1st ride on my finished winter project
03-11-21, 10:56 PM
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Minneapplepuss
Posts: 57
Bikes: 1996 Rivendell All-Rounder, 2000 Chris Kvale, 1989 Eddy Merckx 7-11 Corsa Extra, Rivendell Clem Smith Jr, Rivendell Roadini, 86 Mercian Vincitore, 85 Vitus 979, 89 Vitus Carbone 9, 83 Bianchi Tipo Corsa, 79 Motobecane Grand Touring,2022 Corvus Rhino
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 33 Post(s)
Liked 56 Times
in
22 Posts
1st ride on my finished winter project
I got the last piece needed for my winter project on Saturday so Sunday it was ready for it's inaugural ride.
It's a 1985 Vitus 979.
Back in the 80's all you heard was how whippy and noodley these bikes were, so I decided to subject a 60cm frame to my 210# and find out.
28mm tires fit, but I was concerned about chainstay rub so I installed 26mm just in case.
Guess what, it's not a noodle! Granted, I'm not doing any bunch sprints and I'm not really a masher, but I didn't experience any ghost shifts or front der rub. I didn't push any corners hard, because they are still pretty sandy here.
I really like the way this bike rode. It was a windy day, so I got to do some 53x16 spinning with the tailwind. I'm looking forward to more miles on this iconic 80's bike.
Jim in Mpls
The Dura Ace shifters didn't work with the shifter bosses on this frame, but luckily I had these for a plan b
I still think this is one of the best looking cranks ever!
I dug up my old Avocet for the finishing touch
It's a 1985 Vitus 979.
Back in the 80's all you heard was how whippy and noodley these bikes were, so I decided to subject a 60cm frame to my 210# and find out.
28mm tires fit, but I was concerned about chainstay rub so I installed 26mm just in case.
Guess what, it's not a noodle! Granted, I'm not doing any bunch sprints and I'm not really a masher, but I didn't experience any ghost shifts or front der rub. I didn't push any corners hard, because they are still pretty sandy here.
I really like the way this bike rode. It was a windy day, so I got to do some 53x16 spinning with the tailwind. I'm looking forward to more miles on this iconic 80's bike.
Jim in Mpls
The Dura Ace shifters didn't work with the shifter bosses on this frame, but luckily I had these for a plan b
I still think this is one of the best looking cranks ever!
I dug up my old Avocet for the finishing touch
Likes For jingy2:
03-11-21, 11:02 PM
#2
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Northern California
Posts: 9,194
Bikes: Cheltenham-Pedersen racer, Boulder F/S Paris-Roubaix, Varsity racer, '52 Christophe, '62 Continental, '92 Merckx, '75 Limongi, '76 Presto, '72 Gitane SC, '71 Schwinn SS, etc.
Mentioned: 132 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1565 Post(s)
Liked 1,296 Times
in
866 Posts
That blue color really pops, and the bright cranks match the lugs.
Cool that there is room for gravel tires!
Cool that there is room for gravel tires!
Likes For dddd:
03-12-21, 06:01 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Posts: 20,435
Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones
Mentioned: 178 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5888 Post(s)
Liked 3,471 Times
in
2,079 Posts
Cool bike and you have a functioning Avocet bike computer. How cool is that?
03-12-21, 08:07 AM
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - burrrrr!
Posts: 11,674
Bikes: 1958 Rabeneick 120D, 1968 Legnano Gran Premio, 196? Torpado Professional, 2000 Marinoni Piuma
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1372 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,752 Times
in
939 Posts
Beautiful bike and well done! However...
Unless that steering stem has a long reach into the steering tube, you are risking damaging one of the weakest parts of the Vitus - the head tube lugs. They are prone to cracking and if the steering stem is not inserted enough, into the steering tube, then the leverage is great, dramatically increasing the chances of doing serious damage to the frame. Is such damage occurs, while riding, one might do some serious damage to the rider, should he or she loose control of the bike.
By the way, I loved the ride qualities of both my Vitus and my ALAN. Sadly, for fat old me, the frames were a bit too flexible to accept my weight and strength.
Unless that steering stem has a long reach into the steering tube, you are risking damaging one of the weakest parts of the Vitus - the head tube lugs. They are prone to cracking and if the steering stem is not inserted enough, into the steering tube, then the leverage is great, dramatically increasing the chances of doing serious damage to the frame. Is such damage occurs, while riding, one might do some serious damage to the rider, should he or she loose control of the bike.
By the way, I loved the ride qualities of both my Vitus and my ALAN. Sadly, for fat old me, the frames were a bit too flexible to accept my weight and strength.
__________________
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
03-12-21, 10:56 AM
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Berkeley, CA
Posts: 7,244
Bikes: '72 Cilo Pacer, '72 Gitane Gran Tourisme, '72 Peugeot PX10, '73 Speedwell Ti, '74 Peugeot UE-8, '75 Peugeot PR-10L, '80 Colnago Super, '85 De Rosa Pro, '86 Look Equipe 753, '86 Look KG86, '89 Parkpre Team, '90 Parkpre Team MTB, '90 Merlin
Mentioned: 87 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 834 Post(s)
Liked 2,126 Times
in
555 Posts
^Looks like one of the long Nitto Technomic stems, so presuming it's okay.
My first race bike was a Vitus 979, in sky blue. I still have a soft place in my heart for those frames. Your build looks great. As I recall, the lugs on mine were anodized, thus not able to be polished like yours. It was a long time ago, so I may be mis-remembering. (I never bothered polishing anything back then. As long as adjusted properly, I was good to go.) Did you have to strip the lugs, or did some of these come polished like that?
I appreciate the French-themed zip ties.
My first race bike was a Vitus 979, in sky blue. I still have a soft place in my heart for those frames. Your build looks great. As I recall, the lugs on mine were anodized, thus not able to be polished like yours. It was a long time ago, so I may be mis-remembering. (I never bothered polishing anything back then. As long as adjusted properly, I was good to go.) Did you have to strip the lugs, or did some of these come polished like that?
I appreciate the French-themed zip ties.
Likes For gaucho777:
03-12-21, 11:16 AM
#9
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Minneapplepuss
Posts: 57
Bikes: 1996 Rivendell All-Rounder, 2000 Chris Kvale, 1989 Eddy Merckx 7-11 Corsa Extra, Rivendell Clem Smith Jr, Rivendell Roadini, 86 Mercian Vincitore, 85 Vitus 979, 89 Vitus Carbone 9, 83 Bianchi Tipo Corsa, 79 Motobecane Grand Touring,2022 Corvus Rhino
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 33 Post(s)
Liked 56 Times
in
22 Posts
^Looks like one of the long Nitto Technomic stems, so presuming it's okay.
My first race bike was a Vitus 979, in sky blue. I still have a soft place in my heart for those frames. Your build looks great. As I recall, the lugs on mine were anodized, thus not able to be polished like yours. It was a long time ago, so I may be mis-remembering. (I never bothered polishing anything back then. As long as adjusted properly, I was good to go.) Did you have to strip the lugs, or did some of these come polished like that?
I appreciate the French-themed zip ties.
My first race bike was a Vitus 979, in sky blue. I still have a soft place in my heart for those frames. Your build looks great. As I recall, the lugs on mine were anodized, thus not able to be polished like yours. It was a long time ago, so I may be mis-remembering. (I never bothered polishing anything back then. As long as adjusted properly, I was good to go.) Did you have to strip the lugs, or did some of these come polished like that?
I appreciate the French-themed zip ties.
I polished the lugs with aluminum polish. They shined up right nice!
And thanks for noticing the zip ties-I was pretty pleased with myself when I came up with that!
Jim
Likes For AeroIronBiker:
03-13-21, 11:40 AM
#11
_______
Join Date: Jul 2018
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 65
Bikes: Merckx Corsa Extra, Ciocc Mockba, Zeus Victoria, Serotta CDA, Willier Cento 1SR, Pinarello FP Quattro, Teledyne Titan, Chesini Arena Precision 83, Denti Master, De Rosa 35th Anniversario, 3Rensho Super Record, Koga Miyata Full Pro, Klein Rascal
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 21 Post(s)
Liked 127 Times
in
31 Posts
Very cool Vitus!
Very cool Vitus!
03-14-21, 08:45 PM
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Posts: 4,488
Mentioned: 102 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1641 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 831 Times
in
540 Posts
Beautiful bike and well done! However...
Unless that steering stem has a long reach into the steering tube, you are risking damaging one of the weakest parts of the Vitus - the head tube lugs. They are prone to cracking and if the steering stem is not inserted enough, into the steering tube, then the leverage is great, dramatically increasing the chances of doing serious damage to the frame. Is such damage occurs, while riding, one might do some serious damage to the rider, should he or she loose control of the bike.
By the way, I loved the ride qualities of both my Vitus and my ALAN. Sadly, for fat old me, the frames were a bit too flexible to accept my weight and strength.
Unless that steering stem has a long reach into the steering tube, you are risking damaging one of the weakest parts of the Vitus - the head tube lugs. They are prone to cracking and if the steering stem is not inserted enough, into the steering tube, then the leverage is great, dramatically increasing the chances of doing serious damage to the frame. Is such damage occurs, while riding, one might do some serious damage to the rider, should he or she loose control of the bike.
By the way, I loved the ride qualities of both my Vitus and my ALAN. Sadly, for fat old me, the frames were a bit too flexible to accept my weight and strength.
I've seen lots of ALAN'S with cracked head lugs, but never really seen a Vitus 979, 992, 787 or Carbone with a cracked aluminum headstock.....
Last edited by Chombi1; 03-14-21 at 08:49 PM.
03-15-21, 12:51 AM
#13
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada - burrrrr!
Posts: 11,674
Bikes: 1958 Rabeneick 120D, 1968 Legnano Gran Premio, 196? Torpado Professional, 2000 Marinoni Piuma
Mentioned: 210 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1372 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1,752 Times
in
939 Posts
I think you might have been meaning to refer to ALAN's head tube lug cracking problems? I don't think Vitus had head lug cracking problems, because they had that hefly, one piece aluminum headstock design that got rid of having to use lugs at that high stress area.
I've seen lots of ALAN'S with cracked head lugs, but never really seen a Vitus 979, 992, 787 or Carbone with a cracked aluminum headstock.....
I've seen lots of ALAN'S with cracked head lugs, but never really seen a Vitus 979, 992, 787 or Carbone with a cracked aluminum headstock.....
__________________
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
"98% of the bikes I buy are projects".
