1985 Vitus 979

Frame:
Vitus 979 Aluminum

Fork/Headset:
Vitus 979 Aluminum

Crankset/Bottom Bracket:
Electra compact / Sugino square taper hollow

Pedals:
MKS

Drivetrain/Cog/Chainring/Chain:
8 speed / 12-28 / 46-32

Derailleurs/Shifters:
Shimano 600 long cage rD polished name / Suntour FD polished no name/ Modolo composite friction shifters

Brakes:
Royal Comp with Tektro levers

Front Wheel/Hub/Tire:
DT Swiss / 700c 25

Rear Wheel/Hub/Tire:
DT Swiss / 700c 25

More Info:
This bike has a story, sort of. In October of 1984 I partnered with my brother in law and rode the cycling portion of a team biathlon. Although I had ridden lightweight bikes for some 20 years, it was my first official competition. Not wanting to look shabby, I retired my old American Eagle and bought a nice new Peugeot PGN10; I loved that Peugeot. At the event sign in I checked out the other bikes. I noticed the top competitors rode Vitus 979s. I loved the look of the Vitus and especially liked one in anodized red. Four years ago, I came across a slightly scruffy frame, it was an anodized red, Vitus 979. Of course, I had a flashback to first seeing one 1984. The bond had failed on one side of the brake bridge, it had a few scratches and the seat tube (Rivnut) water bottle mounts had seized screws and spun in the tube; I could not get them out. It was missing a fork, and I just happened to have a new Vitus fork in my parts stash. I bought it really cheap. With the help of my late brother (an Aerospace engineer specializing in composites) the brake bridge was repaired. After my brother died, I realized the Vitus was the last thing we worked on, together; this made the old frame special. For some three years, the frame languished in the back of my shop. This week I was inspired to put it together. The frame is a bit scruffy so nice new components would make the frame look even scruffier. The same way freshly painted frames may make their used components look shabby. I went through my parts stash and came up with a component set (No ID polished Shimano 600 RD, no ID polished Suntour FD, no ID compact crank, Modolo shifters, DT Swiss wheelset, and Royal Comp brakes with modern Tektro levers) with just the right amount of scruffy, and that would have been suitable for a Triathlon bike in the early to mid-80s. I did not trim the fork as I needed a bit of stem height. Overall, I like the result; not elegant but business like. Maybe, someday, I can get the crummy screws out of the seat tube water bottle mounts. For now I can easily get by with the set on the down tube.