vintage french (vitus, mavic, simplex)...treasure or trash?

dookie

Kona Fan
[pardon the repost from bikeforums...dunno how much overlap there is.]

i recently picked up a vitus carbone 7...mostly complete, dirty, partially disassembled. a 'get my long-gone kid's junk out of my basement' situation. i picked it up for the crankset (SR 180mm) and possibly wheels (*silky* mavic 501's w/gel 280's), but i'm wondering about the rest of it.

some internet searching tells me that the vitus bonded carbone frames are prone to failure. this one seems like it saw little use...after a bit of cleanup it looks great. OEM 979 bonded aluminum fork & lugs are mostly devoid of corrosion, decals are all present w/slight cracking, zero dings to the carbon...even on the driveside chainstay, bizarre 23mm seatpost is present (a rubis 983). so is it wall art, a rider, or a resale?

came with a very clean simplex prestige LJ rear derailleur. i see that a NOS version, otherwise identical to the one i have, recently went for $255 on eBay. say what? that's more than i paid for the whole shootin' match. is that a flyer, or is this derailleur some sort of vintage holy grail?

pretty standard fare beyond this...mavic branded modolo equipes (w/original pads), cinelli 64-44/1A, DA headset, mavic (chamfered) BB.

thanks for any input...
 
Oh they're rubbbish, no one wants them. I'll save you some space and pick it up for £50. :LOL:

Actually I lie. They are rather nice, and in my opinion any high end french frame is worth collecting.

I know very little of Vitus Carbon frames life expectancy but if the longevity of the duraluminum frames and the number of old Specialized allez out there you should be fine. I would favour a full Mavic build and leave the frame with it's certain 'patina'. Lets see some pics!!!
 
Oh he's right, they're completely poo but I like you so I'll give you £52.


vulture-pictures.jpg


" Bugger off Stick Legs, you said it was my turn! "
 
I don't want to sound like a prophet of doom, but check your frame very, very carefully for signs of damage if you plan to ride it, especially if you plan to ride it "with vigour".

I remember from the end of the 80's that at least two cyclists died when their early carbon frames failed in a rather dramatic way on descents - I think they shattered into dust (I had a carbon squash racket that did this once).

I can't remember the names, one was a top female racer and Google is no help. Just be careful and remember that old carbon doesn't fail gently like old steel.
 
I heard the carbons unbond somewhat easier than the alu ones. This because the heating/expanding couldn't be used by the production. Hence alu ones have a tighter fit.
 
Oh no, my ears pricked up at 59cm. Must remind myself of hideous customs charges
 
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