Vitus Razor Disc VR review | Budget Road Bike of the Year contender

The Vitus Razor is the brand’s entry-level road bike offering, with a range of three disc-brake bikes and one rim-brake variant.

The Razor Disc VR is the joint-cheapest of the three disc-brake bikes, sharing the title with a flat-bar alternative.

The fact that Vitus has been affected by Wiggle/CRC’s administration woes may elicit some nervousness from potential customers. There remain unanswered questions about customer support and warranties, even though the brand IP has been bought by Frasers Group.

That said, if you can get hold of one, the Razor Disc VR is good value at £799, a strong starter-for-ten for many newcomers. It should also prove easy to service and maintain into the future – irrespective of what becomes of the brand.

Vitus Razor Disc VR frame

The Vitus Razor Disc VR is described as a “sporty, comfortable and durable road bike”.

Vitus uses a layout of 6061-T6 aluminium tubes, which have been double-butted to provide strength and stiffness where needed, yet shave weight where it’s not.

You’ll find the same kind of manufacturing techniques and materials in any of the Bike of the Year 2024 budget road bike contenders.

The Razor Disc VR also features a carbon fork, albeit with an alloy steerer, as opposed to carbon.

This is tapered, from 1-1/8in to 1-1/2in, a common layout that should offer easy upgradeability for the stem and handlebar should it ever be desired.

Internal cable routing runs from the down tube and fork leg to their respective destinations, although the Microshift R9 shifter design on this particular build means cables can’t be tucked under bar tape.

The frame and fork have eyelets for mudguards and a permanent seatstay bridge offers a further anchor point.

The frameset is claimed to have clearance for up to 30mm-wide tyres (without mudguards).

Many bikes now offer significantly greater clearance, but the Razor Disc VR isn’t too limiting for general road cycling, as long as you don’t wish to run wide tyres and mudguards simultaneously.

The bottom bracket uses the common 68mm BSA threaded standard, so replacements should be easy to find and replace at home.

The frame fits a 27.2mm round seatpost, which again offers plenty of scope to upgrade further down the line, should you wish.

The bike is covered by Vitus’ warranty against manufacturing defects, although at the time of writing it’s unclear whether the brand will be able to honour this in future.

Vitus Razor Disc VR geometry

The Vitus Razor Disc VR’s geometry shoots for balanced performance, albeit it knocks on the door of race-bike steep in key areas.

In my size-XL test bike, the 72.9-degree head tube and almost parallel 73-degree seat tube angle highlight Vitus’ intention to bring sharp handling characteristics, while pitching the rider forward over the bottom bracket (in theory, opening the rider’s hip angle for improved power transfer).

The chainstays are also compact, which traditionally hints towards a reactive rear end. At 412mm, they’re shorter than on the Specialized Allez E5, Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4 and Cube Attain Pro.

The relatively short 1,013.9mm wheelbase corroborates this – it’s also squatter than those three competitor bikes. As with short chainstays, a shorter wheelbase tends to promote quicker handling (and vice versa).

The 598mm stack is relatively low (but is mitigated for many by the presence of headset spacers), while the 391mm reach is relatively long compared to many budget road bikes.

In short, the Razor – on paper, at least – appears to have the raciest layout of any Bike of the Year 2024 budget category contender.

Vitus Razor Disc VR build

The Vitus Razor Disc VR is the entry-level disc-brake Razor.

At a penny shy of £800, the price tag is certainly compelling, especially since there’s a 9-speed drivetrain specced (compared to the also 9-speed Cube Attain Pro at £1,250).

The difference between the two bikes is the brand of choice – instead of a Shimano Sora R3000 groupset, Vitus has opted for Microshift R9.

Microshift is well-regarded as a challenger to the hegemony of Shimano (and, to a lesser extent, SRAM) at the cheaper OEM level. We even predicted we’d see more of these groupsets appear as bike brands are put under pressure to create more cost-effective builds in 2024.

The Microshift cassette – which is compatible with Shimano HG freehub bodies – features a wide 11-34t range, offering enough for the vast majority of new riders on most terrain, when paired with the compact 50/34T Prowheel Ounce crankset.

It’s worth noting that Microshift only produces the derailleurs, cassette and shifters for its drivetrain – the crankset, by necessity, must come from a third party, as must the chain (a KMC X9 model, in this case).

Vitus has specced a C-Star Rush RS910 mechanical disc brake system, paired to 160mm C-Star rotors.

The calipers are flat-mount and use a single-piston actuation – essentially pushing one brake pad into the rotor, which in turn is forced into a static pad on the other side.

In theory, this is cheaper to produce compared to a dual-piston system.

The rolling stock comes from Vitus, with the brand’s Shining rims laced to its KT hubs. The rims are relatively narrow by modern standards, at 17mm wide internally, inflating the 700x28c Kenda Kwick Roller clincher tyres to 28.2mm at 80psi (5.5 BAR).

The rims aren’t tubeless-compatible either, although a tubeless upgrade likely isn’t a concern for many riders shopping at this price point.

That said, Trek’s Domane AL 2 Gen 4 offers tubeless-ready rims (they also have a wider, 21mm internal width), so if you're curious about tubeless tyres, it’s worth taking that into account.

There are no surprises in the finishing kit. The handlebar, stem and seatpost are all Vitus-branded, alloy and shaped as one might expect. The Vitus saddle features steel rails.

Vitus Razor Disc VR ride impressions

The spec list may be modest, but the Razor Disc VR punches above its weight, offering an involving ride experience.

It felt sporty and responsive when I put in the effort, yet struck a good balance of handling sharpness and predictability. Alongside the Trek Domane AL 2 Gen 4, this was one of the easiest bikes in its category to get used to.

The bike responds well to acceleration, and while the rims are visibly narrower than the competition, I couldn’t cause them to flex any more than I expected.

Despite the 10.78kg overall weight, I enjoyed climbing on the Razor Disc VR. The frame and build combine to offer a pleasant platform on which to put in some hard graft, while the ride quality overall is composed and smooth.

The wheels may appear a little industrial, but I felt no noticeable disadvantage in terms of speed and responsiveness compared to the Vitus' more modern test mates.

Paired with the Kenda Kwick Roller tyres, I enjoyed good grip in both wet and dry, although the lack of volume limited compliance a little.

All-in, the frameset impressed and would bear future upgrading.

The C-Star brakes are a relative low point, though. They don’t offer the same braking force as the Tektro and TRP systems specced on its Bike of the Year budget category rivals – rim brakes on the Pinnacle Laterite 2 included.

Fundamentally, though, they work and as long as you ride accordingly (i.e. approach junctions with requisite caution), they're effective and suitable for purpose.

Those used to more powerful hydraulic disc brakes, which can often be found even on budget mountain bikes, will need to adapt their riding style, of course.

The frame can support hydraulic disc brake use, but – of course – this will necessitate a full groupset swap out at additional cost.

The Microshift R9 drivetrain was a relative highlight, considering the bike’s £800 asking price – the double-paddle system proved intuitive to use.

The paddles to shift down the cassette to a harder gear and to the small chainring brought a definitive, satisfying click, while the longer paddle just behind the brake lever swings across to move the derailleurs the other way.

While functionally a little different from Shimano’s STI system, and therefore something to get used to if you have experience with that, I really enjoyed the shifting experience overall.

It’s notably crisper in action than the 8-speed Shimano Claris R2000 gearing on the £1,000 Specialized Allez and £1,050 Trek Domane, and even the Sora R3000 groupset on the £1,099 Cube Attain Pro, while the derailleurs didn’t skip a beat.

There are flaws to bear in mind, though. The shifter ergonomics need work – the shift paddles aren’t where the tips of my fingers rest while holding the brake hoods, meaning each shift became a conscious process of moving my hand to reach them.

The hoods are also curiously broad, which made wrapping my fingers around them a challenge (early Shimano hydraulic brake levers suffered similarly). Perhaps this is due to the way the brake cables stick out perpendicular to the direction of travel – which in itself is an aesthetic blot, in my view.

The crook of the hoods (where the hood attaches to the bars, and where you might usually rest your hands) is also ridged, presenting an additional pressure point on my palms compared to any lever from the ‘big three’.

However, while not ideal, these issues can be mitigated – tape could be applied to pad out the crook, for example, while not everyone holds levers the same way I do.

As with all the other bikes tested for the Bike of the Year budget bike category this year, the finishing kit proved dependable and threw up no objective issues.

I didn’t get on with the saddle shape and padding, but this is always a subjective issue.

Vitus Razor Disc VR bottom line

The Vitus Razor Disc VR impresses with its versatility and practicality, but feels like a mixed bag. The frameset at its core is highly competent and worthy of upgrading over time if you want to keep your initial outlay under strict control.

That’s not to say the spec is poor. The shifting quality from the Microshift R9 groupset is a highlight, albeit mitigated by some ergonomic flaws, and the wheel and tyre combination felt surprisingly sprightly.

That said, much like its rivals, the Razor Disc VR’s mechanical disc brakes are functional but little else, and the bike would benefit from a wholesale upgrade further down the line.

Overall, the Razor Disc VR represents a very good-value starter road bike, or a cheap workhorse.