Vitus - History

The
renaissance
of an icon

1930

To witness the birth of the French manufacturer, we need to go back to 1930. In Saint-Étienne, the Ateliers de la Rive produced various types of steel tubes, including the Vitus, which won over frame builders with its lightness and strength. The company entered into competition with the British Reynolds and the Italian manufacturer Columbus.

1978

During the 1970s, Vitus established itself as one of the leading references among steel tube manufacturers thanks to the "Super Vitus 971", born of new construction processes. In 1978, a pivotal year, Vitus was acquired by bicycle manufacturer Bador and obtained a new technological patent improving the rigidity and robustness of the frame. A year later, the iconic Vitus 979 frame was launched and would equip ultra-high-performance bikes ridden by, among others, Phil Anderson, Graham Jones, Luis Herrera and Sean Kelly. It is of course the latter who would write the brand's most glorious chapter with his victories in the Classics and at the Vuelta. At a time when most manufacturers were still using steel tubes, Vitus had become the world's first aluminium bicycle manufacturer.

1990

In the early 1990s, another material brought another revolution with the ZX-1, a monocoque frame with avant-garde design. With its internal cable routing and formidable aerodynamics, it was immortalised by Laurent Fignon on the Grande Boucle. This technological jewel paved the way for modern carbon design processes.

2008

The late 1990s and early 2000s were more difficult. The cycling industry evolved very rapidly and the brand struggled to keep pace. It was acquired by major names in French cycling, such as Look and then Time. Despite several relaunch attempts to revive past successes, Vitus ceased its activity in 2008.

2009

A team of engineers from Northern Ireland working on the development of a brand-new bicycle brand discovered that Vitus was for sale. The history and heritage of this name immediately convinced these passionate engineers. They found themselves perfectly aligned with the vision and values of Vitus. They therefore decided to purchase the brand, with the legendary Sean Kelly as ambassador.

2011

It was a time of new ambitions, the renaissance of former ranges and the creation of new ones, as exemplified by the Nucleus hardtail mountain bike in 2011.

2012

From 2012, the engineers developed the Vitus Escarpe full-suspension MTB, marking the brand's entry into the Enduro world. That same year, the launch of the all-carbon Sean Kelly signature bike accompanied the first pedal strokes of the An Post UCI professional team. The close collaboration with riders made it possible to improve the bikes.

2015

The Enduro range was completely rethought thanks to a new suspension patent. Rewards followed with a victory in 2016 by Killian Callaghan at the Enduro World Series U21 and a Downhill Masters World title for Colin Ross in 2018. The Escarpe MTB even received the "Trail Bike of the Year" award from MBR magazine.

2016

The Nucleus MTB won the Bike of the Year award and would do so for the following 5 years.

2018

The Irish brand partnered with Cherie Pridham to create Vitus Pro Cycling, with riders including Ed Clancy and Scott Thwaites. 2018 also saw the launch of the first electric range, including, among others, the E-Sommet MTB, winner of the MBR magazine Ebike test with a fine 10/10.

2020

More recently, Rob Warner (first British winner of the DH World Cup), Joe Smith (DH rider) and Helen Jenkins (former double triathlon world champion) joined the Vitus family to bring ever greater expertise across the various cycling disciplines.

2021

The Escarpe MTB was voted Trail Bike of the Year by the British magazine MBR. The road models ZX-1 EVO (celebrating its 20th anniversary) and the Vitesse EVO were completely redesigned and were unanimously praised by Road.cc, Cycling Weekly and Bike Radar. Finally, the Energie EVO cyclocross bike made its first World Cup appearances in Belgium thanks to Team Spectra Racing.