The Vitus compound was bustling at the Sea Otter Classic, with excited attendees shopping for bikes and test rides coming in and out. Amongst the hustle and bustle, a bike sat quietly between the Chain Reaction Cycles booth (the US distributor of Vitus) and the Vitus van.
The bike in question has a similar frame to the Vitus Vitesse EVO, the aero features of the Vitus ZX-1 EVO road bike, and the tire clearance of the Vitus Substance gravel bike…
The prototype bike in question shares dropped seat stays, aero profiling, and the overall aesthetic of the Vitesse EVO line. The tire clearance and selection lean more towards the Vitus Substance gravel line, with a slimmer fork to eat up road chatter and a sculpted seat tube for additional tire clearance.
However, the internal cable routing and shapely frame are something new. Vitus’ new Prototype has slick internal routing via the headtube, helped impart by the FSA ACR internal cable routing stem and bar system.
Standout features of the frame include; a new sculpted downtube (near the headtube), additional length from the top tube to seatstay drop, and an hourglass head tube.
After comparing the bike side to side with existing Vitus models, we assume this will be a new all-road design, with enough clearance to hit the gravel heavy — considering the bike is pictured with 45mm tires.
Why do we think it’s an all-road bike? The Vitus Substance frame employs an asymmetrical chainstay design, and we imagine a newer updated gravel-only bike would include the same, plus more extensive tire capability.
As for the tire clearance, 45mm looks pretty tight in the frame pictured, but a 32mm tire would look right at home with room to breathe.
No matter what we can say, this frame looks classy and fast, but we’ll have to wait to see precisely its intended format. Until then, stay tuned for more information as it comes, check out Vitus.com or Chainreactioncycles.com for more info.
