Vitus Vitesse Evo Team eTap AXS review
Vitus’s lightweight special race machine and one of our Performance Bike of the Year contenders
GBP £3,700.00 RRP | USD $4,700.00 | EUR €4,300.00 | AUD $6,400.00 Skip to view deals
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Like the Canyon CF SL 8.0 Di2 Aero, also a Bike of the Year test bike, this Vitus is only available online, wielding that double-edged sword of great value versus ‘no chance to try before you buy’.
However, the Vitesse puts forward a convincing argument to take that risk. Take the groupset: I was impressed with Canyon’s Di2, but how on earth has Vitus included carbon tubeless wheels and wireless SRAM Force eTap AXS for £3,699 / €4,299 / $4,699 / AU$6,399?
Bike of the Year 2020
The Vitus Vitesse Evo Team eTap AXS is part of our annual Bike of the Year test.
Head to our Bike of the Year hub for the full list of winners, categories and shortlisted bikes, as well as the latest reviews – or read our behind-the-scenes feature on how we tested Bike of the Year 2020.
Frame design echoes that of Canyon’s Ultimate, relying on slender seatstays and a slim 27.2mm post instead of the fashion for dropped stays.
Sculpted chainstays incorporate a minimal flat mount for the rear-disc brake, which is at odds with the post-mount fork that runs a flat-mount converter upfront.
My XL (58cm) test bike features a stack of 582mm and a long reach of 403mm. Throw in steep 73.5-degree head and 73-degree seat angles and, while not quite as fierce as the Canyon, it has race intentions.
As well as SRAM’s wireless Force AXS group, you are given 12-speed via a 48/35 chainset and a 10-33 cassette. This is the equivalent of running a 52/36 and a wide 11-32 cassette on a standard 11-speed setup, although it offers a taller gear at the top end and marginally lower at the bottom.
It’s a smart compromise between big power gears and a climber-friendly setup. I’ve also experimented with the AXS app and settled on the compensation mode, which auto-adjusts the rear mech to place you in the next best gear when shifting the front rings.
The bike runs on CRC/Wiggle own-brand 38mm-deep carbon Prime wheels that are fully tubeless compatible – and come set-up as such – and weigh a minimal 708g upfront and 855g outback.
They’re shod with Hutchinson’s Fusion 5 ‘storm performance’ tyres that feature a tread pattern designed to disperse water.
Zipp’s Service Course stem and alloy Service Course seatpost work well, as does the ovalized Prime-branded alloy bar, which includes a well-designed ergonomic drop.
Prologo’s Kappa Evo PAS saddle, with its pressure-relieving channel, is a nice place to spend a fair few hours. Not quite up there with Specialized’s Body Power, although that’s arguably the market leader.
The overall ride is similar to the Canyon: firm but prevented from becoming harsh by the supple feel of the wheel and tyre package.
The back-end’s firmness is countered by a good saddle, although it’d be enhanced by a carbon post down the line.
Vitus Vitesse Evo Team eTap AXS geometry
- Sizes (* tested): XS, S, M, L, XL*, XXL
- Seat angle: 73 degrees
- Head angle: 73.5 degrees
- Chainstay: 41.5cm
- Seat tube: 55cm
- Top tube: 58cm
- Head tube: 17.5cm
- Fork offset: 4.5cm
- Bottom bracket drop: 6.9cm
- Wheelbase: 1,012mm
- Stack: 58.2cm
- Reach: 40.3cm
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Product Specifications
Product
| Price | br_price, 5, 3, Price, AUD $6400.00EUR €4300.00GBP £3700.00USD $4700.00 |
| Weight | br_weight, 5, 6, Weight, 8.25kg (XL), Array, kg |
| Brand | br_brand, 5, 10, Brand, Vitus |
Features
| Available sizes | br_availableSizes, 11, 0, Available sizes, XS, S, M, L, XL, XXL |
| Bottom bracket | br_bottomBracket, 11, 0, Bottom bracket, SRAM DUB |
| Brakes | br_brakes, 11, 0, Brakes, SRAM Force eTap AXS D1 Hydraulic |
| Cassette | br_cassette, 11, 0, Cassette, SRAM 10-33 |
| Chain | br_chain, 11, 0, Chain, SRAM Force D1 |
| Cranks | br_cranks, 11, 0, Cranks, SRAM Force, 48/35 |
| Fork | br_fork, 11, 0, Fork, Integrated UD carbon |
| Frame | br_frame, 11, 0, Frame, Vitesse EVO Disc, UD Carbon T700 |
| Front derailleur | br_frontDerailleur, 11, 0, Front derailleur, SRAM Force eTap AXS D1 |
| Handlebar | br_handlebar, 11, 0, Handlebar, Prime Doyene alloy |
| Headset | br_headset, 11, 0, Headset, Acros AiX |
| Rear derailleur | br_rearDerailleur, 11, 0, Rear derailleur, SRAM Force eTap AXS D1 |
| Saddle | br_saddle, 11, 0, Saddle, Vitus Ti railed |
| Seatpost | br_seatpost, 11, 0, Seatpost, Zipp Service Course |
| Shifter | br_shifter, 11, 0, Shifter, SRAM Force eTap AXS |
| Stem | br_stem, 11, 0, Stem, Zipp Service Course |
| Tyres | br_tyres, 11, 0, Tyres, Hutchinson Fusion 5 performance tubeless 700 x 25c |
| Wheels | br_wheels, 11, 0, Wheels, Prime Black Edition 38 carbon tubeless |
Authors
Warren Rossiter is BikeRadar and Cycling Plus magazine’s senior technical editor for road and gravel. Having been testing bikes for more than 20 years, Warren has an encyclopedic knowledge of road cycling and has been the mastermind behind our Road Bike of the Year test for more than a decade. He’s also a regular presenter on the BikeRadar Podcast and on BikeRadar’s YouTube channel. In his time as a cycling journalist, Warren has written for Mountain Biking UK, What Mountain Bike, Urban Cyclist, Procycling, Cyclingnews, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike and T3. Over the years, Warren has written about thousands of bikes and tested more than 2,500 – from budget road bikes to five-figure superbikes. He has covered all the major innovations in cycling this century, and reported from launches, trade shows and industry events in Europe, Asia, Australia, North American and Africa. While Warren loves fast road bikes and the latest gravel bikes, he also believes electric bikes are the future of transport. You’ll regularly find him commuting on an ebike and he longs for the day when everyone else follows suit. You will find snaps of Warren’s daily rides on the Instagram account of our sister publication, Cycling Plus (@cyclingplus).
