lugs? Actually the model that came to the US tends to last longer than the frame that went to other countries. The new 979 is welded.

10 years old?? I would say 20, that bike dates from 1985 aprox. Wonder if your dad got it already used?

What I would do to play safe is to change the fork (if you still have the original fork). Those forks are famous for getting UNGLUED. Yes unglued and after 20 years is more likely that sooner or later it will die. Back in the day the only way to make aluminum frames was gluing the tubing to the lugs, so the forks are made the same way. They look nice and strong but sooner or later they give up and u have to glue them again (loctite!!!!)

Those vitus frames are sweet, very comfortable frame

Good luck.

jsmithepa

Vitus! I tried to remember the name of the first aluminum bike in the 80s. Love its metalic finish. Depending on its mileage, I wouldn't mind having one. Kinda soft if I remember, compared to steel (duh!) but maybe OK for a lightweighter.

fogrider

the frame was quick handling because of the geometery, but the frame was flexy. it was a good looking frame that was comfortable on long rides. check to see how much your dad rode it...if there is not too much, it would be a fine starter bike.

patentcad

BoSoxYacht

My brother owned a Motobecane Pro-Lite that was a re-badged Vitus 979. It is the only frame I've actually been able to see flex under the power of my massive guads.

davidwaller

By my standards it is a good frame. I have one and my son has one. We have many bikes and the Vitus by far has the best ride of any of them. It also seems to handle quite well - to me anyway. The front end can seem a little flexible when out of the saddle if your wheels aren't laterally stiff. With appropriate wheels I think it would make a very good bike. The compliant ride will probably help your efficiency and endurance on long rides on imperfect roads. Sean Kelly and other top pros raced on them in the mid-80's, and Kelly was a sprinter and won races on this bike.

patentcad

I can think of no greater testament to S. Kelly's remarkable bicycle racing powers than this. Vitus frames were noodly pieces of utter crap.

But they did feature a comfy ride. I had one. Briefly. Couldn't handle it.

davidwaller

I guess all those pro cyclists racing on them in the mid 80's must have been idiots then. I wonder how they managed to make it to the top of the sport? Or maybe they had no other choice; maybe their team/sponsors forced them to use Vituses.

Cleave

Hi,

Despite what the elitist, road nazi pcad has posted the Vitus 979 should be fine for your first road bike. I had one of those beauties in the 1980s (your dad's bike is probably of similar vintage), and yes, it's flexible, but I also placed in several Cat. 3 road races while racing on it.

Enjoy it. It will take you pretty far in this crazy sport.

patentcad

Correct.

Additionally: all cyclists are idiots.

davidwaller

I guess all those pro cyclists racing on them in the mid 80's must have been idiots then. I wonder how they managed to make it to the top of the sport? Or maybe they had no other choice; maybe their team/sponsors forced them to use Vituses.


Can you substantiate your claim (i.e. this was a bad frame forced on the pro peloton)? It doesn't quite square with the following (from another forum/thread):

"It was good enough to race in the tour in the mid-late 80's and have teams use rebadged Vitus frames when Pinarello, Colnago, and others were the frame sponsors....

Is the Vitus a super stiff frame? No.. Does it work well and a comfortable "all day" bike?; yes...... I own two...."

patentcad

Look dude, I HAD the Vitus, it SUCKED, period. Even c. 1988 or whenever that was, the bike was a complete noodle piece of crap. At least it was for a 170-180lb male rider. Women racers at the time seemed to like it. They weighed 110-140 lbs.

All depends on what you're using it for. If you're going to ride a lot of road miles and never jam up a hill or sprint, it would be great. Then why call the Vitus a 'racing' bike?

Nickshu

I always liked the way the Vitus frames looked. But once I test-rode on (about 1989-1990) and remember that I could feel/see the bottom bracket flexing about 2 inches left and right under the power of my legs during a short test-sprint. I'm sure it will be a fine bike for you as a starter, but something laterally stiffer may be better for you as you get more involving in cycling.

patentcad

I'd agree, the Vitus bikes LOOKED great. They may be great general smooth riding bikes for lighter non-racers. Bad racing bikes. Don't ask me how the F pros ever rode them. That's amazing.

ericm979

I liked my Vitus (note my handle). I rode the crap out of it for seven years- races, training, off road even. It's still my rain bike. Yes, it flexes. No, that doesn't make you any slower. The flexy frame and crazy steering geometry can cause some instability. On my 59cm Vitus if I ride no-hands at around 12-13 mph the front end will start to oscillate. Just a bit, and a hand on the bars damps it. I just have to remember not to try to take off my jacket at that speed. I have never noticed any instability at speed and it descends fine.

The rear spacing is 126mm. You cant' spread the rear triangle to the current 130mm spec like on a steel bike, and just stuffing a 130mm wheel in there seems like a recipe for disaster to me, although some have done it. I modernized mine using an '8 of 9 on 7' scheme (see the Sheldon Brown page of the same name). The steep seat tube angle means that you'll need to move your saddle back farther in the post to get the correct position over the pedals. That was always a problem for me, I had to look for saddles with rails that let me shove the saddle back far, and a setback post. It's not easy to find a 25mm post that has walls thick enough to handle the pressure from the setscrew that holds the post in place. (some 979s used the setscrew, some had a normal pinch bolt).

The ride of the frame is nearly as good as my carbon bikes, but the forks lets through more road vibration than a modern carbon fork. And of course while it was light for its time, it's heavy now.

The fact that the pros rode them and won on them shows how little difference things like frame stiffness and geometry make for actual race performance.

davidwaller

Can you substantiate your claim (i.e. this was a bad frame forced on the pro peloton)?

I'll take that as a "No" (you cannot substantiate your claim).

patentcad

This is BF you putz, not the U.S. Supreme Court. On BF, money talks, bull****...also talks. Except I had this bike (a nifty blue one, pretty bike), and dumped it because it was far too noodly for me, and I'm not exactly Mr. 1500 Watts. However, it's also true that most pro cycling teams routinely use bicycles that are foisted on them for sponsorship reasons that have little to do with the performance of the gear (this includes every brand, not just Vitus in the 1980's) and that the motor is 90% of the reason riders win races. Still, compared to the other bikes that were out there then and now, the Vitus was a crappy race bike.

But if this user doesn't care, isn't going to race, or likes crappy bikes, the Vitus might be ideal. What are you guys smoking here? Can I get some? I haven't had any of that since the 1980's either.

davidwaller

Yes, it's true that you can't "cold set" the rear stays like you could with a steel bike. I use shimano 9 speed on mine (130) with no problems - so far. If it does come apart there's a guy in my area who specializes in repairing these frames. Deflection of 2mm at each dropout. This doesn't seem like a big deal to me. The bottom bracket chain stay interface is under significant torque every time you get out of the saddle. Even just riding the bike in the saddle probably puts significant force/torque at these joints. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the seat angle on the 979 is 74 degrees. This is well within the normal range of modern road bikes but might not suit some. I like to sit far back and have had no trouble achieving that position with my saddle/seatpost combo although it might be a problem with some saddles/seatposts. I've been using American Classic aluminum seatposts and yes, they can dent from the setscrew, however if your saddle height, etc., doesn't change much this damage typically won't be visible with the seatpost installed in the frame.

davidwaller

Maybe I shouldn't bother reading this forum then, if it's considered OK to just "make stuff up".

patentcad

What part of the 'I actually had this bicycle' part sounds made up to you?

stevesbike

I had one, bought it around 1987 as my first 'pro' level race bike-based on watching Sean Kelly ride one. Sure it's not exactly the stiffest frame made, but I liked it a lot. I thought it climbed great - and if Kelly didn't blow it apart sprinting, chances are you won't either. The biggest issue for me was its durability. It was bonded-after a year or so of racing, the seams at the stays by the rear derailleur started coming loose. No one in the US really knew how to fix it- sent it back to Vitus, who used tubular glue on it! Then there was the integrated seatpost clamp. Nice idea until the treads started to go. Now it's wall art. It definitely helped move frame design along and beyond traditional steel (as their carbon frames did too).

Walter

I remember riding one (as well as an aluminum Guercioti that was similar if not identical) back in the 80s and being quite impressed with how much I could make it flex. Of course my bike was an early model Cannondale and even though both bikes were aluminum it was a true night and day experience. Many lighter riders did like them though.

When I first saw pics of Kelly sprinting on one I was (and remain) astonished.

It might be worth pointing out that I had joined a college club shortly after I stopped playing college football and when it came to just plain anaerobic contractile strength my guads were truly w/o compare.

Didn't make me real fast though..............

ericm979

I think it was 75.5 for my 59cm. It varied across the range. How easily you can get your seat back far enough depends on the size of the frame (I believe the the larger frames had steeper angles) and of course how long your thighs are.

I dented an AC post too. That made it difficult to make a small adjustment in seat height. If you dent it hard enough it'll deform and be difficult to get out of the frame. I liked the AC post design but didn't feel comfortable using them after seeing how big a dent I'd put in it. Plus they are kind of short for me. I don't like being right on the limit line.

patentcad

Pcad harbors no illusions. I was slow on a Vitus 979, I'm slow on a Cdale Six13. But at least I am less noodly.