Buying your first entry level triathlon bike can be a daunting task. Of all the investments you will make in the sport of triathlon, no single one has the potential. From designbuild companies to marketing companies, this article provides an overview of the different types of carbon fiber bike companies. President Donald Trump hates leaks. Well, he hates leaks about himself. The president is 100 percent fine with giving secrets to Russian officials in the Oval Office. Everyone wants strong wheels that stay true and dont buckle. On top of that, they want them light and cheap. Well, the good news is that you actually can go a long. The best new recreational road bikes, like the BMC GranFondo, combine very highquality carbon fiber frames and engineering with a more comfortable ride. Vitus 9. 79. Thanks to everyone who has helped me improve the information on this page. Please email me if you have suggestions for further improvements. My Vitus. For several years, my road bike was a 1. Vitus 9. 79. The French company Vitus was one of the few companies to make aluminum road frames in the 1. I believe that this version of 9. This bike came with Shimano 6. Tell If Carbon Fiber Bike Cracked' title='Tell If Carbon Fiber Bike Cracked' />Ultegra components and Mavic tubular rims. The handlebars are Cinelli Colorado aluminum bars. HTB1G740HVXXXXXpaXXXq6xXFXXXp/De-rosa-superking-888-D5-007-full-carbon-fibre-road-bike-frame-racing-bike-frame-free.jpg' alt='Tell If Carbon Fiber Bike Cracked' title='Tell If Carbon Fiber Bike Cracked' />In honor of the 40th anniversary of both Voyager missions, we asked astronomers and spacesavvy musicians to tell us what music theyd send if NASA hypothetically. My Vitus. For several years, my road bike was a 1988 Vitus 979. The French company Vitus was one of the few companies to make aluminum road frames in the 1980s. The original stem was a Cinelli, but it was cracked so I replaced it with a Specialized. I had Look pedals from about the same time installed. Those old Look pedals arent nearly as sleek as the new ones, but the bearings are great, so I still use them. Fully built up my 9. After riding the sewups for a while, I replaced the wheels so I would have clincher rims and a freehub. The clinchers arent as nice as tubular tires, but they are much less expensive. My clincher rear wheel weighs about a pound more than my tubular rear wheel. I rode my first century on this bike. Yes, I know the frame is pink. Officially it is Rose. I bought this bike on e. Bay, and the sellers picture wasnt color corrected. Online it was a nice red color. When I opened the box, I was surprised at the color. I had gotten a great deal on the bike, so I kept it. Since I couldnt afford to buy another bike, I spent a few years as the guy on the pink bike. Since then, I have learned that this bike came in pink, blue, white, gold, and green. The bike on the Vitus 9. Track page shows what an unfaded Rose Vitus looks like. About Vitus. I now have a page about Vitus and other peoples Vitus bikes. I havent really found much information about Vitus online. I know they are an old company. Vitus is a well known maker of bicycle tubing. According to Sheldon Brown, Vitus is Frances leading manufacturer of high quality frame tubing. Vitus was one of the early makers of aluminum bicycles. Vitus made early carbon fiber bikes using the same designs as their high end aluminum bikes. They have not sold to the US since the early 9. The last few years that Vitus frames sold in the US, they were only available through one of the major mail order companies. Vitus bicycles were available in Canada in the late 9. They then disappeared from the internet for a while. In spring 2. 00. 5, Nashbar had new old stock Vitus 9. Vitus now has a webpage. Vitus site lists shows some nice all carbon frames. I do not know of any current North American distributor of Vitus bicycles, but they can be ordered through Chain Reaction Cycles in the UK. The Vitus 9. 79 Frame. The Vitus 9. 79 is a classic racing frame. It is fairly light I believe it was the lightest production frame available for several years starting in 1. It was a very nice frame for its time. As soon as you start riding it, you know it wants to fly. If you ride a road racing bike, you know what I mean. If you are used to a touring bikelike I was before buying this bikeit will take a little while to feel comfortable with the handling. The 9. 79 has tight geometry for an 8. There is little clearance between the tire and the seat tube. This is common today, but it looks tighter than similar bikes of its period. Other than the frame flex, I love the way this bike feels. The geometry is perfect for my riding. This is the frame the Sean Kelly rode for years. I dont know exactly what years he rode this particular model. This is the frame he was riding when he won the 1. Vuelta a Espaa and the green jersey in the 1. Tour de France. He later rode the improved 9. Kellys wins are a hole in the argument that stiffer frames are always better. However, it is worth noting that Kelly rode a fairly small frame, which would have been stiffer than the next size larger frame. The 9. 79 is a bonded aluminum frame. The main triangle is anodized aluminum. The tubes were made by Vitus. The frames were made and assembled by the French aerospace company TVT. The lugs are bonded to the frame with dry heat activated epoxy. The inside diameter of the tubes appear to be larger than the outside diameter of the lugs. So in addition to being bonded, friction holds the joints together. I have heard rumors of trouble with the bonds on these frames, but it doesnt seem nearly as bad as most report. I only have two actual examples of problems with the bonding, and they were both successfully repaired. My frame has not had any problems. Many people have emailed me examples of 9. They often still ride them, or have only recently bought a new bike. Ive been asked some questions about the geometry of this bike. I wasnt able to take accurate measurements before I sold it. Fortunately, Bobby Sapovits posted several pages from a 1. Ronda Rousey. Vitus brochure, including the geometry page. This brochure isnt from the same year, but it is unlikely that the 9. Frame Flex. The frame is known to be very flexy. The 9. 79 has one of the most flexible high end road frames of the past twenty five years. It flexes so much that it feels strange on a trainer. I can see the BB moving an inch to the side when I stomp on the pedals. For normal riding it feels great. This is definitely a frame for light riders. Rear Spacing hub widthThe standard for rear dropout spacing changed from 1. Since my 9. 79 was built in 1. It is now hard to find quality 1. The frame is flexible and the dropout spacing can easily stretch to 1. This means it flexes to 1. When I needed a new rear hub, I tried using a 1. The 1. 30mm hub seemed like a good solution until I pedaled hard. If I put too much pressure on the pedal, my chainring would rub the chain stay. To solve the chainring rub problem, I had to play with the hub for a while. I needed to keep the repairs inexpensive, so my new wheel used a Shimano 2. This hub has a 4mm spacer on the non drive side. Once I removed this spacer, I had a brand new 1. I then re dished the hub to make up for the missing spacer. The rest of my components were fine, so instead of upgrading everything, I replaced my seven speed freewheel with a seven speed cassette. Because this hub had a nine speed freehub, I added a spacer on the inside of the cassette. If I had used an eight or nine speed cassette, I would not have indexed shifting. I dont like the extreme dish of this wheel, but this setup worked well. An alternate solution was proposed by a reader January 2. Instead of re dishing the rear wheel, find a bottom bracket with a longer spindle. This would move the crank arms and the chainrings out from the frame to eliminate the rubbing. I sold the bike before I bought calipers, so I never made an accurate measurement to see if this would work. I dont know if BBs are available in the correct geometry for this to work, but it may be worth investigating. Seat Post. This bike has a strange method of securing the seat post. Instead of a clamp, it uses a small bolt that screws into the seat post. I would call this a set screw, but have seen it referred to as a grub screw. I have not had any problems with the seat post moving. When I take it out, I can see where the bolt has dug into the seat post. This frame uses a 2. The set screw is an M1. Final thoughts. The Vitus 9. The frame is still good for fairly light riders. Late 8. 0s replacement parts are now collectors items, so Id recommend a more recent bike for daily riding. The Vitus was a huge upgrade from the early 9. Trek 3. 30 I had been riding. I would consider buying a newer Vitus. I sold this bike when I found a deal on a Cannondale CAAD8. From Barry in Toronto July 2.