"Matt O'Toole" <
[email protected]> wrote in message news:<
[email protected]>...
> Tim McNamara wrote:
> >
[email protected] (Rob Benetton) writes:
> >
> >> Sean Kelly rode a Vitus,back when he was routinely beating LeMond in sprints.I always laughed
> >> when people said it was a "Swingset" frame,ie,Flexible.It is flexy,but some pretty big dudes
> >> won sprints on them,and alot of climbers used them as well....\
> >
> > Kelly has referred to them as his favorite bikes, and rode them on several different teams. I've
> > only ever seen a few in person and have never ridden one, it'd be interesting to see if the flex
> > is all it's cracked up to be. I'm 6'4"/215 lbs and generally think that lateral frame flex is
> > not all that important.
>
> I had a 979. I'm not as big as you (6'0", 175#) and I experienced ghost shifts all the time. But
> what really bugged me was that the bike was not confidence-inspiring on twisty descents. It never
> steered exactly where I wanted it to go. I found myself holding back a lot. This was a 60cm frame.
> Smaller ones probably don't flex as much, especially with smaller riders. Vitus were very light
> for the time, but probably not for today. Anyone have any frame weight figures? The later 992
> model was supposedly stiffer.
>
> My Vitus had been repaired by the previous owner. I had no trouble with it except for the scary
> handling. I have heard several other first hand accounts of failures too. Since then, I have
> repaired two of the carbon ones, for friends who bought them at garage sales or on eBay.
>
> Trek built a series of aluminum bikes like the Vitus, with aluminum or carbon tubes glued into
> aluminum lugs. But Trek's tubes were fatter and stiffer. The bikes handled beautifully, and didn't
> fall apart. These were some of the sweetest handling frames ever made, yet no one fusses over
> them. I guess they lack that Euro mystique.
>
> Matt O.
Well I still love the one I rode (ride..) ... it was great for me at
165 ... and OK till about 190 .. after that.. well I still plan to get back to a serious weight one
of these days (keeping the bike till then). I still ride it occasionally on short courses or
on really hilly rides. Personally I love the handling and find the Treks you mention to be
sloppy and sluggish, but each to his own as they say.. I recently picked up another used one
for my wife...
I don't necessarilly agree with "euro" mystique but I have to admit I love it when people say ****
like .. "What kind of bike is that?" or "It can't be all aluminum, the tubes are too small" or
there is no way an aluminum bike that light could last 15 years"... (I'm pretty sure mine's an '88
or '87). Hell a large part of me thinks that if I ever see another in good shape in my size I
should buy it.