Re Vitus 1980's Frame?

"Sir Ridesalot" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi there.

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Thank you all very much.

Peter

Peter,
Sorry to not know about the Vitus, but did see your earlier post, so it made
it to the newsgroup.
Kerry

Sir Ridesalot said:

Hi there.

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Thank you all very much.

Peter

80's vitus will probably hold up fine for a 180lb cyclist, but will not be very "stiff". Perhaps that is part of the appeal of the comfy ride. I also think that the aluminum fork is a bit flexy. The 979 frames generally take standard English threaded headset and BB with 1" quill stem and 25.0mm seatpost. I have a well-used one from 1987.

John M said:

Sir Ridesalot Wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of fondness.
It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Peter80's vitus will probably hold up fine for a 180lb cyclist, but
will not

be very "stiff". Perhaps that is part of the appeal of the comfy ride. I
also think that the aluminum fork is a bit flexy. The 979 frames
generally take standard English threaded headset and BB with 1" quill
stem and 25.0mm seatpost. I have a well-used one from 1987.

I had one for awhile too. They're definitely one of the flexier frames
around, especially in the larger sizes. At 6', 170-180# on a 60cm frame,
I had ghost shifts while climbing hard or sprinting, and I found the bike
terrifying on mountain descents. After diving into a corner, I could
never be sure where I'd come out.

I've read that Sean Kelly felt the same way -- that the light
weight was great for the climbs, but the descents were terrifying.

How's that for feedback?

If all you're going to do is ride around on easy terrain, it's probably
fine. If you're a powerful rider or you're going to be riding in the
mountains, a stiffer frame would be more suitable.

Matt O.

Sir Ridesalot said:

Hi there.

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Other than an historical aspect, there is very little to recommend
these frames, IMO; they are not particularly light, particularly
durable nor particularly attractive. In it's time, it's claim to fame
was it's lightweight, but it is not light by modern standards.

Also, at 180lbs, you are at the upper limit as a rider for these
frames. Failures can be 'spectacular'.

Quoted message said:

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Thank you all very much.

Peter

Sir Ridesalot said:

Hi there.

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Maybe. I am about 160 and my 56cm (CTC) frame works well. From what I
have read the taller frames start to get more flexy, but I don't
really notice a problem. In fact, I think the frame is a comfortable
ride. It's possible that if you are taller and really like to stomp
the pedals out of the saddle, the flex could cause phantom shifting
with narrower spaced gears. I use 9s spacing with 8 cogs, though, and
I don't have a problem.

Quoted message said:

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

The stem is normal; the thing that isn't is the seat post. I forget
the size- I think you can find it with a search on Google groups- but
it is relatively hard to find if there isn't one with the frame.

Sir Ridesalot said:

Hi there.

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Thank you all very much.

Peter

Hi there.

I just uploaded 8 pics of this frame here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/

I also just noticed that it was on Ebay in January of this year.

After looking at the pics do you think I should pass on this fame? BTW
the price with the Campy headset and Campy bottom bracket is $150
Canadian.

Thanks again from Peter

Sir Ridesalot said:

Sir Ridesalot said:

Hi there.

Quoted message said:

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

Quoted message said:

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Quoted message said:

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Quoted message said:

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Quoted message said:

Thank you all very much.

Quoted message said:

Peter

Hi there.

I just uploaded 8 pics of this frame here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73832500@N00/

I also just noticed that it was on Ebay in January of this year.

After looking at the pics do you think I should pass on this fame? BTW
the price with the Campy headset and Campy bottom bracket is $150
Canadian.

Thanks again from Peter- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Hi all.

An addendum. My ride to look at and/or pick up the frame has had an
emergency pop up. Therefore I will not be able to get this frame.

Thank you all for your advice.

Cheers from Peter

Matt O'Toole said:

John M said:

Sir Ridesalot said:

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of fondness.
It includes the bottom bracket and headset.
Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?
Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?
Peter80's vitus will probably hold up fine for a 180lb cyclist, but
will not

be very "stiff". Perhaps that is part of the appeal of the comfy ride. I
also think that the aluminum fork is a bit flexy. The 979 frames
generally take standard English threaded headset and BB with 1" quill
stem and 25.0mm seatpost. I have a well-used one from 1987.

I had one for awhile too. They're definitely one of the flexier frames
around, especially in the larger sizes. At 6', 170-180# on a 60cm frame,
I had ghost shifts while climbing hard or sprinting, and I found the bike
terrifying on mountain descents. After diving into a corner, I could
never be sure where I'd come out.

I've read that Sean Kelly felt the same way -- that the light
weight was great for the climbs, but the descents were terrifying.

I bought one last year after reading about them here. It was a very
comfortable ride for city commuting. It was also terrifying due to
the constant ghost shifts. I could not stand up and start sprinting
without ending on on my nuts on the stem a few seconds later feeling
very lucky to have stayed upright. It was a deathtrap in SF traffic.
One day when this happened after I had had it for a few months I
though [censored], I must be crazy to keep giving this thing a chance, I
know I'm going down one of these times. Sold it a few days later and
did tell the buyer about the problem.

Mountain descents were no worse than on my bridgestone RB-2, which is
terrifying.

-dl

Ozark Bicycle said:

Sir Ridesalot said:

Hi there.

Quoted message said:

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

Quoted message said:

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Other than an historical aspect, there is very little to recommend
these frames, IMO; they are not particularly light, particularly
durable nor particularly attractive. In it's time, it's claim to fame
was it's lightweight, but it is not light by modern standards.

You mean the modern standard of a $2000 CF frame? Other than that,
they're still pretty light and they're more comfortable than a
contemporary aluminum frame, or even a 20 year old Cannondale. My bike
is about 18lbs, but I do use lightwieght parts on it such as
lightweight tubulars and old school rims. Most of the other parts are
also on the lighter side.

Quoted message said:

Also, at 180lbs, you are at the upper limit as a rider for these
frames. Failures can be 'spectacular'.

Are you saying that at 180 the OP is likely to push the bike towards
its upper limit, with the probability of a "spectacular" failure? Is
the probability of spectacular failure higher than that of a CF frame
with a few years on it? My gut feeling is that the probability of a
spectacular failure is lower than a CF frame or fork; debonding of the
tubes is the most likely failure, which is probably not catastrophic.

Nevertheless, there are some legitimate questions about this bike such
as high speed handling. I haven't noticed a problem but I don't push
it down mountain switchbacks. I would definitely recommend the bike to
someone my size or smaller looking for an inexpensive way to build a
light, comfortable roadbike. For 180 lbs, I don't know- not for
racing, but it could be a good way to build a bike that is very
comfortable to ride for a fraction of the cost of titanium or CF. I
don't think classic steel frames in the same price range would match
the Vitus for comfort. It's definitely more comfortable than my 70s
Colnago or PX10.

Sir Ridesalot said:

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Humble opinion? A great wall display, "Where We Were a Good Long Time
Ago".

Those didn't crash well. Twice-bent Alu tends to crack.

Later, Alu frames matured and took over the world. For awhile.

(cont. H-O): Pass, except as wall hanging. --D-y

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Sir Ridesalot said:

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Quoted message said:

Ozark Bicycle said:

Other than an historical aspect, there is very little to recommend
these frames, IMO; they are not particularly light, particularly
durable nor particularly attractive. In it's time, it's claim to fame
was it's lightweight, but it is not light by modern standards.

Quoted message said:

You mean the modern standard of a $2000 CF frame? Other than that,
they're still pretty light and they're more comfortable than a
contemporary aluminum frame, or even a 20 year old Cannondale.

-snip-

Ozark's right.
Vitus 979 frame weighs the same as a current Gunnar Road frame, $725
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

"Sir Ridesalot" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi there.

The message I sent earlier about this frame has not appeared yet. I
hope this one appears quickly as time is short.

I have a chance to get a Vitus frame circa 1980s that looks to be in
excellent shape. I remember these frames with a great deal of
fondness. It includes the bottom bracket and headset.

Is such a frame suitable for a 180 lb bicyclist?

Is the stem the normal one-inch quill or is it a weird French
dimension?

Thank you all very much.

Peter

Put thousands of non-racing miles on a 1985 Vitus 58c Carbon 3 frame since
1993, mostly while weighing 180 to 190 lbs. The Vitus is light enough (<20
lb), comfortable, and still a favorite ride up against bikes as much as 20
years newer.

Frame flex resulted in ghost shifting, which used to be a problem,
especially cranking hard on a hill. Cleaning and greasing the bottom bracket
cable guide, and a new cable, fixed that problem.

I'm going to take it out for a ride today.

Dave H.
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