Vitus Frames; To buy or not to Buy?

Robert has been looking at a Vitus aluminum bonded frame; he wants to know what we think. Luckily we have some experience of the old Vitus 979 frame, so we can pass on our remembrances and some history on what was ground breaking frame technology, for the time

Question: Hi,I've been looking at a Vitus aluminum bonded frame but have heard mixed reports. Would appreciate your views on handling, reliability and maintenance.

Many thanks.

Hi Robert,

I rode a Vitus 979 aluminum bonded frame for a couple of years way back in the 1980's, it was a very nice ride and for the time very light, it was a great bike, but Vitus had some problems, let me explain.

Vitus; The History

Vitus is a French tubing company who made steel cycle tubes for the French market, big bike companies and small one man frame builders. They eventually went into manufacturing aluminum tubes and there very special frames were manufactured by the French aerospace company, TVT, these were bonded at the joints, very like an old fashioned steel frame but, with glue instead of welding and with lugs and tubes all in aluminum.

The frames were very light and the geometry was perfect for racing and long distance riding, they flexed a little but performed in all the ways you would expect from a top class bike. The great Sean Kelly won many Classic bike races in Europe on a Vitus framed bike, as did many other riders. After the aluminum frame, Vitus performed the same gluing system with carbon tubes, which was slightly lighter and marginally stiffer.

The problems with Vitus bonded frames were the bonded joints. The size of the frame and the weight of the rider was also a problem. The frames didn't flex at the tubes but, at the joints, this was worse with either large frames, anything over 56 cm was a bit "whippy" and a 62 cm frame would be all over the place. Heavy riders would also have the same problem and you had to be careful not to strain the frame. Personally I never had a frame fail or heard of any one's frame break. What I did see and hear of was the forks breaking at either where the steering column was connected to the fork crown or farther down. When my frame started to make creaking noises I sold it, caution was my first thought, it was a nice bike to ride, but I did worry about fork failure.

Vitus still make frames, they are not the same as the old ones and I've never ridden one, so we have no idea how they feel. If you are looking at an old Vitus frame you need to find out its history, was a previous owner on the heavy side? If so I wouldn't buy it, find its age also as this could have some bearing on safety. If you only want to look at it then great, riding could be a different story.

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Vitus Frames; To buy or not to Buy?

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