Cast an eye over the Vitus and you’d be fooled into thinking you’re looking at a far more expensive bike. The Sommet CR is the only carbon fibre machine on test (the front triangle, at least) and still a couple of hundred quid below our upper price limit. It comes with a RockShox Reverb dropper post too, and a lighter Pike fork rather than the burlier but slightly more refined Lyrik.
Getting the suspension balanced took a little fiddling and we found ourselves creeping up the spring pressure chart on the rear shock and adding volume bands to stop it bottoming out too easily. Once set up, the Sommet feels very natural and easy to get along with, although it doesn’t flatten out the trail like some of the bikes on test. There’s a tautness to the frame that lets you zip the Vitus up, around or over obstacles with relative ease and a sense of playfulness that some of these big-hitters can lack at times. It covers ground quickly on mellower trails and, at 13.9kg, climbing is more athletic than with most of the bikes here, though it’s worth locking the rear shock out to save energy.
Point the Sommet down terrain that’s a little wilder and steeper, and its all-rounder credentials mean it doesn’t feel quite as at home as some of the more gravity-focused machines here. While the Vitus’s angles are decent on the whole, its reach and front centre measurements aren’t the most progressive here.
The ‘High Grip’ front tyre compound offers decent traction over wet rocks and roots, but stuff it into highload turns at speed and the ‘Light’ casing lacks the support to hold its shape.
Stopping it squirming means upping the pressure, which means more feedback through the bar, which isn’t ideal on long chattery descents.
It also didn’t take much effort to burp the rear tyre off the 25mm (internal) WTB rim, which in another incident we also dinged.
SPEC
Frame T700/ T800 Toray carbon fibre front triangle, 6061-T6 aluminium rear, 155mm travel
Fork RockShox Pike RC Solo Air, 160mm travel
Shock RockShox Monarch Plus RC3 DebonAir
Drivetrain SRAM X1 with Race Face AEffect SL cranks (1x11)
Wheelset WTB Frequency i25 rims on Novatec hubs
Weight 13.9kg (L)
Price $4200