Vitus Blitz 2 Review
Vitus Blitz 2 Review
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| Vitus Blitz 2 – Bargain FS MTB for only £799 |
Vitus Blitz 2 Review by BuyMTB.com
The Vitus Blitz 2 is a great looking bike with a fantastic price tag. At only £799 it is at the rock bottom price range for a usable full suspension MTB – but that doesn’t necessarily mean its rock bottom in quality.
The Blitz comes with 100mm of travel at the back with a Rock Shox Monarch RT air shock and 120mm of travel up front with the Rock Shox Recon Forks.
The frame and fork combo work well together and the headtube angle is a lively but not too slack 68.5 degrees. Perfect for serious off road action and trail center stuff.
Forks lack adjustability but they arnt bottom of the range, so you can expect a proper suspension fork which can be used and abused. They are a massive improvement on the other forks offered on other bikes under the £1k mark from suntour, rst etc…
The Monarch rear shock is smooth and suits the 4 bar linkage well. Get some presure in her for XC use or if your looking for a softer ride set her on the 30% sag level and set the gate valve to full open.
Just a word of warning – like most OEM products, the bike doesnt come with a suspension shock pump – so if you wish to change the pressures you will either have to visit your local bike shop or buy one with the bike.
(Incidentally I would highly recommend the Topeak pocket shock dxg pump which is available for around £30 – a great bit of kit with accurate pressure readings and pressure release button)
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| Topeak DXG shock Pump – buy separately to tune your suspension settings |
At just under 14kg the Vitus Blitz isnt as light as similar travel more expensive models but its no lead horse either. In fact under 14kg for a full suspension bike for less than £1k seems a good deal. I dont think anyone should be worried about the weight.
The finishing kit on the Vitus Blitz 2 is comprised of nice looking and dependable Truvativ bars, stem and cranks. The Mavic 319 rims on Formula disk hubs can handle some abuse and the Schwalbe tyres offer reliable and steady grip in most off road situations. A really solid wheel package and both can be found on bikes costing upwards of £2k!
The stopping power comes in the form of 160mm and 180mm hydralic disk brakes from Avid. Again a dependable bit of kit with a good lever feeling and solid predictable braking. Whilst the Avid Elixer 1 brakes are a good staring point, they would be something i would look to upgrade if I wanted to use this bike for more Alpine or Big mountain stuff. They do have a tendency to over heat and fade when pushed to the limit. But a good bit of kit for the money and you wont find anything better at this price point.
Plus Points:
Price, price and price. What else is available at this price? Something from Halfords or Decathalon – component and looks wise the Vitus eats them for breakfast.
Components. A great finishing kit, suspension setup and groupset, nothing really lets the bike down and nothing would need to be instantly upgraded.
Negatives:
Paint work. Paint isnt the Blitz’s best aspect, whilst it looks great, paint started to wear off after a few rides where cables rub on the frame – easily fixed with some helicopter tape, frame savers or stickers.
Pedals. Its doesn’t come with any (maybe some plastic ones if you are lucky) so remember to buy some when you get the bike. The Welgo v8 copies are stupid cheap and perform as well at the real thing.
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Summary.
The Vitus Blitz is a fun little bike which can handle itself in rocky and rooty situations. 100mm of travel doesnt seem much but the bike feels like she has more without wallowing in sag. Dont expect a DH beast, but do expect a trail performer that eats up singletrack and forest loops. She rides fast and confidently and can handle the big stuff occasionally. A fantastic weekend warrior bike, first full suss or something to slowly upgrade with.
At under £800 its a fantastic deal!