At a glance Bold French beauty from a legendary and boutique brand, with a super-stiff high-modular carbon frame and some high end components.
Tested by
Marcus Shields, tester for The Bike List
Performance
When out on my Saturday spin, everyone was complimentary about the Vitus, commenting on its bright colour-scheme and distinctive French finesse. A recent recruit to the sport said “cool bike, which make is it?” to which I replied “Vitus.” The blank expression said it all, no one knew who Vitus was, so I filled them in. Vitus were perhaps best known for pioneering the use of duralinox (aluminium alloy) tubes which they screwed and glued together with forged alloy lugs to create the famous 979 frames. These generally had coloured anodized main tubes, with a plain rear triangle. I used to own a Cyclocross version which was a very pretty thing with anodized purple main tubes and skinny hour glass chain stays. The approach was revolutionary in its day and the frames which were ridden by hardmen including Sean Kelly in the Grand Tours and Classics offered a significant weight saving over comparable steel frames. This is however where the similarities end. The new owners of the Vitus brand, Chain Reaction Cycles, have built upon the heritage of the company by this year presenting a thoroughly up to date range of road and mountain bikes. Chain Reaction Cycles have also teamed up with Sean Kelly as “brand ambassador” to develop the range. So there we have it, Vitus is now an Irish owned French brand built on the legend of an Irishman who used to race the French bikes in the tour in France.
The new Vitus Venon VR is predominantly gloss white, with red “V” highlights and the Vitus name picked out on the downtube in exposed carbon which contrasts well. The red highlights are concentrated around the bottom bracket, chainstays and fork crown are well considered as these are the bits most likely to gather grime and dirt. The Vitus graphics are masked off when the frames are painted, with the letters peeled off to expose the carbon. Visually this looks good, however it has left a rough edge and I would be concerned over longevity and water ingress, as even during this test, some of the edges started to flake off. Overall though, the bike stands out, looks sharp and is finished to a high standard.
When I took the Vitus Venon VR out of the box, it instantly struck me as an out and out racer, with an angular geometry and oversize frame. Looking at the bike more closely, I started to question this - its high front end, utilitarian tyres and compact chainset suggested longer distance prowess. And after testing it in south east Englandaround Box Hill and Highgate Hills, in my opinion the Venon VR is ideal for road racing, longer distance rides and sportives.
Frame and fork
The oversized main tubes and down tube adorned with the Vitus graphics grab your attention first off. The oversizing is particularly pronounced around the bottom bracket and headtube where the tubes converge, with subtle square profiling. The frame has semi-compact geometry, 3k high modulus (high strength) hand laid up carbon with custom moulding and wishbone-shaped seatstay. A similarly oversized colour co-ordinated full carbon fork secures the front end. The advantage of oversizing is that it creates a very stiff, lightweight package at 18.5lbs.
Whilst testing on my local roads, the stiffness and light weight of the bike was apparent as I powered through the streets and out of the corners. The bike hurtled to top speed quickly and easily during my interval sessions around Regents Park and had no problems up Box Hill, Surrey’s infamous hill climb. Part of the Box Hill course will be used for the London Olympic road race, a super technical twisting route, with substantial drops and gains in elevation over each lap. Straight out of the blocks the bike was responsive, gliding along the straights and twisting through the descent with ease. The Venon VR was so light that at one point I got a little air - slightly disconcerting at 50kmh! The light weight and short cockpit allow the bike to climb well and it certainly compares well to similar bikes that I have ridden up Box Hill. The oversize frame, combining chunky stays and large gauge seatpost, make this bike rock solid at the rear. It is also worth noting that I completed this year’s Tour of Flanders on the Venon VR, a 260km sportive, with 17 sections of pavé (cobbles) and both myself and the bike survived unscathed – not bad for a bike straight off the peg.
The components
The finishing kit is pretty high brow, mainly ControlTech with a few Vitus parts. The oversized ControlTech Formidable Carbon handlebar has an exposed top section. It arches up from the stem, creating an elevated position, before dropping into the hoods. This design raises up your front end slightly and I found the shape took a little getting used to, but they do reduce some of the road buzz.
The ControlTech stem and seatpost are oversize matt black aluminium with black and white Vitus chromo railed saddle, which certainly is comfy for the long haul, if you like them thin. The handlebar and stem vary according to the size of bike to match the ergonomics of different sized riders, which is a nice touch. Overall the finishing kit is well considered, and helps keep the overall bike weight down.
The groupset is full Shimano 105 and the astute amongst you will note it’s the older 5600 model. The newer Shimano 105 5700 groupsets have been tweaked to reflect recent changes up the range but the older 5600 groupset performs faultlessly with familiar robust gear changes and ample braking power. The 105 groupset is not quite as smooth as the best you can get from Shimano but on the other hand wearable parts cheaper to replace. The Shimano 105 groupset is on a par with the Shimano Dura-Ace from 5-6 years ago in weight and stiffness so while it is now Shimano’s entry level racing groupset, it still has a lot to offer.
The ratios are worth noting as the bike has a compact chainset 50/34t and a cassette ratio of 25-11t. Compact chainsets are not uncharacteristic for sportive bikes or long haul machines, but the 50t chainring can lack a certain amount of gusto for pure road racing. When testing the bike I found myself spinning out at full pelt, and yearning my usual 53/11, so I found it a little bit undergeared at the high end.
The wheels are also noteworthy, being Semi-Aero Shimano WH-RS30, with 30mm profile. These are 50% silver and black, with red graphics to match the colour-scheme. The deep profile rims add to the stiffness of the bike and once they are rolling, hold speed well. A lighter set would bring the weight down considerably. I found the entry level Schwalbe Blizzard 700 x 23c tyres a little turgid in comparison to higher end Schwalbe tyres, with little road feedback. Serious racers will no doubt change these for faster versions, an inexpensive upgrade, which will benefit the overall feel of the bike.
To sum up, this is a super-stiff machine that really does ask to be ridden hard. The unique, high-modular frame is worthy of the brand, which if you choose to buy this bike will get you plenty of admiring glances. The £1,800 price tag for a high-modular carbon bike is good value when compared to similar bikes from larger brands such as Felt, Cannondale, Scott and Trek although a few brands such as Cube and Boardman start to offer Ultegra equipped carbon bikes at this point. You can also get carbon bikes with Shimano 105 groupsets for as low as £1100 or £1200 but not necessarily with the same high quality carbon frame or finishing kit.
Buy it if you cherish individuality over out and out value and fancy a rapid ‘do it all machine’.
