VITUS ZENIUM VR DISC
› Wireless shifting and team colours for the futuristic speedster
Vitus is the in-house brand of online giant Chain Reaction Cycles, and it has built a reputation for providing solid value for money thanks to its direct-sales model. The Zenium is its affordable alloy racer, with the VR Disc variant specced out with Shimano 105, mechanical disc callipers and a full carbon fork.
The Zenium VR Disc is not a beautiful bike. It’s not ugly and the proportions of its alloy frame are pretty standard. It’s just that it’s almost wilfully plain, with graphics that are neither especially offensive nor remotely enticing. Like any predominantly white bike, it shows the dirt too, but the satin finish is at least reasonably easy to clean.
Leaving aside rather muted aesthetics, this is a thoroughly sorted bike in terms of ride and handling. It does have an edge to its ride quality and it doesn’t absorb the shocks from rough roads like an explicitly comfort-oriented bike, but it’s far from harsh.
The Zenium frame’s back end is unremarkable in its design, with modestly proportioned chainstays sprouting from the standard, threaded bottom bracket shell, and slim, near-straight seatstays. Nevertheless, there’s a palpable sense on the climbs that the bike wants you to give your all. Sat down, the slight sweep on the bar tops eases wrist strain, a little detail that suggests this bike was specced by someone who actually rides.
On descents, there’s an inherent ‘rightness’ to the way the Zenium changes direction. Road bikes almost invariably handle well these days, but this is a particularly fine example, offering that elusive sense of poise that one hopes designers strive for. It feels solid and accurate as you carve through a bend, and doesn’t want for responsiveness.
The build is by and large a sensible one. Shimano 105 looks tidy and
Leaving aside muted aesthetics, this is a thoroughly sorted bike in terms of ride and handling