volts

Active member
May 15, 2018
343
266
DK
I don't buy in to the small sizing evangelism, but don't let that stop you. It's all about what you want from the bike and how you ride. After all, your bike is about you and you only.
Inputs are nice of cause.

Happy riding.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
Hello all, I'm a newbie. This thread has been great, very informative.
So, after stalking CRC for a while a medium VR magically appeared in stock a few days ago, and I bought it. Now apart from the fact that it seems a bit suspicious that a lone bike at full price has turned up months after they all sold out (was it a return... a refurb... ex demo... hiding in the basement... ??) I have also been having size anxiety.
I'm 5' 6" and a half (169cm) and very borderline medium. My current bikes are both medium frames and fit well with aftermarket shorter stems, but I can only fit short droppers on both - 125mm on my hardtail (Saracen Mantra) and 100mm on the Boardman FS. Both posts are pretty much fully inserted. Obviously I'm not going to fit on a 150mm dropper so these are my options: 1. fit a shorter dropper 2. shim the 150 (I don't even know how to do that, but I can learn...) 3. cancel the order and wait for the 2019 bikes - hopefully November - and get a small.
Smoky Jo's post comparing the fit of the sizes was really helpful, Gary's evangelism (can I say that? ... thanks Gary) about benefits of smaller sizes also helps sway my thinking, and I'm leaning towards 3. cancel and get a small.

Any thoughts?
Cheers, Dan

First off the geometry on the Vitus is very different to the bikes you have, or anything you may have ridden if your experience is limited to your bikes, so even if you went for the small it will feel a lot slacker than your current bikes, and you will still get the stability/bulldozer like downhilling ability that all the reviews talk about, so you don't need to worry about that.

In your position i would go for the size that allows me to drop the seat the most - I am guessing that on the M you are thinking you need a 125mm dropper, but that on the S you can use a 150mm? However the amount you can insert the post is (I think!) less on the S, so i don't know if you can actually get a bigger drop on it so to speak, though Gary can probably help on this, and i think for 2019 Vitus may have made an adjustment to the inside of the seat tube so that you can get a post further down, but not sure.

So basically if you could get a 150mm dropper on the S, where the seat height works for you, that might be the best way to go., but at the same time i don't think the M with a 125mm would be a bad choice either.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
Also we have no idea what the pricing on them will be for 2019, but i wouldn't be surprised if it goes up a bit as that seems to be happening across the board at the moment.
 

Dan09

New Member
Oct 1, 2018
4
1
Devon
Ha! Scratch that...
Problem solved, like I had a sneaky suspicion it would... email from CRC to say my order has been cancelled and refunded... because the item is no longer available...
November it is, and ... small?
 

Dan09

New Member
Oct 1, 2018
4
1
Devon
Hi R120, thanks for your replies. Yep, I've basically come down on the small side of that fence, and yeah, thinking price will go up or spec get a downgrade somewhere was also part of my, now solved, dilemma...
Cheers
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
The beauty of the Sommett is that you can there are 3 ways of looking at buying one.

1. Buy the vr and have a very sorted bike you can tweak and upgrade as and when, but doesn't need it out the box
2. Buy the base model and have a very good value bike that will suit a lot of people spec wise.
3. Buy the base model, and use it as a platform to go to town on, drop another 2k on parts and have something special at the end.
 

smokey_jo

Active member
Patreon
Jun 28, 2018
123
75
Uk
I think the fork is the biggest difference between the two bikes. The Yari is plenty good enough but the Lyrik is really good. The brakes are about equal in power - I think personal preference on the feel of them would be deciding factor. I can't ever tell the difference between deore and xt drivetrains and I'd probably prefer cheaper steel for something that's a consumable. I really don't think there's much in it with the rest of the spec.

The dropper on the small will be plenty big enough as it is by the way.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Lyrik is the biggest difference on the Dore model. then the RT3 Shock
But the wheels, brakes, finishing kit and brakes are also better on the VR.
Guide REs are a way more powerful brake than the Shimanos. (I have both)
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
I don't buy in to the small sizing evangelism

I'm not asking anyone to buy into it.

A small E-Sommet isn't really very small.
it has a 445mm reach. 444mm stays and a whopping 1200mm wheelbase.

it's bigger than most Medium sized Enduro bikes from 2017

I ride DH, DJ slopestyle and BMX bikes. I don't ride long stretched out wheels on the ground Enduro. I didn't suddenly start riding differently when 2017 came along and pretty much every bike company had added an inch in reach to their entire bike ranges sizing.. screaming stability was the new purple! and I'm certainly not going to start riding any differently because some bloke on the internet believes the marketing he's been fed by the bike industry.
the flip side to this is all the bikes I fit now generally have more standover/shorter seat tubes,

I want a playful easier to pop bike. a medium E-Sommet simply wouldn't be so playful. it's the longest bike I own (incl my Enduro/DH bikes)

ShortWeeAbyssiniancat-size_restricted.gif


;)
 

inwoods

Active member
Jul 31, 2018
116
108
Poulton-Le-Fylde.
Sorry for been a bit thick but I only found out what a mech hanger even was the other week when my son bent his but is this the one that wants a bit of thread lock on Gary ?
vitus.JPG
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Mech hanger turned up today, fitted the new one, threadlocked and the fit is fine, no movement or excessive wear to the seat stay from it coming loose... Phew! have kept the hanger part as a spare.

Also replaced the front hub bearings as there was play. 1000miles? not great, not all that unusual though (I'd actually blame the newer maxle design for premature wear as it's tricky to get the clamping force just right with the lever closed parallel to the fork leg without a bit of faffing)

When refitting the end caps I didn't have a socket a suitable size for the outer rings that press in last so ended up pressing the non disc side on ein by hand until it was flush (not actually pressed in far enough and ended up resorting to freezing the disc side one to get it into the recess. Not ideal at all. Fucking shitty design. What does anyone else use? Socket? proper tool? or did you find a tube with the correct ID/OD somewhere? Please share as I really don't want to buy a DT tool.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Sorry man. That's not what I'm asking. I have professional sets of bearing pullers, drifts, presses and bearing seating tools for pretty much every bike bearing I own.

The bearings were removed and replaced easily. I have done this many many times.

what I was asking about was seating the outer ring of DTs STUPIDLY DESIGNED 2 piece end caps in the hub shell recess

hu1349_466bf163-7673-49eb-abcf-5130c421a5bb_x1024.jpg


STUPID RINGS ^^
 

rmh1009

New Member
Aug 17, 2018
234
97
West Wales
Mech hanger turned up today, fitted the new one, threadlocked and the fit is fine, no movement or excessive wear to the seat stay from it coming loose... Phew! have kept the hanger part as a spare.

Also replaced the front hub bearings as there was play. 1000miles? not great, not all that unusual though (I'd actually blame the newer maxle design for premature wear as it's tricky to get the clamping force just right with the lever closed parallel to the fork leg without a bit of faffing)

When refitting the end caps I didn't have a socket a suitable size for the outer rings that press in last so ended up pressing the non disc side on ein by hand until it was flush (not actually pressed in far enough and ended up resorting to freezing the disc side one to get it into the recess. Not ideal at all. Fucking shitty design. What does anyone else use? Socket? proper tool? or did you find a tube with the correct ID/OD somewhere? Please share as I really don't want to buy a DT tool.

DT Swiss tools so expensive. I fitted the torque caps on my H1700 front wheel and happened to have a socket that perfectly sat over the cap but small enough to not catch the hub shell. The lock ring needs to be knocked in just below the hub but it's not going anywhere when the is fitted I suppose.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
Set of grips with appropriately bodged locator?
Ah... Bodged locators I did have. Mine were far more ingenius i reckon though...
I ended up freezing the rings, dropping the non disc one in and just pressing it in by hand and finishing off with a block of wood and hammer, The disc side needs to be located far deeper so I dropped the even more frozenring in locating it by pressing it in with wooden 3 barbeque skewers from the cutlery drawer, then waiting for them to thaw. not ideal but they seem secure(ish) but I'm 99% sure neither is fully located,
:D

fitted the torque caps on my H1700 front wheel and happened to have a socket that perfectly sat over the cap but small enough to not catch the hub shell.
That's what I was looking for but didn't have any that would fit. What size socket did you end up using?
Might make my search easier.

Actually, thinking about it, 27mm OD PVC pipe would do the job perfectly I reckon. Pity there's not a plumbing supplier close by

googling 3/4" ID PVC pipe is 26.7mm OD so that sounds perfect
 
Last edited:

rmh1009

New Member
Aug 17, 2018
234
97
West Wales
Ah... Bodged locators I did have. Mine were far more ingenius i reckon though...
I ended up freezing the rings, dropping the non disc one in and just pressing it in by hand and finishing off with a block of wood and hammer, The disc side needs to be located far deeper so I dropped the even more frozenring in locating it by pressing it in with wooden 3 barbeque skewers from the cutlery drawer, then waiting for them to thaw. not ideal but they seem secure(ish) but I'm 99% sure neither is fully located,
:D


That's what I was looking for but didn't have any that would fit. What size socket did you end up using?
Might make my search easier.

Actually, thinking about it, 27mm OD PVC pipe would do the job perfectly I reckon. Pity there's not a plumbing supplier close by

googling 3/4" ID PVC pipe is 26.7mm OD so that sounds perfect

It's in the bike tool box. I'll have a look tomorrow mate.
 

R120

Moderator
Subscriber
Apr 13, 2018
7,819
9,190
Surrey
There are lots of similar versions of the frame out there, all a bit different, non with the Vitus geometry.

Thats because most are based off OEM frame out of Astro in Taiwan, who as it happens made the frame for the demo bikes when Shimano launched the E8000 System.

ASTRO Own Design E MTB Frame - Shimano E Suspension

E.G Willier

What you tend to see is that some brands have different rear ends. A lot of brands just buy the generic frame ad badge it up, others use it s a base and change a fair bit - the commonality is the Zero suspension platform, and the down tube/bb area.

variant-e803trb-p1-2018.jpg


afsee-1-2.jpg


ebike-with-shimano-steps-e8000-672x372.jpg
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
View attachment 5943

21mm socket should do it but I borrowed a 3/8 drive socket off a mate that had a thinner wall and fitted perfect.
Thanks mate. I had a 22mm here that was too thick but no 21mm. I'll try and raid my motorbiker mate's sockets next time I'm round there to make sure it's seated properly.
 

Gary

Old Tartan Bollocks
Author
Subscriber
Mar 29, 2018
10,496
10,702
the internet
The KTM (Astro) frame I saw spyshots from interbike of looks promising. KTM did a great 27'5 Ironhorse Sunday (almost) rip off a few years ago with sorted (decently low/slack geo) that was ridden to pretty decent success in US National DH races. Hopeful they got their numbers and kinematics rigt on their Ebike
 

EMTB Forums

Since 2018

The World's largest electric mountain bike community.

555K
Messages
28,056
Members
Join Our Community

Latest articles


Top