Vitus E-Sommet VR

[R120]

yeah my hardtail was 40 quid, bust some powdercoaters charge by the amount of parts, so may be that a full suss when broken down costs a bit more.

Wonder if Vitus would sell me just a frame . . .hmm

 

[Gary]

lol

at the rate they sell out I think you have no chance. But defo ask.
(Your reply could get costly for me too)

 

[Northumbrian]

yeah my hardtail was 40 quid, bust some powdercoaters charge by the amount of parts, so may be that a full suss when broken down costs a bit more.

Wonder if Vitus would sell me just a frame . . .hmm

Pics reqd.....I’m guessing satin black.??

 

[R120]

Pics reqd.....I’m guessing satin black.??

Back in black . . . - EMTB Forums

 

[Northumbrian]

Back in black . . . - EMTB Forums

Doh!....... just seen it....... nice!

 

[RocketMagnet]

Personally I think aesthetics are secondary & just a nice to have but if your bothered I'd go down the decal replacement route. Personally bored of Stealth bikes and some nice colour features are fine, just not every component, nut and bolt colour matched as less is more for detailing.

I bought one of these because I want something different to ride from my DH/Enduro/XC normal bikes. Didn't want to spend 6K+ on a bike I'll not be able to ride with my m8s so with 20% discount it was palatable. Perhaps get a few of them on it may convince them?

Mine came Friday but I wasn't in so its turning up Monday. Will want to strip it down and rebuild it to make sure everything is correct, do you get paperwork with exploded diagrams & Torque values for the pivots etc? no docs/manuals on the Vitus site.

Also I'd say Zero chance of Frame only. None of the other main manufacturers do frame only and they are nowhere near this price. So with such relatively small margins then it's probably complete bikes only to make a worthwhile profit.

 

[Gary]

do you get paperwork with exploded diagrams & Torque values for the pivots etc? no docs/manuals on the Vitus site.

No
no need to strip anything down either. Just do a thorough bolt check. Torques no different to anything else you'll have worked on before from the sounds of it.

 

[R120]

Commencal did EMTB frame sets last year for a while, but appear to have stopped doing so.

At first I didn't massively like the colours on my 18 Sommett VR, but I also didn't really care enough as I loved the bike, and now I actually really like it.

My main thing on bikes, more than colours, is decals, I just don't like the majority of them.

 

[Gary]

My main thing on bikes, more than colours, is decals, I just don't like the majority of them.

This X1000000000

 

[RocketMagnet]

Personally as a rule I never tighten pivot bolts without a Torque wrench as your often preloading bearings and you can't do this by feel, especially in the 10-30 Nm range.

Just Stripped down my SC Hightower LT today and the Torque Values are significantly different from my other bikes and some surprisingly high values on some of the preloading.
I'll test the "factory" Torques crudely to see what they are out of the box... presumably 10-15 Nm at a guess.

Personally no issues part stripping the bike down, wont take me long and I'll make sure it's greased and has Loctite where it's supposed to have. Interested to see what bearings its got in there also as they look small and are down in the crud so I'll identify them and pick up some spares.

 

[R120]

Pretty sure the torque values are marked on the frame, but will check

 

[Gary]

Personally as a rule I never tighten pivot bolts without a Torque wrench as your often preloading bearings and you can't do this by feel, especially in the 10-30 Nm range.

Yeah. I get what you're saying but it's good to have a general idea of how tight a pivot bolt needs to be. I sure as shit wouldn't be walking 15miles back to the car to drive home and get a torque wrench the rare time one comes loose mid ride.

Just Stripped down my SC Hightower LT today and the Torque Values are significantly different from my other bikes and some surprisingly high values on some of the preloading.
I'll test the "factory" Torques crudely to see what they are out of the box... presumably 10-15 Nm at a guess.

Yeah, I just meant the torques aren''t unusual for any other frame with similar pivots/bearing sizes.

Personally no issues part stripping the bike down, wont take me long and I'll make sure it's greased and has Loctite where it's supposed to have. Interested to see what bearings its got in there also as they look small and are down in the crud so I'll identify them and pick up some spares.

Yeah. I used to always do that with DH frames but things have moved on and even cheaper frames seem to be made/assembled a lot better now so I just bolt checked mine rather than strip it down. (far too eager to ride it if I'm honest)
Post up the bearing numbers and corresponding pivots here when you find them. This thread is probably the handiest resource on the E-sommet anywhere.

 

[RocketMagnet]

Never personally ever had a pivot bolt come loose in >20 years of FS bikes but probably because I regularly maintain and Torque them up properly including Loctite where applicable. Clearly I'd just do it by hand at the trailside if one ever did come loose.

As for assuming its all properly assembled.. I'd rather check tbh. Also knowing how your bike goes together is knowledge for trailside that can help you avoid a 15 Mile walk .

The SC Hightower LT varies from 9Nm all the way to 20Nm. I've seen similar linkage bikes in the same range also, I've done a friends Giant and its a similar linkage so ill have the values somewhere for that.

Could definitely do with exploded diagrams, surprised they aren't on the Vitus site as they will already exist.

 

[RocketMagnet]

Got the bike today from Wiggle and in just the right light you can see some scratches.. this was under the foam packing so probably shipped like this?
Of course no replacements and offered me £100 to keep it with the advice of going to Halfords for some touch up paint. No keys for the battery either.
I've declined and have to send it back unused for a replacement when they get more stock.. you would think they would keep a few replacements.

 

[R120]

I wonder if they get shipped form the same place irrespective if you order form CRC or Wiggle? Seems a lot more issues when ordering from Wiggle

 

[RocketMagnet]

Same place. Wiggle and Chain Reaction Stock matched.. Also a Chain Reaction Bag in the box.. also no Key for the battery either...

 

[R120]

This not good - always seems like whenever its a busy period of the year that problems crop up

 

[RocketMagnet]

What's not good is I don't think this was shipping damage as it was foam wrapped and no shards of paint inside the wrapping or damage to the wrapping. Think they knowingly sent it out damaged hoping the customer would just accept it?

So seems like I'm in for a long wait.

 

[R120]

Yeah mine came very well wrapped too, I can't see it getting damaged in transit, specially in that location.

 

[Gary]

Mine sustained a broken component and a tiny bit of cosmetic damage in transit when it was shipped back and forth with the broken/replacement motor. CRC were very generous. More so that your offer Rocket comparing how little damage mine has to yours. Paint damage as bad as yours and
I'd be asking them if I could have it powder coated with their £100 and retain warranty. But that's more because I'm a tryer than anything else.

 

[R120]

Hmm, what size is that bike you are sending back?

 

[thebarber]

what cassette and chain is everyone upgrading to?
Ive got a £10 voucher from cr and might aswell use it on this but looking at my previous order I got an 11/42, not sure on chain tho...

 

[RocketMagnet]

Yes 100 isn't very generous considering the severity of the damage but I forgot to add they offered 150 store credit but still shipping it out the door like this is ridiculous. I did get 20% off but TBH I'd rather have a perfect bike out of the box and add character myself.

Are you supposed to get a Spare hanger?

As for the build I wasn't impressed, Absolute basics like High and Low limits not correct, cable tension way too high (no issues setting it myself but so many people struggle with this task so it's a fundamental for any shop/store), wheel bolts overtightened significantly, cables poorly routed. The cables to the Steps display were both disconnected so seemingly not checked before sent out, no cable end caps on both derailleur or dropper post cable, RHS grip bolt rounded off, managed to wrangle it off and replace the bolt.

M8 works in a body shop will ask him if he can repair it (Wiggle want a quote to decide if they will cover it).

 

[R120]

Have to say mine was one of the best put together out the shop/box that I have got, and I am in the habit of basically rebuilding any new bike I get - real let down to hear this, can only assume they are rushing the bikes out.

Maybe worth contacting Vitus direct - I have had a fair few chats with them over the past year, not about problems, but about modifications and owner feedback etc and they have always been really responsive.

 

[Polaris]

Yes 100 isn't very generous considering the severity of the damage but I forgot to add they offered 150 store credit but still shipping it out the door like this is ridiculous. I did get 20% off but TBH I'd rather have a perfect bike out of the box and add character myself.

Are you supposed to get a Spare hanger?

As for the build I wasn't impressed, Absolute basics like High and Low limits not correct, cable tension way too high (no issues setting it myself but so many people struggle with this task so it's a fundamental for any shop/store), wheel bolts overtightened significantly, cables poorly routed. The cables to the Steps display were both disconnected so seemingly not checked before sent out, no cable end caps on both derailleur or dropper post cable, RHS grip bolt rounded off, managed to wrangle it off and replace the bolt.

M8 works in a body shop will ask him if he can repair it (Wiggle want a quote to decide if they will cover it).

I haven’t checked mine as well as you yet but apart from 3 deep scratches on the forks which have actually gone through the decal and down to metal the rest is cosmetically fine. I’m going to whinge at wiggle though as that alone is not good enough at this price. It’s a shame the bike is a gloss black and not shot peened Matt as it’s going to be a bitch to keep looking good. I guess a good car wet wax and micro fibre cloth with get swirls and scuffs out post wash easy enough. But gloss black is definitely a hobby on its own

 

[RocketMagnet]

Bike looks a lot better in the flesh minus the war wounds. The green is fine and the black red really deep. Personally I think Gloss is much easier to manage than Matt, the latter is a nightmare. I've got a Matt black Yeti and vowed never again.

Mine possibly could have been damaged in transit and personally a few minor scuffs I could live with but that's too much for me I'm afraid.

I'm seeing if I can get a replacement front triangle and I'll swap it all over myself.

 

[Polaris]

Bike looks a lot better in the flesh minus the war wounds. The green is fine and the black red really deep. Personally I think Gloss is much easier to manage than Matt, the latter is a nightmare. I've got a Matt black Yeti and vowed never again.

Mine possibly could have been damaged in transit and personally a few minor scuffs I could live with but that's too much for me I'm afraid.

I'm seeing if I can get a replacement front triangle and I'll swap it all over myself.

Yeah I agree it looks great and actually think the colours work well together. I just shouldn’t be looking at new decal stickers and Matt touch up paint just yet. Won’t give a dam after a couple of dozen rides anyway lol

 

[R120]

Mine looks like I have gone over it with a scouring pad in places, some would get annoyed, but I like a bit of patina

 

[Tony P]

Got the bike today from Wiggle and in just the right light you can see some scratches.. this was under the foam packing so probably shipped like this?
Of course no replacements and offered me £100 to keep it with the advice of going to Halfords for some touch up paint. No keys for the battery either.
I've declined and have to send it back unused for a replacement when they get more stock.. you would think they would keep a few replacements.
View attachment 8875

That’s not good! Will give mine a closer look later but I think it looked ok despite the foam wrapping being a bit shoddy and the end of the box being fully open when it was delivered and the small box inside with the instructions etc being broken with all of its contents scattered around the inside of the big box!!!

Did yours not come with small vials of touch up paint - mine did or that’s what I assume they are. Green and black.

Also came with 2 keys, 2 Rockshox tokens, crappy pedals, bell, front and rear reflectors and the plastic cassette guard, some frame protector stickies, 2 cable connectors to tie the computer cable to a hose and the battery charger - think that’s it from memory.

As there wasn’t a ‘what’s in the box’ list am I missing anything that may have fallen out of my box? ?

 

[Gary]

Are you supposed to get a Spare hanger?

No