In early October UK-based consumer-direct bike brand Vitus revamped CX bikes for cross racing season. Now their mountain bike range gets a thorough overhaul too, with 2019 trail riding in mind. Leading the charge are the newly updated XC Rapide & all-mountain Sentier – a pair of high value alloy hardtails acting as gateway bikes to the search for singletrack. Backing those up are the even more budget Nucleus trail hardtail, plus full-suspension alloy Escarpe trail bikes & longer enduro Sommet in carbon or alloy.
2019 Vitus Rapide alloy race-inspired XC hardtail 29er
The all new for 2019 Rapide is a direct evolution of Vitus’ popular Rapide Carbon cross-country hardtail. Built to be just as fast & fun as the carbon bike, but at around half the price, the new modern Boost-spaced 6061-T6 alloy frame shares the same XC geometry as the Rapide Carbon in four frame sizes (S-XL).
The alloy Rapide is available in two specs, both with 29″ wheels, RockShox 100mm forks with lockout, and tubeless-ready wheels & Maxxis tires, including rim tape fitted & tubeless valves provided. The £1200 Rapide VR gets a SRAM NX Eagle 1×12 drivetrain, while the £900 Rapide opts for a Shimano SLX 1×11 setup.
The Rapide Carbon is still available for £800 as a frame-only, for £1800 in a GX Eagle build, or for £2500 in an X01 Eagle complete.
2019 Vitus Sentier alloy all-mountain trail hardtail in 27.5 & 29″ options
The new alloy Sentier hardtail is an update over last year with a new 6061-T6 alloy frame featuring longer, lower & slacker modern trail geometry.
Built to take whatever you can throw at it, the new Sentier comes built up with either 27.5″ wheels and a 140mm travel fork, or 29″ wheels & 130mm forks.
Bigger tire clearance in the alloy frame now has plenty of space for up to 2.8″ tires, freeing up riders to go Plus-sized on 27.5 wheels. Of course the bike features Boost 148 spacing now and internal stealth dropper routing, plus a set of ISCG 05 chainguide tabs. All of the bikes again feature tubeless-ready WTB i29mm internal rims with valves & rim strips
The Sentier starts at just £850 complete with Deore 1×10 drivetrain and the option for a 27.5, women-specific 27.5 & 29er builds. There’s a £1000SLX 1×11 version also available as 27.5 or 29er, a 27.5 £1400NX Eagle 1×12 build, and the top £1600 complete bike with a Shimano XT 1×11 and 27.5″ wheels.
2019 Vitus Nucleus budget alloy light trail hardtail in 27.5 & 29″
The Nucleus is a carry-over alloy hardtail, but Vitus’ #1 selling bike. That’s easy to understand with super affordable pricing starting at just £500 for either the 27.5 wheeled version with 120mm travel forks or the 29er with 100mm forks. There’s even a new women-specific version at that same entry-level spec, built up with Shimano Altus 2×9 drivetrain and TRP hydraulic disc brakes.
The bike gets modern long, low & slack geometry, internal dropper routing, ISCG 05 tabs, and WTB i29 rims that can be converted to tubeless (with a tire upgrade down the road.)
£600 versions of the Nucleus get an Acera 2×9, while the £700 Nucleus gets a Deore 1×10. There are even 24″ wheeled (£400) and 26″ wheeled (£450) versions of the Nucleus with Shimano 1×9 drivetrains to get kids hooked on riding trails too.
2019 Vitus Escarpe alloy 140mm all-mountain trail bike in 27.5 & 29″
Stepping up to full-suspension trail bikes, the alloy Escarpe matches 140mm or rear wheel travel to 150mm forks. Get modern trail geo, Boost spacing, metric trunnion shocks, ISCG 05 tabs, dropper post on every model, tubeless-ready wheel & tire setups including tape & valves, and your choice of 27.5″ or 29″ wheels at every level.
Starting complete bike prices go from £1600 with RockShox suspension and NX 1×11 drivetrain. NX Eagle 1×12 comes at the £2000 mark. And the top-level £3000 complete bikes get spec’ed with XT 1×11, Fox Factory suspension & DT Swiss wheels.
2019 Vitus Sommet alloy or carbon 160mm enduro bikes
Looking for something longer travel or a bit burlier? The 27.5″ 160mm enduro Sommet comes in both alloy and carbon frameset options. Gravity ready, they start at just £1700 complete with a 6061 alloy frame and a SRAM NX 1×11.
Or you can pick one out up to £3500 with the carbon frame, Fox Factory suspension, and a Shimano XT 1×11.
2019 Rapide, Sentier, Nucleus, Escarpe & Sommet Availability
All of the new Vitus Bikes mountain bikes are designed in-house at Vitus available consumer direct. For the most part that means that you can order them from Chain Reaction Cycles or Wiggle who share the same WiggleCRC parent group. Most of the new bikes are slated to be in stock from mid-November to mid-December 2018. But a few like the new alloy & carbon Rapides won’t be available until January 2019.
