Re-gluing a Vitus bonded frame....anyone done this?

[Dianne_1234]

On 18 Dec 2003 08:49:03 -0800, [email protected] (JP)
wrote:

>Just curious- I saw a post season citerium in Germany in the '70s where a lot of the pros were
>riding what I remember to be Vitus bikes that looked like 979s but I think the time period predated
>the 979. Anyone know what thoses bikes would have been? I don't think they were Alan but they might
>have been. Those bikes were one of the things I remember most about the race other than the fact
>that Eddy Merkcx was supposed to be there and didn't show.
>
>JP

I'm probably wrong, but maybe Kettler Alurad? http://www.kettler.net/index_en.html

 

[Adam Rush]

> I have seen 3 or 4 separate,but atleast they are repairable.I won a USCF district RR on a blue one
> that had been on the roof of *a van that burned to the ground*.the sewups on this bike blew,but I
> raced the frame for 5 years after that.....

If Hunter S Thompson was hybridized with Jobst Brandt, this is the kind of stories you would hear.

 

[BaCardi]

Originally posted by Adam Rush
> I have seen 3 or 4 separate,but atleast they are repairable.I won a USCF district RR on a blue one
> that had been on the roof of *a van that burned to the ground*.the sewups on this bike blew,but I
> raced the frame for 5 years after that.....

If Hunter S Thompson was hybridized with Jobst Brandt, this is the kind of stories you would hear.

???

 

[Ajames54]

"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.

 

[John Everett]

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 01:38:34 GMT, "Matt O'Toole" <[email protected]>
wrote:

<snip>
> 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.

Yes, the 992 addressed most of the concerns inherent with the 979. My 992, purchased new in 1992 is
still my favorite bike. I bought it with Dura Ace 8-speed, since updated to 9-speed. I've also re-
rimmed the wheels, but other than that (and the saddle rail clamp bolts that occasionally break)
it's been a real work horse.

Funny thing, before I bought it I did some research, including talking to Othar Oschner, then the
Vitus importer. One of the things that swayed me to buy it was that Harry Havnoonian was in
Philadelphia, only about twenty miles from my home in Marlton, New Jersey. Lot of good it's done me
since I've been in Aurora, Illinois since 1995.

<snip>
>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.

My first bike when I resumed cycling in 1989 (or so) was a Trek 1400; lugged and glued aluminum. I
still own it and use it as my beater bike. I find the handling dead solid and it's still the bike
I've gone the fastest on. When I upgraded the Vitus to 9-speed I put the leftover parts on the
Trek, just popping the 130mm rear axle into the 126mm dropouts. That was several years ago. So
far, so good.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Eric M]

In article <[email protected]>,
Matt O'Toole <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>I had a 979. I'm not as big as you (6'0", 175#) and I experienced ghost shifts all the time.

I'm 6'0 and 150 (~10 lbs less when I was racing my 59cm Vitus). Never had a ghost shift, but then
I'm the sort of rider it's built for.

>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.

I think that's partly due to the super quick steering. Also I found that staying loose on the bike
is required... tense up and it'd let you know.

>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.

I thought that some of them did... Mike J?

>These were some of the sweetest handling frames ever made, yet no one fusses over them. I guess
>they lack that Euro mystique.

I'm suprised that anyone fusses over a Vitus! The only reason I do is that I have an emotional
attachment to the thing after spending so much time suffering on it.

Eric