Spotted: Vitus Trail Bike Prototype At Sea Otter

Hannah is out at the Sea Otter Classic in California, USA. It’s a four day festival of racing and a huge expo area. There are races for every type of bike, but there’s a strong leaning towards mountain biking, and if you want to see new products, prototypes, and unique bikes, it’s the place to be. Head here for all our Sea Otter 2022 Coverage

Tucked in the corners of the Vitus stand were two prototype bikes: a trail bike and a gravel bike. We took a closer look.

Yes, you’d like a raw finish, wouldn’t you? But what name will likely appear here on the finished product? Where will this sit in the Vitus range?

This prototype has a 77° seat tube angle and 65.5° head angle, with 140/140mm travel.

There’s a metric trunnion shock here, a beefy linkage, Boost 148 spacing, 180mm post mount brake, and a UDH hanger. It’s designed for 29 or 27.5 inch wheels – but not a mullet – and it’s coil shock compatible if you want to go that way. Apparently the progressivity is around 25/26%, similar to the Vitus Escarp – which is carbon.

Vitus says this alloy bike will be available as a frameset as well as a complete bike, recognising that for some people, allot is what they want – it’s not a stepping stone on the way to carbon – and that they’ll want to dress their bike up in all the hardware of their choosing.

Vitus says this prototype is on the way to targeting the £1250-£2000 bike market. There’s been some competitive pricing from Vitus in recent years, with bikes offering great performance for the money. Better bikes for less money? Yes please.

Head here for all our Sea Otter 2022 Coverage

Hannah Dobson

Managing Editor

I came to Singletrack having decided there must be more to life than meetings. I like all bikes, but especially unusual ones. More than bikes, I like what bikes do. I think that they link people and places; that cycling creates a connection between us and our environment; bikes create communities; deliver freedom; bring joy; and improve fitness. They're environmentally friendly and create friendly environments. I try to write about all these things in the hope that others might discover the joy of bikes too.

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