Vitus Mythique 29 AMP review

Vitus has set out to raise the trail-riding bar at this relatively low price point, aiming to make the 29 AMP a bike that can perform on any trail and provoke a smile while doing so.

With a well thought-out (but not quite perfect) spec, smart geometry and well-refined suspension, the Mythique 29 AMP is a bruiser that can tame unruly terrain like the best trail bikes.

Vitus has also made the Mythique 29 AMP an ideal platform to upgrade from, with the sort of features and standards you’d expect on a modern mountain bike.

The bike has 140mm of travel front and rear, 29in wheels, decent tyres and an aggressive cockpit. For those looking for less aggression, the Mythique’s non-AMP models run 130mm of travel, which is better for covering ground quicker and racking up the kilometres.

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP frame and suspension

Built from 6061-T6 aluminium tubing to help balance strength, weight and price, the aluminium frame sports cleanly designed lines that bely its more wallet-friendly price tag.

The rear end delivers 140mm of travel from its Horst-link suspension platform. The Mythique shares the same frame hardware as its more expensive Sommet and Escarpe siblings, helping keep costs in check.

Vitus has tweaked the kinematics on this latest Mythique, with an overall 22 per cent leverage rate that should provide enough progression for the biggest hits it’s likely to experience.

Anti-squat is claimed to be around 100 per cent in the bike's lowest gears to provide a stable pedalling platform. This is said to drop off towards 80 per cent in higher gears, to improve traction and help isolate the rider from pedal kickback when in gears you’re likely to use for descending.

Vitus has also added 5 per cent anti-rise to help keep the bike’s chassis stable under hard braking and better maintain its geometry.

It features all the standards you'd expect on a modern mountain bike, including Boost 12x148mm rear hub spacing, a threaded bottom bracket, 44mm upper and 56mm lower headset bearing, and a Trunnion shock mount.

There isn’t a flip chip to alter the bike's geometry, and while perhaps ‘old school’ the external cable routing is neat and will be appreciated by home mechanics and those who prefer to work on their own bikes.

There’s space for a water bottle inside the front triangle, and additional mounts for tools and spares storage under the top tube.

The seat tube has been refined to fit longer dropper posts on all frame sizes.

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP geometry

I tested a medium Mythique 29 AMP, which is bang up to date with modern trail bike geometry. This lower-price-point bike isn’t being held back by its shape.

The reach on my test bike was a generous 455mm. The head tube angle was a trail-friendly 65.5 degrees and the effective seat tube angle falls squarely in line with contemporary designs at 77.5 degrees.

This combination gives a moderate effective top tube length of 596mm. With the tall stack height of 634mm, this should provide a well-balanced seated pedalling position.

The chainstays are a stable 445mm, and the bottom bracket drop is a low 40mm that should aid fore/aft stability and side-to-side agility.

The seat tube is short at 410mm, but its new straight design should be able to take a long dropper post if the standard 150mm post isn’t long enough.

Overall, the geometry looks on point for a modern trail bike, and should provide confidence over a wide range of trails.

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP specifications

It’s great to see the level of components Vitus has been able to spec on the Mythique 29 AMP, considering its price.

The bike uses a 140mm-travel RockShox Pike Select RC fork with its Charger damper and DebonAir spring. This features externally adjustable low-speed compression and rebound damping.

The air-sprung RockShox Select Deluxe R shock is more basic and features externally adjustable rebound damping.

The Mythique uses a complement of Shimano 12 gearing with a Deore XT derailleur, STX shifter, cassette and chain, and Deore crankset.

Shimano also supplies its SLX two-pot brakes with 180mm rotors.

The rolling stock includes WTB KOM Trail i30 rims on Vitus KT hubs. These are shrouded in Schwalbe Magic Mary SuperTrail Addix Soft 29x2.3in (front) and Schwalbe Hans Dampf SuperTrail Addix Soft 29x2.3in (rear) tyres.

It’s no surprise to see a Neutron V2 handlebar and stem combo from sibling brand Nukeproof.

There’s also a Brand-X Ascend dropper post and Nukeproof Neutron saddle.

The build tips the scales at 15.42kg, without pedals

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP ride impressions

The Mythique 29 AMP was subjected to a couple of days' testing at BikePark Wales, along with plenty of laps around the Forest of Dean’s best natural trails and blasts around my local woods.

Conditions ranged from perfectly dry and dusty to damp and slippery.

I set the shock up with 25 per cent sag, which required me to inflate it to 158psi for my 75kg weight. I set the rebound damping to position six out of 10 from fully closed.

I ran the Pike fork at 82.5psi with the stock one volume spacer. I prefer fast fork rebound, so I set the rebound adjuster to position four of 20 from fully closed.

I left the compression adjuster fully open most of the time, yet on smoother trails I ran it in position four of six from fully closed, to add some extra support.

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP climbing performance

The modern geometry of the latest Mythique sits you in a comfortable position for pedalling up a variety of gradients.

It’s well balanced between the seat and handlebars, and I never found one more pressured than the other.

On steep pitches, the quite long chainstays help keep the weight centred on the bike, and even with the tall stack height I didn’t need to lean aggressively forwards to keep the front end tracking. However, some was still needed on the steepest pitches.

On more mellow climbs, I could stay seated comfortably and winch my way up. The Mythique 29 AMP isn’t the speediest trail bike on the climbs, but it gets you up without fuss or drama.

It would be good to see a climb switch on the shock. While the bike is pretty stable when pedalling seated, there is some pedal bob that could be prevented. It would also help preserve the geometry (and your energy) on steep climbs because it would sag less and help stop the loss of drive when climbing out of the saddle, where the Mythique bobs quite a bit.

However, that suspension movement translates into good grip on techy climbs and keeps the rear end tracking well over rough ground.

Overall, the Mythique is an adequate climber rather than a dedicated speed machine hunting uphill KOM/QOMs.

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP descending performance

While the Vitus might not be an astonishing climber, it's clear the focus has been on making it outstanding at descending. Get it up to speed pointed downhill and its playful and hard-charging character starts to shine through.

On flowing singletrack, with a helpful dose of rider input, the Mythique will glide along the trail, ironing out the chatter and small bumps. It enabled me to feel confident picking the more exciting lines the trails had to offer.

The Mythique is not a perfectly smooth ride like the best enduro bikes. I still noticed some feedback through a supportive mid-stroke from its 140mm travel, but it always felt as if there was some travel in reserve so I could push the bike hard.

Working the bike through compressions and squashing the back side of rollers, this support helps carry speed impressively well.

It will stand up to some serious abuse on rougher trails, although the modest suspension travel prevents it from keeping momentum in the way more expensive equipment can. Still, you get 95 per cent of the fun for a lower price.

In the bike park, it will jump, pop and drift at will with plenty of control. Maybe a second volume spacer in the fork would have helped unlock even more potential in the park to provide more support when riding at higher speeds and hitting bigger features.

Riding natural trails, that well-balanced geometry allows the Mythique to be thrown around with ease.

The nearly equal dimensions of the reach and chainstay length mean little body movement is needed to keep centred on the bike and hunt out as much traction as possible through the turns.

I was able to throw the bike from turn to turn without hesitation, and it has a reactive manner, yet never caused me to feel nervous or that its handling was unpredictable. Flat turns were railed confidently, and berms hit hard because I trusted the support from the fork.

This is certainly a bike to learn plenty of fundamental skills on, and in the right hands it's capable of impressive performance, especially considering its price.

However, there are a couple of things I would have liked Vitus to spec differently. The Shimano SLX shifter isn’t as smooth and functional as a Deore XT version.

While there's little performance difference between the derailleurs, I think it would have been smarter to have an SLX derailleur and Deore XT shifter rather than the other way round.

Also, the rotors are only compatible with resin brake pads. This is fine for the summer, but when winter comes you’ll need to add sintered pads to get the most power from the two-pot SLX brakes. This means you’ll need a rotor upgrade.

Aside from those two niggles, Vitus has put together a very competent bike that’ll excel over fewer, more wild kilometres, rather than thrashing out speedy longer rides.

How does the Vitus Mythique 29 AMP compare to the Rossignol Mandate SLX?

Both bikes share plenty of traits. Each offers 140mm of travel front and rear, a four-bar suspension design and an aluminium frame. Their kit is pretty similar, featuring Shimano SLX components.

The £2,925 Rossignol gets higher-spec suspension, a RockShox Pike Select RC and Deluxe Select RC, but at full price probably offers less impressive value for money. Each bike has a tendency towards the rowdier end of the trail bike spectrum.

However, the Vitus’ slightly slacker head tube angle, longer reach and taller stack height make it more capable and confidence-inspiring on the descents.

On the way back up, there’s not much to choose between them. So, my choice here has to be the Vitus. With the money you'd save, you could pay for a couple of substantial MTB upgrades to improve the bike even more.

Vitus Mythique 29 AMP bottom line

If you want a trail bike with a decent amount of rowdiness built in, the Mythique 29 AMP is a great contender, particularly if you have to keep a fixed budget in mind.

It will help novice riders progress to being trail rippers, and it still has enough in the tank to please experts.

The Mythique is more at home providing thrills than slogging out mile after mile, but it will get you around any trail in comfort and add confidence along the way.

Isn't it great that we don’t need to spend big money to have a fun time riding.