Vitus a brief road cycling timeline

1930s

The Vitus name is born when French steel manufacturer, Ateliers de la Rive, begins making premium steel tube sets.

1978

French bike manufacturer Bador purchases Vitus. This coincides with the company’s patented aluminium-magnesium alloy tubing techniques to create stiffer and more durable frames.

1980s

Vitus introduces carbon tubing to the bonded 979 frame with the Carbone 3, Carbone 7 and the Carbone 9.

1971

The Super Vitus 971 is introduced. Vitus also pushes forward with construction methods that lead to the bonded lugged frames that help make the brand famous.

1979

The Vitus 979 debuts. It becomes one of the most successful racing bikes ever built, with Sean Kelly riding to glory in an era of unprecedented dominance.

1990s

The futuristic ZX-1 arrives, with an aerodynamic shape and internal cable routing – again positioning Vitus as a cycling innovator.

2009

After bankruptcy in 2008, a team of bike engineers from Northern Ireland buy the brand. Sean Kelly is appointed as brand ambassador.

2011

Vitus is reborn with an all-new range of bikes, including the carbon-framed Vitesse.

2012

A Sean Kelly signature Vitesse bike, with a new carbon frame and fork, becomes the basis of the An Post professional race team.

2013

After working extensively with pro riders, Irishman Sam Bennett out-sprints a star-studded peloton on the 2013 Tour of Britain to take a stage win on a Vitus bike.

2021

The ZX-1 EVO and relaunched Vitesse EVO represent Vitus’s climb back to the summit of road racing. Meanwhile, Vitus starts to shake up the cycling status quo with sponsorship of Team Spectra.