Eyes Roll

Hello Gurus. A person local to me wants to get rid of Vitus Dural 979 that has been in his garage for many years. If I buy it, I would ride it as a daily commuter in the city, and not to treasure it in the garage. Would this bike serve me as a daily commuter? What should I pay for it? Right now, I ride a 1990's Schwinn World Sport as a daily commuter, and I like how the Schwinn World Sport rides. Would you consider 1980s Vitus Dural 979 giving me a more faster and smoother ride than a 1990s Schwinn World Sport and an upgrade?

I do think that the Vitus Dural is not in its original condition and the seller/previous owner has made some modifications to it. The Serial Number of the Vitus Dural is E081XXX.

Here are the pictures. Any pointers, advantages, disadvantages, strengths, and weaknesses of the 1980s Vitus Dural 979s are appreciated. Thank you in advance. 🙏

Eyes Roll

More pictures........

cyclic_eric

That is a nice sport/racing bike from the 80's. I personally like them, but it is not ideal an ideal bike for commuting.
Is it the right size for you? Ones like it sell for around $500. This one looks in good shape, aside from the relocated shifter.
If I were to wish for a commuting upgrade over my Schwinn World Sport, I personally would choose a bike that could fit 32mm tires and racks.

Eyes Roll

The bike size should fit, but I will take the bike and go for a test ride, if everything else works out. My technique is to ride with my feet extended as much as I can, because that way I can ride my bikes faster, and prefer bikes that are bigger in size with adequate seat adjustments. Also, my Schwinn World Sport has 27 x 1-1/4th tires, and I am not planning to move any of the parts and accessories from World Sport to Vitus Dural, if I end up buying it. I also ride a modern (year 2020) single-speed bike that has 700 x 25c tires. When I researched on Vitus Dural 979, it sounded like a great bike; hence, I was thinking of buying and adding it to my bikes' arsenal.

Apparently, you are suggesting me to pass this one up, if I intend to use it as a daily commuter. Thank you for your suggestion. 🙏

3alarmer 

...this method of frame construction is notorious for either failing at the bonded joints, or cracking of the cast aluminum alloy lugs.
Apart from that, it's not something I would want to ride, as a daily commuter, because of the issues with mounting rack and fenders, wider tires, etc., etc.

How much you weigh will have a lot to do with how well it works for you. They tend to flex if you weigh more than 150-160 pounds.
It's a very light bike, and will probably go fast. It's not what you want in a commuter bicycle, unless maybe those are things you are looking for.

DMC707

all of this

Eyes Roll

I have read a bit about this vintage bike model. If the cracks have not developed and the bike has not failed in about 35 to 40 years, is there a possibility that it will happen now or sometime in the future?

I am not planning to ride it in the rain or snow, but only on the sunny and dry days; hence, I will not be installing any fenders on it. I would like to install a rear rack though, to carry a laptop, a bike repair kit, and a few other things, like I have it on my other road bikes.


That's exactly the reason ^^^ why I want to buy this bike. I weigh between 165 and170 lbs, and have never weighed more than 170 lbs in my life. I ride my bikes anywhere between 20 to 50 miles every day. I would like to ride the bike a bit faster and smoother so I could cut down on the commute times and get to the destination quicker. Who wouldn't want to do that?

How can a bike go fast, when you are not pedaling fast? It is not a car, anyway. Don't get me wrong, I have a good amount of control on how fast I can ride a bike. I appreciate your and others' advice.

3alarmer 

...yes, quite a good possibility. A bike that is 35-40 years old cannot tell you how much or how far it got ridden in that time period. The joint failure issues seem to be related to aging of the bonding agent, as opposed to the lug cracking issues, which seem more related to repeated stress in use. Regardless, I'm not trying to talk you out of it. It's just not high on my own list for practical bike use. The components look pretty solid, and it's very clean. Those are things that can (not always , but can) indicate less use of a 40 year old bicycle. Very few bikes fail while hanging around in the garage. Not making this up, there are many stories of such failures on the interwebs.

...even something as light as you suggest riding back there on a rack, will add further regular stresses to the stay insertions at the seat lug, and probably the brake bridge. There's no free lunch on this. But you could probably carry all that other miscellaneous stuff in a front bar bag, maybe with a quick release mount like the ones I use.




...you must really enjoy your work, if you are in a hurry to get there. I commuted in a number of cities and at least one small Central Valley farm town, by bicycle. And I was never in a job like that, so I'll take your word about it. Commuting on a bicycle is something that requires a degree of serviceability and durability that you need to judge for yourself, I guess. And while I have ridden similar daily distances, I don't think any of my commutes were longer than about 15 miles one way.

...here's my idea of an ideal commuter, that I posted in the winter commuter thread. It goes reasonably fast, and most of my commute speeds were preordained to be a little slower by traffic control devices, just like the cars I shared the road with. Wider tires are more of an issue in the winter months, than in the summer.




...but heck, I commuted for a couple of years in Merced on a 3 speed, purple, step through Schwinn Breeze. So obviously I have minimal standards. I'm not trying to tell you what to ride, only sharing experience.

3alarmer 

Vitus 979 - frame...dead??? is one old thread on this. The issue popped up a lot, back when there were still more of these around. There's information on some guy who used to specialize in rebonding repairs of these Vitus frames. I never had one, I'm too heavy.

Eyes Roll

I'm self-employed and run a small business. I work out of home, mostly. However, I have a small office in the city that I go to for printing, photocopying, scanning, and mailing documents to my customers. I'm my own boss and I run my own schedule, so, no one can rush me, in the context of work.

More than the work-related use, I take my bike out to go to the public library that is about 8 miles away, to go to a post office that is about 6 miles away, to go to a coffee shop that is about 7 miles away, to go to a Walmart that is about 4 miles away, to go to a Target that is about 12 miles away, da da da. I shop and carry groceries weighing 30 lbs on the back of my bike on a regular basis. Since I can carry only limited quantities on a bike, I make multiple trips to the stores. I do all this on a bike in this day and age.

The bike should be able to carry loads weighing between 20 to 40 lbs on the rear rack. I almost always ride my bike with that much weight (and always a laptop) on my bike's rear rack. It's a MUST.

It sounds like this bike is not meant for this purpose.

cyclic_eric

1) Bikes are inanimate objects - they, themselves are not fast. But you, with a machine of quality tailored to work with you, can go very fast. It is a wonderful thing. The beautiful Woodrup is an excellent example.
2) A rear rack with 20 - 40 lbs on a Vitus 979 is a bad idea.
3) I'm sure there are fans of Schwinn World Sports, but they are relatively low quality frames. If you like Schwinns from that general era, the Circuit came with Columbus SL tubing and is more worthy.
Beyond that, there are thousands of makes and models that could be fast commuters. Look for ones that already have rack mounts. There are so many options. Did you want to stay with a certain era or budget?

3alarmer 

...yes, it's not. But the good news is that there are plenty of older bicycles that are ideal for what you want to do.

Eyes Roll

Disagree ^. Did you ever ride a Schwinn World Sport, fully tuned-up and in good shape? Or are you just passing a judgment without ever riding it?

Maybe, World Sport is an entry-level bike. However, after riding it, I came to know that it is a pretty decent bike, and more importantly, a workhorse. I have put it to rugged use, and it has never let me down. And no, I did not buy World Sport with a plan. About two years ago, I drove 50 miles to buy another Schwinn bike and did not like that bike after riding it. That owner also had World Sport and a few other fancy-looking and expensive bikes. He let me take the World Sport for a ride and sold it to me, since he did not want to disappoint me. It's a 1990 Schwinn World Sport, which I came to know after riding it and a bit of research.

I am passing up this Vitus Dural. I have enough number of bikes that I can ride as daily commuters, and I am good, for now. Thank you all for your time and advice, as it has helped me to make an informed decision.

repechage

At the fork, 28’s would appear to fit, probably a tighter fit at back. I would get a good pair of tires - tires do age even without use.
depending on your area, $300-400
18 months ago, more.

worst thing that could happen, you don’t like it.
but come Spring, that should be easy to selli would ask if the removed components are around.

this talk of exploding bikes…
sure it could fail, doubtful catastrophic
of course might fail at a time that will be annoying. These have a nice ride. Sure they ar limber. One of the most successful sprinters of the day raced and won on one often.

3alarmer 

.
...nobody said it would explode. Certainly I did not say that. I referenced a clear and well documented historical problem with this method of frame construction. Which is why they stopped making frames that way. The idea that one of the most successful sprinters of that day raced and won on one, is kind of a weird contribution to a thread asking about suitability as a commuter and errand bike, don't you think ?

Bike racers at the higher professional level don't pay for their bicycles, and they have a team support car following them around with spares. Surely you know that. In 50 years of commuting by bicycle, I never once had a team support car.

This forum just gets stranger every winter.

Eyes Roll

A little bit of history about this bike. The seller is the brother of the original owner, who passed away about 7 years ago, so, the former took the bike to a local bike shop, tuned it up, and stored in his garage ever since. The seller says he doesn't know much about bikes, but he held on to this particular bike out of love and remembrance of his brother. He cannot keep it any longer and is now willing to let it go to someone who will give it a good home and ride it with TLC.

He also doesn't know when his late brother purchased this bike. But I took the bike's serial number and narrowed it down to a 1985 bike.

Yeah, there are quite a few successful sprinters that raced on this bike. Sean Kelly became World Number 1 back then riding Vitus.

https://on-the-drops.blogspot.com/20...vitus-979.html

I am thinking of giving it a try. There are no points in life for not trying. What the heck, what would happen, if I install a rear rack and pull 30 lbs of weight on it? The frame might crack (a rare possibility, after all these years) and I would lose a couple of hundred dollars.

Sure, the bike will handle some weight, but I won't swing it or apply pressure and stress on it the way the former World Number 1 racer did. Right?

Where are my guys that converted the racing bikes into commuter bikes? No one has ever tried?

3alarmer 

...depends on your definition of a "racing" bike. I've converted PX-10's from the '70's into commute bikes.
They work fine, but they are steel frames, with the more relaxed geometry of that age. Once you start getting into 80's geometry, race bikes work less and less well.

But surely you can "commute" on anything that has two wheels and tires with air in them. When you're talking about carrying a bunch of crap, rando bikes work best for me, as a compromise.

I'm out. You've got all the advice I can share, and you can learn from experience just like everyone else does.

repechage

If the frame requires retirement later, there is quite a bit of value in the components. I think the loss would be pretty tolerable. Seatpost is probably not going to transfer to another bike, the rest? Not that difficult.

RB1-luvr

perhaps the best attribute of this bike for commuting is how flexy it is. It will probably tame rough roads quite well. Throw a backpack on and commute on it. You'll have fun.

I would want that shifter repaired though.

Sedgemop 

Thanks for sharing some history about the bike. Be good to get this one back on the road again.

Sounds like you know what you want to do. I know I've done plenty of things over the years that people advised me not to do. I do get some satisfaction from using a thing how it's supposedly not to be used. Try it out and report back how an aluminum racer does as a loaded commuter. Genuinely curious about the experience. Good luck, man.

Eyes Roll

Thank you everyone. Much appreciated for your time and replies. 🙏

BMC_Kid 

Racing frames are not ideal for converting into workaday commuter bikes. They will get you from point A to B, but come with inherent constraints due to the racing geometries. I have one bike that I use for commuting and it is a racing CX frame, again not ideal but it works for me for the short rides I take it on. For rides the length of yours, I would not want to do it unless I had a frame with much more relaxed geometry than that CX. Certainly not any of my racing frames.

zukahn1 

Well for Eyes Roll I would say a nicer random hard frame MTB with a nice setup, or even early nice front suspension maybe there a way to go. Easy to find something fairy good for under $200.

Eyes Roll

I do not think I will ever buy a MTB. Thicker bikes with thicker tires do not appeal to me. Never liked any of those bikes hanging in Walmart, since they give me a feeling that I would struggle pedaling them. I could be wrong since I never rode them, but that's the feeling I get. I like skinny and lean bikes like the C&V bikes of 1990s and earlier.

zukahn1 

You can buy nice tires that while run 25mm to 62mm on most rims most vintage road frames max out at 32, MTBS 32-48 so there are a lot of options out there. I have run 35's low clearance older race bikes.