Jean de Gribaldy is holding Serge Beucherie's tricolor jersey which he won as Champion of France on the 21st. Sean Kelly's final Paris-Roubaix on a Vitus 979, 10 April 1988. Credit: twitter.com/mission753 (Cycling Archives), Quite possibly Sean Kelly's final win on a Vitus 979 was the Ghent-Wevelgam on 20 April 1988. Credit: Cor Vos photo from Velonews, Sean Kelly chasing Claude Criquielion at the 1988 Ghent-Wevelgem. The handlebars are Cinelli Colorado aluminum bars. The main triangle is anodized aluminum.
The Vitus is like riding a Cadillac, we have some rough roads up here in Washington State, so after a long ride my hands are not so numb.
I th8nk I’ve forgotten how stubbornly old school stuff can get stuck! Credit: V-CC on line library. Thank you, thank you, thank you. One thing I[m thinking about is the bottom bracket - the frame came with a loose balled Spidel BB unit, seemingly in recent threads (35x1). In its commercial form, the PX-10 DU was with the PY-10FC and Vitus 979 Mavic SSC-fitted machines, the last bastions of the all-French racing bike. Credit: Flickr, member benith.
These were made only in Royal Blue.
I have acquired a Vitus 979 with a serial number E142??? When heaving braking on the front wheel some fork chatter occurs. Two more views of Phil Anderson's PX-10DU during the '82 Tour de France. Moreover, this was when lightness in components was valued (compared to the ensuing "aero" craze when adding mass and thus weight and "streamlining" it was considered an improvement) and nowhere else more than France whose Huret Jubilee derailleur, CLB brakes, Mavic Argent/Or 7 rims, Stronglight Hinault headsets and Stronglight titanium spindle bottom brackets were the lightest in the world. On the left, the team is credited with being equipped with "Super Vitus" France-Loire machines, but in fact it would almost exclusively use France-Loire badged Vitus 979s and be the first professional team to do so.
1983 Mercier catalogue (last for the original company) listing of their 979 framed bicycles. I had Look pedals from about the same time installed. Other than the frame flex, I love the way this bike feels. Interesting history, I didn’t know they came in a women’s frame. credit: bikeboompeugeot.com, The PX-10DU assumed special prominence in the Japanese market for which it was the flagship of the Peugeot range under a new important agreement finalised in December 1981. Here, the PX-10DU graces the cover of the 1984 British market brochure. The tubes are glued and bonded into the lugs and if there are irregularities, they should be visible to the eye. A steel steerer or an alloy one. I am still riding my 52 centimetre Vitus 979 rose coloured like yours which I bought brand new on Feb 28, 1987 for $2,195.00 at a bike shop and it's still going great.
All in all, a first rate bike and well worth the relatively modest investment. And it was said that powerful sprinters like Sean Kelly swapped out his Vitus frames every month or so before they "got soft".
With my broad range freewheel & triple chainring, climbing is now a breeze! My understanding was that this frame originally retailed for over $1200 in the late '80's.
Mine starts E07 which I might have assumed was July 1984.... Great article, by the way.
I would consider buying a newer Vitus.
Hello Peter,thank you so much for your thoughts and the informations. I haven't really found much information about Vitus online. Even without going to extremes, it was possible (and nearly impossible not to) achieve a top-class racing bike built around a Vitus 979 frame set that weighed no more than 18 lbs and with a little effort, half a pound less. However, it is worth noting that Kelly rode a fairly small frame, which would have been stiffer than the next size larger frame.
Note also the sequential numeric serial number also indicating an early machine. Credit: Matthias Krogmann. Credit: Cycling Archive, Erik Van Herck. Over all the years its the only road bike I own. An alternate solution was proposed by a reader (January 2007). This was available separately for installation on conventional frames and came in two rake sizes.
The last few years that Vitus frames sold in the US, they were only available through one of the major mail order companies. The alloys weigh around 425g and the steel 500, but really the steel are better as the alloy ones can shudder and resonate violently under braking. As far as i know the company is not the same than in those years of "979".I found my frame in an german race bicycle forum and i was lucky that it matched the correct size for me, because it's 58cm.There are no decals left on the frame except three decals of Campagnolo ("Prodotti Speciali Campagnolo") on the down tube and the fork blades, so i am thinking about completing it with the classical "Super Record" components. On 31 July 1978 Paule Defour (CLB) and Antoine Dumas (Bador) were awarded a French patent for a new method of dry heat activated epoxy bonding 5086 aluminium-magnesium alloy tubing to slip-fit cast alloy lugs, drop-outs, bottom bracket and brake bridge made by CLB. Credit: Cycling Archives, Erik van Herck, Presentation of the new Kas team in early 1986 with no fewer than three Vitus 979s sharing the picture and.
Later examples had Vitus 979 decals. Hi,My Vitus serial is A010179, does this mean 179th Frame built in Oct in 1980? Note that the rear derailleur is not original and this was raced with a Huret Success Titanium (note the Huret sticker on the chainstay). The Peugeot PX-10DU was ridden to its first big win on the final stage of the 1981 Paris-Nice race on 18 March, the climb time trial between Nice and Col d' Eze, by Irish rider Stephen Roche who won the overall race by 72 seconds.
A Bertin 581 Vitus 979 with Dura Ace components. Credit: The name Bador appeared nowhere on the frames that it assembled with the exception of the Bador branded versions of the Stronglight Competition D6 (left) and later on Stronglight A9 headsets that normally were supplied with the frames. The standard for rear dropout spacing changed from 126 to 130mm in the early '90s.
So in addition to being bonded, friction holds the joints together.
Great article.
Are you sure she rode a 979? Joaquim Agostinho during what proved to be last Tour de France, July 1983 (in which finished 11th).
The frames lack some degree of lateral stiffness compared to their steel counterparts due to the bonding of the aluminum lugs, rather than the typical welding used by most manufacturers of that era. Vitus made early carbon fiber bikes using the same designs as their high end aluminum bikes. If you are a heavier ride, especially one who likes to mash on the pedals, you will certainly be able to flex the bottom bracket area. Did they ever make a Swiss version? The 979 has one of the most flexible high end road frames of the past twenty-five years.
The French company Vitus was one of the few companies to make aluminum road frames in the 1980's. According to Sheldon Brown, Vitus is “France's leading manufacturer of high-quality frame tubing.” Vitus was one of the early makers of aluminum bicycles.
Jean de Gribaldy is holding Serge Beucherie's tricolor jersey which he won as Champion of France on the 21st. Sean Kelly's final Paris-Roubaix on a Vitus 979, 10 April 1988. Credit: twitter.com/mission753 (Cycling Archives), Quite possibly Sean Kelly's final win on a Vitus 979 was the Ghent-Wevelgam on 20 April 1988. Credit: Cor Vos photo from Velonews, Sean Kelly chasing Claude Criquielion at the 1988 Ghent-Wevelgem. The handlebars are Cinelli Colorado aluminum bars. The main triangle is anodized aluminum.
The Vitus is like riding a Cadillac, we have some rough roads up here in Washington State, so after a long ride my hands are not so numb.
I th8nk I’ve forgotten how stubbornly old school stuff can get stuck! Credit: V-CC on line library. Thank you, thank you, thank you. One thing I[m thinking about is the bottom bracket - the frame came with a loose balled Spidel BB unit, seemingly in recent threads (35x1). In its commercial form, the PX-10 DU was with the PY-10FC and Vitus 979 Mavic SSC-fitted machines, the last bastions of the all-French racing bike. Credit: Flickr, member benith.
These were made only in Royal Blue.
I have acquired a Vitus 979 with a serial number E142??? When heaving braking on the front wheel some fork chatter occurs. Two more views of Phil Anderson's PX-10DU during the '82 Tour de France. Moreover, this was when lightness in components was valued (compared to the ensuing "aero" craze when adding mass and thus weight and "streamlining" it was considered an improvement) and nowhere else more than France whose Huret Jubilee derailleur, CLB brakes, Mavic Argent/Or 7 rims, Stronglight Hinault headsets and Stronglight titanium spindle bottom brackets were the lightest in the world. On the left, the team is credited with being equipped with "Super Vitus" France-Loire machines, but in fact it would almost exclusively use France-Loire badged Vitus 979s and be the first professional team to do so.
1983 Mercier catalogue (last for the original company) listing of their 979 framed bicycles. I had Look pedals from about the same time installed. Other than the frame flex, I love the way this bike feels. Interesting history, I didn’t know they came in a women’s frame. credit: bikeboompeugeot.com, The PX-10DU assumed special prominence in the Japanese market for which it was the flagship of the Peugeot range under a new important agreement finalised in December 1981. Here, the PX-10DU graces the cover of the 1984 British market brochure. The tubes are glued and bonded into the lugs and if there are irregularities, they should be visible to the eye. A steel steerer or an alloy one. I am still riding my 52 centimetre Vitus 979 rose coloured like yours which I bought brand new on Feb 28, 1987 for $2,195.00 at a bike shop and it's still going great.
All in all, a first rate bike and well worth the relatively modest investment. And it was said that powerful sprinters like Sean Kelly swapped out his Vitus frames every month or so before they "got soft".
With my broad range freewheel & triple chainring, climbing is now a breeze! My understanding was that this frame originally retailed for over $1200 in the late '80's.
Mine starts E07 which I might have assumed was July 1984.... Great article, by the way.
I would consider buying a newer Vitus.
Hello Peter,thank you so much for your thoughts and the informations. I haven't really found much information about Vitus online. Even without going to extremes, it was possible (and nearly impossible not to) achieve a top-class racing bike built around a Vitus 979 frame set that weighed no more than 18 lbs and with a little effort, half a pound less. However, it is worth noting that Kelly rode a fairly small frame, which would have been stiffer than the next size larger frame.
Note also the sequential numeric serial number also indicating an early machine. Credit: Matthias Krogmann. Credit: Cycling Archive, Erik Van Herck. Over all the years its the only road bike I own. An alternate solution was proposed by a reader (January 2007). This was available separately for installation on conventional frames and came in two rake sizes.
The last few years that Vitus frames sold in the US, they were only available through one of the major mail order companies. The alloys weigh around 425g and the steel 500, but really the steel are better as the alloy ones can shudder and resonate violently under braking. As far as i know the company is not the same than in those years of "979".I found my frame in an german race bicycle forum and i was lucky that it matched the correct size for me, because it's 58cm.There are no decals left on the frame except three decals of Campagnolo ("Prodotti Speciali Campagnolo") on the down tube and the fork blades, so i am thinking about completing it with the classical "Super Record" components. On 31 July 1978 Paule Defour (CLB) and Antoine Dumas (Bador) were awarded a French patent for a new method of dry heat activated epoxy bonding 5086 aluminium-magnesium alloy tubing to slip-fit cast alloy lugs, drop-outs, bottom bracket and brake bridge made by CLB. Credit: Cycling Archives, Erik van Herck, Presentation of the new Kas team in early 1986 with no fewer than three Vitus 979s sharing the picture and.
Later examples had Vitus 979 decals. Hi,My Vitus serial is A010179, does this mean 179th Frame built in Oct in 1980? Note that the rear derailleur is not original and this was raced with a Huret Success Titanium (note the Huret sticker on the chainstay). The Peugeot PX-10DU was ridden to its first big win on the final stage of the 1981 Paris-Nice race on 18 March, the climb time trial between Nice and Col d' Eze, by Irish rider Stephen Roche who won the overall race by 72 seconds.
A Bertin 581 Vitus 979 with Dura Ace components. Credit: The name Bador appeared nowhere on the frames that it assembled with the exception of the Bador branded versions of the Stronglight Competition D6 (left) and later on Stronglight A9 headsets that normally were supplied with the frames. The standard for rear dropout spacing changed from 126 to 130mm in the early '90s.
So in addition to being bonded, friction holds the joints together.
Great article.
Are you sure she rode a 979? Joaquim Agostinho during what proved to be last Tour de France, July 1983 (in which finished 11th).
The frames lack some degree of lateral stiffness compared to their steel counterparts due to the bonding of the aluminum lugs, rather than the typical welding used by most manufacturers of that era. Vitus made early carbon fiber bikes using the same designs as their high end aluminum bikes. If you are a heavier ride, especially one who likes to mash on the pedals, you will certainly be able to flex the bottom bracket area. Did they ever make a Swiss version? The 979 has one of the most flexible high end road frames of the past twenty-five years.
The French company Vitus was one of the few companies to make aluminum road frames in the 1980's. According to Sheldon Brown, Vitus is “France's leading manufacturer of high-quality frame tubing.” Vitus was one of the early makers of aluminum bicycles.
Presentation of the newly renamed Sem-Mavic team for the 1983 Tour de France. The Vitus 979 is a classic racing frame.
The Vitus 979 was introduced at the Salon du Cycle in September 1979 with machines badged as Bertin (left) and Liberia (right). Credit: érard Dumas who took assumed Directorship of Bador from his father in early 1986, Vitus dramatically widened its range to suit new markets and trends in cycling. Stephen Roche with his PX-10DU at the Grand Prix des Nations time trial, Cannes, 27 September 1981. Credit: Pez Cycle News.
The ladies frame Vitus 979. Credit: https://www.velosaloon.com. The Vitus 979 is an excellent vintage aluminum bicycle dating from 1979 to 1992. The track version of the low-profile 979 showing the special track ends. An early catalogue listing for the Alan Super Record frameset c. 1973, the first really successful (both in the marketplace and in competition, especially cyclecross) bonded aluminium racing frame. Despite all of these examples, Vitus did offer other colour choices instead of violet although it appears the "default" or most popular colour.
Jean de Gribaldy is holding Serge Beucherie's tricolor jersey which he won as Champion of France on the 21st. Sean Kelly's final Paris-Roubaix on a Vitus 979, 10 April 1988. Credit: twitter.com/mission753 (Cycling Archives), Quite possibly Sean Kelly's final win on a Vitus 979 was the Ghent-Wevelgam on 20 April 1988. Credit: Cor Vos photo from Velonews, Sean Kelly chasing Claude Criquielion at the 1988 Ghent-Wevelgem. The handlebars are Cinelli Colorado aluminum bars. The main triangle is anodized aluminum.
The Vitus is like riding a Cadillac, we have some rough roads up here in Washington State, so after a long ride my hands are not so numb.
I th8nk I’ve forgotten how stubbornly old school stuff can get stuck! Credit: V-CC on line library. Thank you, thank you, thank you. One thing I[m thinking about is the bottom bracket - the frame came with a loose balled Spidel BB unit, seemingly in recent threads (35x1). In its commercial form, the PX-10 DU was with the PY-10FC and Vitus 979 Mavic SSC-fitted machines, the last bastions of the all-French racing bike. Credit: Flickr, member benith.
These were made only in Royal Blue.
I have acquired a Vitus 979 with a serial number E142??? When heaving braking on the front wheel some fork chatter occurs. Two more views of Phil Anderson's PX-10DU during the '82 Tour de France. Moreover, this was when lightness in components was valued (compared to the ensuing "aero" craze when adding mass and thus weight and "streamlining" it was considered an improvement) and nowhere else more than France whose Huret Jubilee derailleur, CLB brakes, Mavic Argent/Or 7 rims, Stronglight Hinault headsets and Stronglight titanium spindle bottom brackets were the lightest in the world. On the left, the team is credited with being equipped with "Super Vitus" France-Loire machines, but in fact it would almost exclusively use France-Loire badged Vitus 979s and be the first professional team to do so.
1983 Mercier catalogue (last for the original company) listing of their 979 framed bicycles. I had Look pedals from about the same time installed. Other than the frame flex, I love the way this bike feels. Interesting history, I didn’t know they came in a women’s frame. credit: bikeboompeugeot.com, The PX-10DU assumed special prominence in the Japanese market for which it was the flagship of the Peugeot range under a new important agreement finalised in December 1981. Here, the PX-10DU graces the cover of the 1984 British market brochure. The tubes are glued and bonded into the lugs and if there are irregularities, they should be visible to the eye. A steel steerer or an alloy one. I am still riding my 52 centimetre Vitus 979 rose coloured like yours which I bought brand new on Feb 28, 1987 for $2,195.00 at a bike shop and it's still going great.
All in all, a first rate bike and well worth the relatively modest investment. And it was said that powerful sprinters like Sean Kelly swapped out his Vitus frames every month or so before they "got soft".
With my broad range freewheel & triple chainring, climbing is now a breeze! My understanding was that this frame originally retailed for over $1200 in the late '80's.
Mine starts E07 which I might have assumed was July 1984.... Great article, by the way.
I would consider buying a newer Vitus.
Hello Peter,thank you so much for your thoughts and the informations. I haven't really found much information about Vitus online. Even without going to extremes, it was possible (and nearly impossible not to) achieve a top-class racing bike built around a Vitus 979 frame set that weighed no more than 18 lbs and with a little effort, half a pound less. However, it is worth noting that Kelly rode a fairly small frame, which would have been stiffer than the next size larger frame.
Note also the sequential numeric serial number also indicating an early machine. Credit: Matthias Krogmann. Credit: Cycling Archive, Erik Van Herck. Over all the years its the only road bike I own. An alternate solution was proposed by a reader (January 2007). This was available separately for installation on conventional frames and came in two rake sizes.
The last few years that Vitus frames sold in the US, they were only available through one of the major mail order companies. The alloys weigh around 425g and the steel 500, but really the steel are better as the alloy ones can shudder and resonate violently under braking. As far as i know the company is not the same than in those years of "979".I found my frame in an german race bicycle forum and i was lucky that it matched the correct size for me, because it's 58cm.There are no decals left on the frame except three decals of Campagnolo ("Prodotti Speciali Campagnolo") on the down tube and the fork blades, so i am thinking about completing it with the classical "Super Record" components. On 31 July 1978 Paule Defour (CLB) and Antoine Dumas (Bador) were awarded a French patent for a new method of dry heat activated epoxy bonding 5086 aluminium-magnesium alloy tubing to slip-fit cast alloy lugs, drop-outs, bottom bracket and brake bridge made by CLB. Credit: Cycling Archives, Erik van Herck, Presentation of the new Kas team in early 1986 with no fewer than three Vitus 979s sharing the picture and.
Later examples had Vitus 979 decals. Hi,My Vitus serial is A010179, does this mean 179th Frame built in Oct in 1980? Note that the rear derailleur is not original and this was raced with a Huret Success Titanium (note the Huret sticker on the chainstay). The Peugeot PX-10DU was ridden to its first big win on the final stage of the 1981 Paris-Nice race on 18 March, the climb time trial between Nice and Col d' Eze, by Irish rider Stephen Roche who won the overall race by 72 seconds.
A Bertin 581 Vitus 979 with Dura Ace components. Credit: The name Bador appeared nowhere on the frames that it assembled with the exception of the Bador branded versions of the Stronglight Competition D6 (left) and later on Stronglight A9 headsets that normally were supplied with the frames. The standard for rear dropout spacing changed from 126 to 130mm in the early '90s.
So in addition to being bonded, friction holds the joints together.
Great article.
Are you sure she rode a 979? Joaquim Agostinho during what proved to be last Tour de France, July 1983 (in which finished 11th).
The frames lack some degree of lateral stiffness compared to their steel counterparts due to the bonding of the aluminum lugs, rather than the typical welding used by most manufacturers of that era. Vitus made early carbon fiber bikes using the same designs as their high end aluminum bikes. If you are a heavier ride, especially one who likes to mash on the pedals, you will certainly be able to flex the bottom bracket area. Did they ever make a Swiss version? The 979 has one of the most flexible high end road frames of the past twenty-five years.
The French company Vitus was one of the few companies to make aluminum road frames in the 1980's. According to Sheldon Brown, Vitus is “France's leading manufacturer of high-quality frame tubing.” Vitus was one of the early makers of aluminum bicycles.