You may know Vitus as the in-house brand of online retailer Chain Reaction Cycles, but you may not know that back in the eighties, legendary French brand Vitus bikes were piloted by pro superstars such as Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and Phil Anderson.
After a period of decline, CRC resurrected the Vitus name in 2009 and, from its Northern Ireland base, it’s been closely involved in racing, including Irish sprint legend Sean Kelly’s guided An Post team and, until 2020, the Vitus Pro Cycling team with riders of the calibre of British Olympian Ed Clancy
When a brand is part of a larger ‘group’ (and they don’t come much larger than Sigma Sports United, owner of CRC/Wiggle and many others), however, they’re often dismissed as a badge with a bulk-sell operation. So, is Vitus a smoke-and-mirror operation or a serious bike maker? Can it take its heady mix of value for money and performance to
