Ric Toronto 

I purchased this beautiful aluminim frame(ed) Vitus in 1991, which came equipped with full Dura-Ace BR-7402, SIS8. The Reynolds 979 frame was bonded and had been around for many years, though Vitus was by then producing a carbon frame. Many suggest that earlier framesets had bonding issues, while others claim that this is false. I've had no issues though I am not professional or competing, though I have found someone who can check and repair the frame for bonding issues if need be.
In 2007, I changed rear dereilleur to Ultegra 6700 to allow for shifters to be integrated with brake levers.
Sadly I did not keep the original parts!
Now looking for bits and pieces and advice on getting drivetrain more friendly for mountains.
Current gearing is 53/39 & 11/28, great on flat terrain, but not so friendly in California where we will be next year

oldbobcat

This guy, Vitus 979, writes about his Vitus 979. He spring-spread his 126 mm rear dropout spacing to accommodate 130mm axles, and said his only problem was the inner chainring hitting the chainstay. If you converted to compact (110 BCD with 50-34t rings) cranks, that shouldn't be a problem. Spreading aluminum chainstays, and spreading chainstays without squaring the dropouts raises my red flags, but I'm sure you can find many people who will say "No problem."

Ric Toronto 

Gotcha. Nope, not interested in trying to spread anything on this baby!
Tks

panzerwagon 

Great bikes, I have an ‘86 in the queue myself. Please share a few pics when you’re able.

What exactly would you like to improve about the drivetrain?

If you’re dealing with hilly terrain, you might consider a granny gear in front with a correspondingly longer cage RD to wrap the chain slack. And dual pivot calipers if you don’t already would allow you to navigate downhills with more confidence.

Ric Toronto 

Good to hear from you.
Yes, I fell in love with this one shortly after my Bianchi Giro was stolen out of my car... It was at the end of season and the only "good" bike that fit me was this Vitus...so we worked a deal
You are perceptive. Flat territory here and I'll be 75 this year and I've committed to doing a ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles next year to celebrate.... so a granny gear was what I was thinking of.
Mine is set up more for speed on flats than long distance and mountains and I was looking at how I can change the existing setup without messing with the derailleurs. Never thought of the brakes, though mine have been really good!
I have heard horror stories about bonded frames, though but mostly from professionals and racers. I did connect with a guy in Vancouver who can check the frame pretty reasonably and will consider this in the coming winter. I mention this because I DID get into a really weird situation downhill this summer and worried a bit. I was somewhere near 55kms when the front end went crazy and I went down hard. I thought I hit a stick that was almost parallel and that set up a speed wobble. Never found the stick or whatever, but the bike was OK (except for a Pivot bolt) and a little skin on one knee and a sore hip!
Seems I cannot add pics here until I've posted 10 times... so... soon I hope

CV-6 

I believe that would be Vitus 979 frame. The frame material and the marque were Vitus. Reynolds did not make a 979 tubing

Excellent article on Vitus 979 by Peter Kohler

Ric Toronto 

You are correct, and I stand corrected. Def not Reynolds, and after reading the article, I am less fearful of the bonded frame...especially one built so late in the game. Thanks for your input.

Chombi1 

The glue bonds on the Vitus frames have been holding up very well on the bikes, through the years.
Weakest area on the early 979 frames was the original design for the seat lug seatpost clamp.
There were enough cases of owners overtightening the seatpost clamp that it cracked at the clamp ears which totalled the frames, unless the seat lug is replaced by a qualified shop or Vitus themselves.
Because if this Vitus changed the seatpost anchoring method to one that uses a grub screw that pressed against (More like dug into, if the grub screw supplied did not have the pivoting bearing tipped grub screw.) a flat machined vertical strip at the back of the supplied proprietary seatposts from Rubis at around 1984-1985ish......

El Chaba

Nothing matches the smooth ride of a Vitus 979….NOTHING ( except a maybe a full suspension bike, but that doesn’t count). I don’t worry about the bonds so much, but the crash history and the general care taken of the bike over the years are important considerations.

Ric Toronto 

Yes, I've read about this, and mine is probably one of the last ones built, and has the upgraded version, thankfully.
Though I DID have a bad fall this year and questioned the bonding. I was able to locate someone who can test and repair if necessary.
That situation was at fairly high speed on a decline around 55kph on a slight curve. All I recall was that the bars seemed to twist and I was on my ass. It seemed to me that I hit something, perhaps a stick, at a slight angle, but could find no evidence. I had a sore hip and lost some knee skin, and the bike had a bent front claliper pivot bolt, but nothing worse. Glad I was not in traffic