Mdl

Hi. Would anyone happen to know whether this Vitus is a good deal at $400?

It has DuraAce components (see below pictures) but I can’t tell which model it is. It’s hard to see details from my phone.

the seller says it’s a Vitus and I’m hoping to check it out in person as soon as we can set up time to meet.

Any info would be appreciated. Thanks!

bikemig 

I'd pass on this bike at $400. That's a replacement fork and that may (or may not ) spell trouble. Also that bike has likely been abused by its owner. Anyone who puts the bars up like that does not know what he/she is doing and also likely spells trouble. I wouldn't buy it unless the price were sufficiently cheap that i could recoup my investment in the parts.

jamesdak 

Looks like 7400 series shifterw with a 7700 crank and either a 7700 or 7800 RD. I think the brakes may be 7700 also. The fork can be an indication of a problem or in this case it may be a very good thing. The bonded aluminum fork I had on a different Vitus was scary enough at speed for me to move the bike on. Just felt too unstable to me. If I had kept the bike I was going to upgrade it to a CF fork too even though this was a late 90's NOS frame I had picked up and builty up recently. Most of those parts looks like the 7700 series stuff I'm building a bike with right now and that stuff works great. If the components are in decent shape I'd consider it for them alone. Hard to tell from the pics but if those are Mavic hubs that's another plus.

zukahn1 

I would say no as presented with DUI bar setup and serious signs of neglect abuse, missing bolts bad tires, bad hoods no bar tape and missing FD shift cable As is I would say only $200 or so if it was in good ready to ride complete condition nicely setup with the carbon it would be worth $400 maybe more.

Mdl

Thanks Zukahn and James. I'll have to look online to see how much the DuraAce components sell for. Also, whether the seller is willing to bring down the price.
Would you happen to know whether I could put the DuraAce components, from the Vitus, on my Bertin bike (I pasted a pic below)?

Mdl

Thank you, Bikemig

bikemig 

I've seen this bike before. It's beautiful. Yes most of the parts (but perhaps not the bottom bracket and headset depending on the threading) can be made to work on this bike but why would you want to? I can't make out the drop out or the rear derailleur and that may present an issue as well. You'd likely need to spread the rear triangle. Plus the parts on this bike look right. The dura act parts won't.

jamesdak 

Yep, if he comes down on price and the components are in good shape, then it may be a good buy. I've gotten many a trashed bike in that was a beauty under the grime.

That Bertin is beautiful as is..... I wouldn't touch it.

Dave Mayer

I own a similar Vitus. Spending a couple of minutes staring at the pics, here's just the tip of the iceberg:

• The rear stay spacing on this bike is 126mm. How did the owner stuff a 9-speed (130mm) rear wheel between the stays? Are the joints in the BB/chainstay interface still intact?
• Is the seatpost grub screw stripped or frozen in place? Is the seatpost itself permanently corroded in place? BTW: that post has a 25.0mm diameter. If it is pooched, good luck finding another.
• Front tire is kaput. Needs immediate replacement.
• Small chainring is absurdly worn out. The chain is almost certainly finished. Probably the cassette as well.
• Crankset is missing a chainring bolt. Did riding the bike in this state cause the big ring to become bent?
• Pedals frozen corroded into the crankarms? Pedals are junk - replace.
• Replacement fork: alarm bells. Was the original busted in some kind of head-on collision? Or collision with a parkade ceiling?
• Cannot tell if the shifters are 7400 or 7700. Or a mix. If 7400, then the rear derailleur and cassette are mismatched to the shifters. If 7700 and they are not frozen up or wrecked, then good. These 9-speed parts are among the best stuff Shimano ever made.
• Cinelli stem. This probably has a 26.4 clamp, and it is possible that the bar is a 26.0 diameter. Which means that either the stem had to be tightened so much that it cracked at the bolt, or it explains the black shim thingie that the owner rigged underneath the stem. In any case, I would not ride this stem or bar combo. Is the stem corroded tight into the steerer? Need to check.
• Rear wheel has black alloy nipples. This is an indication that the wheel was high-end, but it is now likely that all of the nipples are corroded in place, and the first time you try and true the wheel, that they will crumble into small alu shards. I know: I've build and serviced dozens of wheels.
• Bum bars. When handlebars are flipped around like this, it is a clear indication that the current owner is not the original owner, and he knows little to nothing about bikes. Check the serial number with the cops.

Mdl

Thanks for the compliment! Yes. I agree. She is a beauty.

Mdl

Thanks! I’m lucky I found her.

Mdl

Thanks, Dave! You have great eyes. You hit all the nails on their heads. The black shim thing had me perplexed. Lol. What a mess.

I also noticed the chewed up chainring, seat post and bars. I was mostly thinking of harvesting the DuraAce components. My Trek has brifters and a triple - I love the combo as it’s hilly here. However, it’s too small for me. I was toying with the idea of putting them on the Bertin but I know everyone’s right - going that route would ruin the look.

Thanks to you and everyone for taking the time to provide your feedback.

All the best.


I’ll waste a few minutes checking in person.

Mdl

Thanks!

Chombi1 

Yup!, the "Hobo" handlebar set up on that bike kinda tells a sad story on the recent life of thst Vitus 979. The non-original fork also kills its value a whole lot as a C&V bike.
It has signs of being a well set up bike in the past, but its present state kinda says it was probably just kicked around by the present owner and probably not maintained properly to ride, shift and brake at its best potential.
Buying it should done with eyes-wide-open to possible big problems that will pop up when the bike is diassembled for restoration and repair.

Mattdiano

This thread is right along what I have been thinking about...I would love some advice. I recently acquired two Vitus frames. A 979 Aluminum one and a 979 Carbon one. I stripped both down, have repacked the headsets and am going to repack the bottom brackets tonight and put those back together. I plan to sell them on eBay, as they are both too small for me. Will they have a better chance of selling if I build the frames up? I have a few extra vintage gruppos, Dura Ace and 600. I am going to include the headset, bottom bracket and seat post on each bike, those seem to be hard to find, and all my other bikes are vintage Italian (and Belgium) steel, so i have no use for those parts.
Will they have a better chance of selling as just the bare frames, with those few parts, or should I build each one back up completely? Just wondering what my best option is. Thanks in advance everyone!

jfracer03

So I ended up purchasing that Vitus on Halloween... I wish I had found this thread before buying it. I ended up paying $300 for it but definitely should have offered less even though I had somewhat of idea of what I was getting into. My biggest concern before and after purchasing the bike was the seatpost but the only reason I decided to buy it was because it had the Dura Ace components.

The frame is a 50cm and has a 172.5mm crank which I find a bit odd. The parts on this bike are as follows, Dura Ace 7700 shifters, brakes, and rear derailleur, Dura Ace 7400 bottom bracket, crank, headset, and 8 speed cassette with a Sachs chain, Shimano 600 tricolor/7400 hubs on unknown rims, Cinelli bar and stem and a Campagnolo seatpost. I did notice that the downtube cable stops/barrel adjusters were not correct as they should be flat mount. After inspecting the frame and doing some research, I believe the frame to be a 1993 and the rear spacing is definitely 130mm. Most of its issues got covered in this thread based on the pictures from the listing. But here is everything wrong;

1. Shifters work but the black body of the shifters and hoods were spray painted silver and the hoods were beyond saving and top of both shifters that say Dura Ace looked like someone hit them several times with a hammer
2. Crank was missing chainring bolt and small chainring was toast but the pedals came off relatively easy
3. Missing front derailleur and downtube barrel adjuster
4. Stuck seatpost and bottom bracket
5. Brake pads were way beyond worn out
6. 8 speed cassette, which somehow wasn't that worn, paired with 9 speed shifters
7. Front tire was no good and rear wheel had a small dent on brake track and very out of true
8. Bars were shimmed using electrical tape
9. Bottle cage bolts seized and nutserts were loose
10. Not a big issue but the clear anodizing on the tubes has seen better days and the front end of the bike has yellow and blue paint overspray

It took a full week to fully disassemble the bike as the seatpost was stuck because it was pushed down passed the flutes, but the seatpost was super clean. The bottom bracket wasn't too bad to get out but overall is still in really good condition as is the headset. The fork seems like it could be okay but the clear/resin is cracked in a spot or two and is a little concerning but it did clean up pretty well. Now almost 3 weeks later and the bike is slowly coming back to life. All the parts have been cleaned up and are slowly going back on. I do still need the parts for the crank, new chain and cassette, cables, brake pads, and hoods that are incredibly hard to find with the exception of one pair on eBay for $200.

I do have somewhat of a history of making sketchy bike purchases and losing money but have been lucky sometimes too. This is my second glued frame as I own an Alan Carbonio that had its own issues. Do I regret this purchase? Well, kind of but it's still too soon to say, although I do wish I paid less for it. I did tell myself years ago I wouldn't buy another vintage aluminum bike though...