Not your average barn find..

H

Helmut Head

Dirt Disciple
Hi all,
thought I would share my latest find with you - I saw this advertised not too far away, and I've always fancied a Vitus 979, but finding a larger frame is quite hard - at 58cm this is perfect for me.
Anyway, went to look at it - a retired farmer bought it new in the early 90's - he pulled it out of a scruffy old barn and frankly it's in great condition. Added bonus were the Weinmann delta pro brakes and extra added bonus a pair of FT super rolling hubs on the wheelset - no, I've never heard them either. I'll have to add some extra links to the chain and get a larger free wheel more suitable for the hills around here, and it should be good to go. P1220020.JPG P1220021.JPG P1220022.JPG
 
Nice find.
FT were an Italian brand; they used cartridge bearing in some components and (I think) titanium hub axles.
 
FT Bologna superb hubs ahead of there time used cartridge type bearings…
 
Lovely.
I’d really like a Vitus. The same frame/colour came up on eBay last year. Unfortunately with a banana shaped top tube, the “bike shop owner” seller claimed it was fine, the tube and the replacement front forks pointed to a front ender, he got in a bit of a grump with me.
Yours looks great with some really interesting components, I can see the rear mech is Mavic and possibly the shifters too, what is the front mech and chainset?
 
Chainset and front mech look like Shimano 600 arabesque.

I don't think the mavic rear mech will handle a 28T or bigger sprocket before the upper jockey fouls the cog
 
Nice find. Always liked the vitus but not the strongest of frames especially in the larger sizes which is probably why they are harder to find. A barn find is probably best as it doesn't seem to have had a hard life.
I had one back in the 90s (not sure if it was a 979 or a 997). Crashed it into the front of a 4x4 and bent the frame+fork enough that the front wheel overlaped the down tube. To be fair it did bend rather than break.
 
Pigman - (Chainset and front mech look like Shimano 600 arabesque.
I don't think the mavic rear mech will handle a 28T or bigger sprocket before the upper jockey fouls the cog).

You're right on both counts - I've just put in a wheel with 26T big sprocket and it's still fouling the jockey wheel - looks like a derailleur change as I can't do smaller than that round here!!
 
I'm not sure the extender would work. It would solve the problem of the jockey fouling the cog, but the mavic mech has only one tension spring so not sure it would take up the chain slack with say 52x39, 13-28.
Shimano mechs for example have 2 pivot points and so can take up more slack.

I'd look for an arabesque rear mech and have the complete transmission
 
Like so many brands that copied Campag’s hallowed Record - despite Simplex using sprung top pivots decades earlier!
Still, I’d be pissed to loose that lovely Mavic. You could use a chainset that’ll take a smaller ring, Campag Victory or Gransport?
 
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