VITUS VINTAGE 979 DURAL ROAD RACE FRAME 1980s CAMPAGNOLO FIT
Item History & Price
VITUS VINTAGE 979 DURAL ROAD RACE FRAME *1980s*
Up for auction is this lovely and superb hand built Vitus 979 Dural Road Race Frame from the 1980s. It is finished in a striking anodised silver. The auction is for the frame without forks.
Having first emerged as a supplier of frame tubing to French bicycle manufacturers including Peugeot, Motobecane and Gitane; the Vitus name began to appear on their own bikes in the 1970s and 1980s when they pioneered the design and manuf...acture of lugged and bonded aluminium frames made from Dural tubing. The most iconic of those frames was the Vitus 979, a true classic of cyclosport history which was revolutionary for its time which is highly prized by collectors today. The 979 was among the first wave of aluminium-framed bikes and designed for road race, cyclo-cross and sprint. It was superior and superseded steel frames such as Columbus SLX or Reynolds 753 in the pro peleton, most notably under Sean Kelly who rode a 979-framed bike in several Tours de France and one-day Classics.
In terms of condition it is not working for parts only. This is because even though the frame has no dents and is straight there are one or two issues that need to be highlighted. First, the top tube internal cable guides have been modified from the original. Secondly, at some stage a repair to the bonding of the downtube has been made with aluminium rivets to strengthen the joins at the head lug and bottom bracket. Lastly, the left seatstay bond at the seatcluster has become loose; I suspect the same will be the case of the right seatstay. These, of course, can rebonded with the correct original spec adhesive.
Once repaired, this lovely frame would make a superb basis for a brilliant lightweight retro build with either a top flight Campagnolo, Simplex or Shimano groupset and Mavic wheels!
Specification:
Frame: Vitus Dural 979Internal top tube cable guides
Integral bottle cage bosses
Bonded-on gear lever bossesFrame number: E075911
Dimensions:
Seat tube (centre-to-centre): 55cmSeat tube (centre-to-top): 56cmTop tube (centre-to-centre): 56cmHead tube: 14cmRear dropout OLN: 126mmTakes an English threaded BSC bottom bracket
Takes a 25mm seatpost
Happy Bidding!
Up for auction is this lovely and superb hand built Vitus 979 Dural Road Race Frame from the 1980s. It is finished in a striking anodised silver. The auction is for the frame without forks.
Having first emerged as a supplier of frame tubing to French bicycle manufacturers including Peugeot, Motobecane and Gitane; the Vitus name began to appear on their own bikes in the 1970s and 1980s when they pioneered the design and manuf...acture of lugged and bonded aluminium frames made from Dural tubing. The most iconic of those frames was the Vitus 979, a true classic of cyclosport history which was revolutionary for its time which is highly prized by collectors today. The 979 was among the first wave of aluminium-framed bikes and designed for road race, cyclo-cross and sprint. It was superior and superseded steel frames such as Columbus SLX or Reynolds 753 in the pro peleton, most notably under Sean Kelly who rode a 979-framed bike in several Tours de France and one-day Classics.
In terms of condition it is not working for parts only. This is because even though the frame has no dents and is straight there are one or two issues that need to be highlighted. First, the top tube internal cable guides have been modified from the original. Secondly, at some stage a repair to the bonding of the downtube has been made with aluminium rivets to strengthen the joins at the head lug and bottom bracket. Lastly, the left seatstay bond at the seatcluster has become loose; I suspect the same will be the case of the right seatstay. These, of course, can rebonded with the correct original spec adhesive.
Once repaired, this lovely frame would make a superb basis for a brilliant lightweight retro build with either a top flight Campagnolo, Simplex or Shimano groupset and Mavic wheels!
Specification:
Frame: Vitus Dural 979Internal top tube cable guides
Integral bottle cage bosses
Bonded-on gear lever bossesFrame number: E075911
Dimensions:
Seat tube (centre-to-centre): 55cmSeat tube (centre-to-top): 56cmTop tube (centre-to-centre): 56cmHead tube: 14cmRear dropout OLN: 126mmTakes an English threaded BSC bottom bracket
Takes a 25mm seatpost
Happy Bidding!
