That got me inspired so I did a 30 mile retro ride on my Reynolds 653 road bike, fully restored by me and Mercian in Derby. Surprisingly good considering it’s great age, my first proper race bike.
I have a record 53, 39 alloy chainset if it helps your restoration. I’d guess 25 is a good price. However I restored my bike above with new Veloce and it is nicer than the 15 year old Record stuff on my main bikes. Super smooth and slick. Retro is good but brakes and gears have got better.
Hi Keith, glad to have inspired you . . . project slowed again due to “other things” . Thanks for the offer of the chainset, but I managed to get a Super Record Strada 52/42 in really good condition for £95.
There have been a few bumps along the way; I had to have the steerer milled down by 2 thou to accept the headset but it led to the discovery of a small local engineering firm who did it for a tenner. And , thanks again Lavazza for the offer of help and advice.
With winter closing in it should be the ideal time to get the job finished . . .
And now, due to lockdown and renewed interest in getting it finished, I have made some modest progress with the Vitus. More work to be done today but she has moved under pedal power. I need to fit cabling, adjust gearing. I am not fitting a front changer at the moment as the one I have is a bit “rough”, so that will wait.
Looking lovely apart from that one rusty spoke 
Wow - that looks extremely lightweight
Pretty
Wow! Good spot, Will. Now where is the Solvol Autosol?
Just shows what happens if you leave things untouched for 12 months which is more or less what I have done with the Vitus.
Pierre, it looks light but it is surprisingly weighty. A bit disappointing in that regard, although I have not had it on the scales.
Owner , or bicycle ?
The Missus got her cervelo and open up from the tristore locally. I borrowed a £7.5k electric Specialised from them last week. Wow. That is my future on two wheels.Now, wheres my lottery ticket
First, a note: Will, happily, the “rust” turned out to be greasy/oily/dirty deposit!
And, fellas, ('cos it’s all fellas, isn’t it?) thanks for your comments. Apart from the suggestion that I might be overweight!
I’ll have you know that, thanks to dry January and an application of some rare willpower, I have shed a stone and a half since returning from the Nyloc Euro tour last September, a trip fuelled by coffee, cake, beer, full breakfasts and heavy evening meals.
The Vitus was limited to riders of a certain weight when new. I think I am now under the threshold which was another incentive to shed the excess avoirdupois.
And so, here we are in October 2020, and the Vitus is almost road ready. Decals applied today and bar tape to be fitted tomorrow. And that is it, apart from getting an expert to fit the front changer, as I had a few problems with the friction change lever. And I’d also like the expert to check out and set up the machine.
Had some epic rides this year with pals and and my local cycling club on board some of my other bikes so can’t wait for an extended trip on the Vitus 979.
Thommo that look amazing, 
Hey, Lee, thanks. Not sure it compares with your efforts.
So what vintage is that bike? My old steel bike is early 90s so has carbon forks and indexed levers. Amazingly the original Campagnolo 9 groupset is still going strong and perfectly on another bike.
Hi Keith, going by the online guidance and the serial number on the underside of the bottom bracket, I’d say It was made in April, 1984 and is the 133rd frame made in that month.
There is a very detailed history of the Vitus make here, if it’s of interest:
Bar tape on, just need to fit toeclips and get a couple of Brooks quick-release straps for them and then and MoT from an expert.
That looks fantastic. Great job!
Thanks, Will.
It looks great. Did it ever have a head tube badge? Do you plan to ride the Erioca. My classic bike is too modern do I can’t. Also the event had not happened for the last couple of years.
From all the pictures I have seen they seem not to have a head tube badge. In fact, they are often very sparsely decorated. Sean Kelly’S KAS team featured their logos on the down and seat tubes, and other teams that used the 979 also seem to have their names on the frames in addition to the Vitus lettering on the top tubes.
I am pretty chuffed with the result but I fear I have mounted the brakes levers too low and, after spending a lot of time getting the taping just right, I don’t feel inclined to do it all again. I might just swing the bars up a little and see how that looks.
Thanks for all the positive comments.
As for the Eroica, I have often wondered about doing that event. I will have to see what happens next year.If it’s on it will probably clash with a trackday or European Lotus trip🙄
That’s looking good Thommo.
I recognise those calipers, Campag Athena!
