Regular readers of Singletrackworld.com will have read our roundup of 2019 Vitus Bikes earlier in the year. The latest range caters for pretty much everyone from XC racers on a budget to EWS slayers, and they’ve not missed out the E-curious either!
Vitus has 3 eMTB’s in its 2019 lineup. The Vitus E-Sentier is an aggressive hardtail, while those of us who prefer suspension at both ends can opt for a either a top-end Vitus E-Sommet VR or more affordable E-Sommet.
2019 Vitus E-Sommet First Look
For our review, we plumped for the more affordable E-Sommet which shares the same alloy frame and 170mm travel of the VR but uses the newly release Shimano Steps E7000 motor system rather than the E8000 we’re familiar with.
At £3199.99 the E-Sommet is a less than half the price of the Intense Tracer eMTB we have been riding, yet the Vitus team has managed to include brand name kit and quality suspension components to take on the rough and tumble. What’s more, the E-Sommet is actually slightly lighter in weight even compared to the carbon Intense.
Our Vitus E-Sommet is box fresh, a status we hope to change tomorrow, so we’ve taken the time to snap a few photos to give you a detailed first look.
Suspension on the E-Sommet comes from Rockshox. A 170mm Yari fork up front keeps cost down over a more expensive Lyrik, but as the Yari uses the same chassis as the more costly fork it does mean you can easily upgrade the internals as and when you feel the need.
160mm of rear wheel travel is controlled by a RockShox Super Deluxe R shock. This is a modern trunnion fit shock and as standard comes fitted with 2 air Tokens installed.
While the Vitus frame is alloy it isn’t heavy even with the more affordable Shimano Steps E7000 system bolted to it. This will be our first time using an E7000 motor which is likened to SLX where as the E8000 system found on most bikes last year is XT level equipment.
As far as we can tell the E7000 offers the same features, power and settings as E8000, but has a smaller LCD non-colour display, and the motor appears to be made of slightly different materials. As we haven’t ridden the bike yet, we don’t know if there is a different feel to power delivery so it will be interesting to see how it performs once on the trail.
Another feature of E7000 is a push button control for shifting between Eco, Trail and Boost modes. We already love this as it means a comfortable under bar dropper remote can be used. Also, the simple button control is likely to be more weather resistant than the mechanical controls of E8000 which we find to stick in certain conditions.
Shimano covers the stopping power with a set of 4 pot Shimano M520 disc brakes with 203mm rotors front and rear, while a Shimano Deore M6000 rear mech and lever takes care of the 1×10 shifting.
Vitus, being owned by Chain Reaction Cycles, has a few components from brand mate Nukeproof, and so we find a Nukeproof branded Neutron handlebar, Nukeproof headset and a Nukeproof saddle. All good kit.
The Vitus stem is 50mm long, this with the generous 455mm reach on a size M frame gives you plenty of room, to move about and even gives you enough space to play around with shorter stems if you fancy it.
Vitus hasn’t gone for a mismatched wheel set up, nor has it gone Plus. Instead, the E-Sommet rolls on 27.5in WTB ST i29 rims, laced to Novatec front and rear hubs. Tyres are a Maxxis Minion DHF on the front and High Roller II out back.
Vitus E-Sommet Specifications
- Frame: 6061-T6 Alloy
- Fork: ROCKSHOX Yari RC Boost 170mm
- Shock: RockShox Super Delux R
- Motor: Shimano e7000 STEPS
- Groupset: 1×10 Shimano Deore M6000 (11-42t)
- Chainset: Shimano FC-E8000 34T
- Wheels: WTB ST i29
- Brakes: Shimano M520 4 piston 203-203
- Seatpost: BRAND X ASCEND
- Tyres: MAXXIS Minion DHF 27.5 x 2.5 F / MAXXIS
- High Roller II 27.5 x 2.5 R
- Finishing Kit: Nukeproof/Vitus
- Price: £3199.99
We plan to take the E-Sommet for its first taste of mud tomorrow, but in the meantime, if you have any questions please feel free to hit up the comment section and we’ll do our best to answer them.
Comments (7)
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60nm of torque instead of 70nm.
Be interesting to see what the difference is in the real world.
I’d be interested to know how much the replacement batteries cost so I can understand whole life cost.
I think the Shimano battery is good for 1000 charge cycles. So depending on the rides you do you will get 25 to 50 miles per charge. So you will get min 25000 miles from the battery, or up to 50000 miles max. I don’t know how long it takes to cover this distance but it will be a fair while! Anyway new batteries are around £500.
Did you guys ride the bike. Thinking of getting 1 as the vr is out of stock, would like to know how the e7000 motor performed.
hello when are you going to do the field test and give a review… would like to know how the bike rides
@4marc we had an issue with our review bike so we’re waiting for it to come back. From initial rides though the suspension is lovely the geo is very nice.
that doesn’t sound to promising. what issues did you have with the bike?