The Review | Vitus Escarpe 275 VRX 135mm Trail Bike
Vitus is part of the modern era of direct sales bike companies, where the manufacturer cuts out the ‘middle man’ to provide a cheaper product. Direct sales is certainly a controversial subject depending on who you are talking to, however we believe that value for money helps more people into the sport which can only be a good thing, Remember not everyone has £5000 to spend on the latest ‘must have’ bikes.
One of the down sides to direct sales has always been that there’s no bike shop to back up any warranty issues, however the beauty of Vitus is that they are owned by Chain Reaction Cycles so all warranty issues will be dealt with swiftly. They arrange collection and return all at their own cost. Vitus also offer an impressive 5 year warranty on their frames and 2 years on components.
Vitus originally started as a frame builder in 1970s France, they were a leading company and pioneered with a number of new technology’s, but they were before their time and sadly the company died. Vitus have now been brought back to life by Chain Reaction Cycles and are bringing back their ethos.
We tested the €2519.99 ($3258.99) Vitus Escarpe 275 VRX, a short travel 650b trail smasher, The VRX is one of four different build kits and they also offer a 29er version. The Escarpe arrived in a huge cardboard box with only the bars removed, five minutes later and it was ready to ride. The frame comes with the plush RockShox Monarch Debonair rear shock, twinned with a Marzocchi CR 350 fork, which looks amazing with the espresso coating. Braking is handled by the reliable Shimano SLX brakes. Very impressive at this price point is that the bike is equipped with a SRAM X1 group set, Vitus still fit a chain device which is a great move and often overlooked by other manufactures. The RockShox Reverb dropper post is a must on any trail bike. The Escarpe comes with WTB i23 rims with a WTB Vigilante up front and a WTB Trail Boss on the rear. The Escarpe is a good looking frame with a conservative paint scheme that doesn’t demand too much attention, making its mass target group clear.
The short travel Vitus comes with 135mm of rear travel and 150 mm up front, it has a 67 degree head angle and 435mm chain stays. The medium frame had a nice and roomy top tube length of 600mm when coupled with the 45mm stem, long enough for good stability but still able to get round the tight corners. The Escarpe has a floating horizontal shock mount designed to provide efficient pedalling and suspension action. The main pivot is located in a fixed high and forward position inline with the chain ring position, helping to minimize pedal bob.
As an aggressive rider I normally need to run quite a stiff setup, I weigh approximately 76 kg and usually run around 22% sag, however with the Escarpe I was able run more sag and increased it to about 27%. The floating horizontal shock offers a progressive linkage that ramped up nicely in the mid stroke, preventing it from blowing through travel and wallowing. This really helps when railing berms and trying to pump speed out of corners and makes the Vitus an extremely fun bike to ride. The progressive linkage offered excellent small bump sensitivity finding more grip out on the trail. The front triangle is nice and stiff which performed well with really quick direction changes and thanks to the high and forward pivot there is very little pedal bob even with the shock in the open setting.
On flat, reasonably slow corners the Vitus feel very poised and balanced thanks to the ‘not too slack’ 67 degree head angle, and was certainly quicker than a few 160mm travel enduro bikes. The Vitus offers excellent stability for a short travel rig, but they have still managed to keep it nimble and fun to ride, the linkage absorbs the big hits well and I was continually amazed at just how capable the Escarpe was. I felt that confident on the Vitus I even entered a mini downhill race, this little bike can really hold its own, when pushing hard the front end did feel a little nervous when trying to scrub some speed on fast rough corners, but this is pushing it way past what I first expected would be possible on a short travel trail machine.
The Vitus has a nice neutral position when sat in the saddle, great for climbing and long rides, with the monarch shock in the closed position the rear end is vertically locked out so it flies up the fire road climbs. There’s plenty of grip on the more technical climbs, and the front tracks well around the tight corners. The Escarpe isn’t the lightest bike coming in at 14.5 kg with light tubes/tyres and no pedals, it does pedal better than the weight suggests thanks to the efficient linkage and good trail tyres.
The CR 350 fork doesn’t have a lot of adjustment but has good damping characteristics, resists diving well and feels plush, it doesn’t have a lockout switch which is definitely missed on a trail bike. The fast rolling WTB tyre combo worked great at the trail centres but on muddy more natural trails they just don’t cut it – so I swapped them for a Maxxis shorty and high roller. The SLX brakes performed exactly as expected, predictable, with good modulation power. The highlight on the build was the X1 group set which performed flawlessly showing very similar quality to the more expensive XX1, with super light shifting and not one graunch of the chain.
The WTB rims are relatively light which aided the Escarpe’s good climbing capabilities. Unfortunately the rear brake needed bleeding after the first ride, also right at the end of the month-long-test-period the Reverb seatpost stopped working and also needed bleeding, after that they were fine. The Bars stem and seat are comfortable and functional but look a little cheap compared to the rest of the spec. I loved that the frame has space for a water bottle, I find packs uncomfortable and this was a welcome sight.
The Bottom Line
Vitus have created an excellent suspension platform that takes the big hits, has good small bump sensitivity and still pedals well. The Escarpe goes way out the boundaries of what I thought possible of short travel trail bike, an excellent choice for the weekend warrior who wants to try and push their riding limits without feeling under or over biked. We were impressed with the well thought out spec at an amazing price, and it is already being discounted on Chain reaction Cycles.