News

Exclusive | Vitus Announce New Carbon Sommet CRX and CR

25.09.2015
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When we tested the aluminium Vitus Sommet Pro back in March this year, we discovered a bike that made us question our motives for paying more for a ’boutique’ bike. You can read the full review here, but to summarise we found that the Sommet PRO is a truly great bike, fun to ride, undeniably fast and robust; and the only real fault was that at 13.5kg it was perhaps 500g too heavy. It looks like Vitus were taking notes as they have just announced their eagerly anticipated Sommet CRX with a carbon front triangle that shaves off whopping kilo!

Any worries we had that the new black magic material would ruin the bikes great value were dispelled when Simon Cordner (Vitus Brand Manager) surprised us with the price! The growing Chain Reaction house brand is going to be selling the new CRX and CR Sommets at a price that puts them smack-bang in the mix with the popular direct sales brands.

Blending a racers dream build with great geometry and a real world price tag, the new Sommet CRX is sure to be a popular bike on the circuit
Blending a racers dream build with great geometry and a real world price tag, the new Sommet CRX is sure to be a popular bike on the circuit and trails

We first spied a naked carbon Sommet being tested in the Emerald EWS Enduro in Ireland, and the cat is now out-of-the-bag as the bike was officially launched yesterday at the NEC bikeshow. The geometry of the new Carbon Sommet is unchanged, which is certainly no bad thing as the current aluminium bike is an exceptionally good handler. The bike will feature 155 mm of Horst-Link travel, a 66 degree head angle and and 74.5 degree seat tube.

While retaining the look of the aluminium bike, the carbon version has a broader, stiffer bottom bracket
While retaining the look of the aluminium bike, the carbon version has a broader, stiffer bottom bracket
We were very impressed with the geometry of the aluminium version, so are pleased to see the carbon is unchanged
We were very impressed with the geometry of the aluminium version, so are pleased to see the carbon is unchanged

This will be a 2016 bike and availability is expected in March in two specifications, the Sommet CR with a RockShox Pike RC and a WTB KOM Wheelset, a Nukeproof dropper post, with full SRAM X01 and a RaceFace Crank. The top-of-the-line Sommet CRX pictured will feature a RockShox Pike RC3, a Crossmax Pro Wheelset (not pictured) and Nukeproof carbon Cockpit with Next XL cranks to trim the fat. The prices will be extremely competitive, the UK price for the top end Sommet CRX is expected to be £3799 and the CR bike will be an amazing £2799 (euro prices to follow).

Clean internal routing keeps the lines smooth at the expense of easy maintenance
Clean internal routing keeps the lines smooth at the expense of easy maintenance
A Nukeproof carbon bar helps shed the grams
A Nukeproof carbon bar helps shed the grams
A RaceFace Next SL crank adds to the desirability
A RaceFace Next SL crank adds to the desirability and the Horst Link suspension has been well proven on the Irish race circuit
This is an important bike for Vitus as it will face some strong competition from the German direct sales companies
This is an important bike for Vitus as it will face some strong competition from the German direct sales companies

We will bring a full review as soon as one arrives in the office.

Words and photos: Trev Worsey

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