MONTH2:BenjistartsbringingtheVitustolifefromthegroundup
94 mbr M AY 2 019
ountless hours on
the trails make this
the ultimate test of
performance as well
as reliability
LONG
TERMERS
BENJI’S VITUS SENTIER 27 VRS
£1,399.99 / 27.5in / vitusbikes.com
THE RIDER
BENJI HAWORTH
Position Deputy
digital editor
Mostly rides
The North
Height 6ft 1in
Weight 73kgTHE BIKE
■ Trail hardtail
with 27.5in wheels
■ Supplied with
2.6in tyres but frame
clearance for 2.8in
■ New alloy frame
with slack/long/
low geometry
■ 140mm-travel
RockShox Revelation
fork and SRAM Eagle
NX drivetrainL
ast month’s introductory
feature about this bike fi nished
with me pondering about the
tyres and — more signifi cantly
— the wheels that come with the
Vitus Sentier 27 VRS.
Essentially my thinking went like this:
the 29mm internal width rims are too
narrow for the 2.6in tyres fi tted as the
latter are overly round in profi le and lack
a ‘working edge’ shoulder. Schwalbe
Magic Marys are a great tyre, I know, but
on these rims they were fl ailing. No bite.
Vague. Sketchy.
I feel the tyre potential of
this bike is worth focusing
on because a lot of
potential buyers will
want to run 2.6in-2.8in
tyres. It’s a selling point
of the bike.
So I did two things.
First of all I fi tted some
narrower tyres. Then,
after that, I fi tted a whole
new wheelset and tyres (45mm
internal width rims and 2.8in tyres).
With the narrower 2.25in tyres on the
bike, it suddenly had accuracy, and truth
be told, didn’t even feel any harsher.
The lowering of the bike only helped to
improve its handling and cornering too.
So far, so good. But so... what? Being
just another 27.5in hardtail felt a bit likebeing short-changed.
I wanted the Sentier
27 VRS to open up
newpneumatic potential.
So on went the Plus stuff :
Halo Vapour 50 wheels and 2.8in
WTB Vigilante tyres. To be frank, it
was a mistake. Winter just isn’t the
time for the full Plus experience. There
was more straight-line traction but the
weight was an instant thrill killer and the
fat tyres didn’t bite in the damp, loose,
terrain either.After a bit of bottom lip moping and
bike-ignoring, I had the microscopic
brainwave to put the 2.6in Schwalbe
tyres on the Halo wheels — kinda
obvious, I know, sorry. What a
revelation! The tyres suddenly had
shoulders to them and more sidewall
support in turns too.
At time of writing I’ve only done one
ride on this set-up, so am still fi ddling
with psi, but so far, so good. Brilliant in
fact. But new wheel rims is not a cheap
or easy fi x is it?WHY IT’S HERE
With good geometry,
great spec and tyre
versatility, is this
all the hardtail
you need?The Magic Marys worked
their wizardry when
sat on the right rim