Vitus 797 by jackthedog2012, on Flickr

I’ve ended up with this old Vitus. It was barely used (like less than 100 miles sort of barely used) when I got it and that’s a trend I’ve kept up. I feel compelled to find a good home for it as it’s just sat gathering dust in my parent’s garage (and my mother wants it out of the way…).

I just don’t know the first thing about road bikes so haven’t got a clue what it is, what it’s worth, whether the Campag stuff on it is any good, if it’s worth splitting or keeping together or what.

Anybody know anything about them? Best I can say is it’s a mid 90s job, Campag Athena stuff throughout, garish bar tape. Fairly pretty thing it is.

More pics in the set here.

I know a fair bit; having owned one for 13 years now (on/off anyway; it’s been used by both my brothers at one stage or another; and has done the lanzarote ironman) – mines a bit more battered and has seen many more miles than that one though !

I can tell you that the frame and forks alone retailed for £600ish in 1999. I’ve only ever had Shimano stuff on mine; so can’t comment on the value of the campag stuff; Although imo road groupsets haven’t dramatically changed for a while. It’s probably heavier and flexier than a ‘modern’ alu/cf road bike but it’s a very nice bike to ride.

Ride it lots; it’s probably not worth anything like what it cost to build up – but it would be a shame for it not to get any more use.

Oh and what size frame is it ? 😉

I had one. Won a road race on it. Sean Kelly had one. Won a road race on it. Only difference is, he won the Paris-Roubaix and I won the Ugley Men’s Road Race in Essex.

Very pretty, light, comfortable. Larger frame sizes had a rep for being flexy but yours looks small like mine and not an issue. The aluminium tubes are glued into the lugs and have been known to come apart but they are repairable.

I think the seatpin is an unusual diameter and has an unusual amount of layback (a Good Thing, imho).

edit: what Steve said about its value; worth more if you ride it than if you sell it.

Athena stuff isn’t great compared to modern-day componentry.

I’m tempted to make an offer just because it’s so pretty but I really don’t need another bike…

Thanks for the info chaps, much appreciated.

I originally got hold of it a few years ago to give road riding a go but it didn’t much grab me. Since then it’s continued to gather dust in the garage. Would have used it as a commuter but it’s a bit too nice for that.

Size wise it’s pretty compact. B&Q tape measure reckons 48cm from centre of BB to centre of top tube, if that’s how you measure a road bike?

Posted on Retrobike now, too.

Here’s mine for comparison:

You can see it’s a much bigger frame – and it’s had much more use (apologies for the yellow saddle btw :))

it’s all mechanically sound but it’s definately a bit scruffy; I’m half tempted to get the frame resprayed and some new decals ..

Only difference I can see is that mine has straight blade forks (came as part of the frameset) – not sure if that was an optional extra tho !

Still on the original seatpost, headset and BB (and downtube indexing adjusters) everything else has been replaced two or even three times !

Steve

Ace, that looks more like a 15 year old bike should. Makes this one look tiny in comparison too.

Thanks for the pic, nice to see one that’s been used heavily and still going strong.

Indeed – I keep getting tempted to replace it but don’t think I’d get anything half as nice for what I could sensibly spend. I might treat it to a new groupset and wheels this year though – and it’s probably time to replace the headset too 🙂

Lovely bike, lovely frames, lovely gear.

My size (51?), do you want to sell?

It’s a 48 according to the stamp on the headtube lug so it might be a bit compact for you.

Glad it’s not just me that thinks it’s pretty, I’ve had five people asking if I want to sell it since posting yesterday.

Stevehine – needs a silver stem too surely? 🙂

It did originally have a silver stem; my brother found it a little on the long side and he replaced it with the current one; I’ve still got it in the parts bin somewhere and intend to swap it back next time I re-tape the bars (it’s a split clamp not removable face)

Saddle is looking a little rough around the edges; I might have to replace that whilst I’m at it.

🙂