In a message dated 6/3/02 11:41:21 PM, chuckschmidt@earthlink.net writes:
<< I have a Vitus KAS team bike and know exactly how it compares to the rest of my stable. But the only way for the rest of you to know is to go out and find one if you care. Not that hard and certainly not that expensive given the low opinion most of the bike world has for the aluminum Vitus. >>
Morning Folks,
I bought a Vitus 979 in the summer of 1988, from Two Wheeler Dealer in Wilmington, NC. They advised against it as I weighed approx 175lbs and the Vitus was designed (according to the 2WD people) for body weights up to approx 155lbs? Didn't matter, as I really liked the way the Vitus rode (I was interested in an aluminum bike and Trek, C-Dale and the others <couldn't afford a Klein> were much too harsh for my tastes) so I bought one. I was not sorry, but then, on the flatlands of coastal Carolina I didn't notice anything which should have precluded me from buying the bike.
The next year I moved to upstate NY, where it's hard to find any flat land and guess what? While climbing (out of the saddle) I found the Vitus would "auto-shift" to a higher gear. Not a great situation when ascending.......however, I still liked the bike and just worked on technique, until finally I could go up hills (usually seated) without causing an up-shift.
My "seat-of-the-pants" data..................
Chuck Brooks
Malta, NY