Re-gluing a Vitus bonded frame....anyone done this?
Rob Benetton
fine.It seems like it may be possble to clean the joints super
good,and repair it with JB weld,or some other enhanced epoxy.Ofcourse
the problem is separating the BB tubes enough to clean things
up,hopefully w/o taking the whole frame apart.I know they use 500 watt
bulbs,or low heat airguns to soften the epoxy.Is it possible to just
undo the BB,pivot the rear triangle up,then clean it and reglue?Anyone
ever tried this.Or does anyone know how to contact Harry Havnoonian
for repair,and cost?...Its an old frame,would like to fix it myself if
possible.Thanks!
Jeff Wills
Harry Havnoonian:
http://www.hhracinggroup.com/
If you're on the Left Coast, Open Road Bicycles in Pasadena, CA also
has the fixtures and glues for repairing Vitii... I think. I'll be in
that area next week if you really need to know.
It's a particular kind of 3M epoxy that's used to hold the frames
together- but I can't remember the exact product number. I'd be leary
of using JB Weld.
Jeff
Matt O'Toole
"Jeff Wills" <jwi...@pacifier.com> wrote in message
news:a13b2743.03121...@posting.google.com...
I would too. It's not 100% glue -- it has filler in it, because it's really a
filler or a putty. You want something that will bond as strongly as possible,
and flow into all the voids. Frankly, I'd forget epoxy altogether, and use
something like 3M 5200.
Matt O.
Tim McNamara
I don't know if this is do-able or if it's wise to do it, but at least
use the right product. It ain't JB Weld. A little surfing aorund on
the net turns up a few recommendations, inluding Permabond 6050
adhesive and Loctite 638.
This might also be useful:
http://www.cs.bris.ac.uk/home/towner/windcheetah_prep.html
http://www.loctite.co.uk/PRODUCTS/638.htm
Cat Dailey
HTH,
Cat
"Rob Benetton" <easte...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:5c60e2bd.0312...@posting.google.com...
Jay Beattie
"Matt O'Toole" <ma...@deltanet.com> wrote in message
news:oHIDb.15055$I6....@nwrddc03.gnilink.net...
I believe they use Power Bars -- applied as filets. -- Jay
Beattie.
BaCardi
3M has some good epoxies. West Marine also sells some good epoxies. JB
Weld has a very high tensile strength when bonded and will be fine for
your application. It is used by some carbon builders. Just ask Joe
Bringheli at Bringheli.com for the info. He sells Dedacciai carbon
tubes. JB Weld is fine by him and Dedacciai approves of its use. People
get all scared because its a readily available product at the hardware
store. But the tensile strength, I'll bet the house on this one, is
higher than a lot of the 3M branded items.
--
Cjarani
epoxy. It has held up well.
The tricky part was seperating the joint. I did it by looping a nylon lifting
strap thru the bottom bracket and anchoring it to the floor. Then I used a
ceiling mounted hoist to pull upwards on another nylon strap looped around the
seatlug. I lifted slowly and the joint seperated about 1" (I didn't have the
guts to seperate it further). I ceaned the exposed internal lug, smeared on
some epoxy and clamped it all together.
A guy at Havnoonians quoted me $150 for the repair and made no promises about
how long it would last.
Tim McNamara
Jeff Wills
<snip>
> Beattie.
Fillet o' Power Bar? Doesn't that belong in the "junk food" thread?
Jeff (hey, it's past my bedtime...)
A Muzi
I have done that repair. I set up an hydraulic ram to open
the frame in a fixture. That was before I met Harry
Havnoonian. Harry does a great job of Vitus frame service.
You might try 610.649.9834 or 610.429.4380
--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971
Matt O'Toole
"A Muzi" <a...@yellowjersey.org> wrote in message
news:vu02llp...@corp.supernews.com...
Hmm. We all seem to know about "that repair." So what is it about these frames
that's so special, besides the fact that they fall apart with alarming
regularity?
Matt O.
JP
They look cool, they're light, they're comfortable, they're cheap
used, they're repairable, lot's of pros rode them, they're not for
everybody. They have the makings of a cult classic. And they look
really cool.
I think there's still a market for them, maybe with some updating,
like Harley sells retro-styled motorcycles.
JP
Eric M
JP <SocSecTr...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>"Matt O'Toole" <ma...@deltanet.com> wrote in message news:<_T%Db.15021$G9....@nwrddc01.gnilink.net>...
>>
>> Hmm. We all seem to know about "that repair." So what is it about these frames
>> that's so special, besides the fact that they fall apart with alarming
>> regularity?
>
>They look cool, they're light, they're comfortable, they're cheap
>used, they're repairable, lot's of pros rode them, they're not for
>everybody. They have the makings of a cult classic. And they look
>really cool.
There were also a whole lot of them sold. So its not suprising that
some of them broke. Mine went somewhere over 35k miles with
nothing breaking. Lots of people in the clubs I rode and raced with
had them and I never heard of any of those frames breaking.
>I think there's still a market for them, maybe with some updating,
>like Harley sells retro-styled motorcycles.
I'd still be riding mine if I could fit a 130mm rear hub
in there and have it last (and if the geometry wasn't
so steep; I no longer race crits). I still have it; I'm
going to turn it into an 8spd rain/trainer bike.
Eric
Cjarani
lasted 1 1/2 years and 500 miles.
I certainly would not use the bike for a cross country trip.
JP
> I'd still be riding mine if I could fit a 130mm rear hub
> in there and have it last (and if the geometry wasn't
> so steep; I no longer race crits). I still have it; I'm
> going to turn it into an 8spd rain/trainer bike.
Just curious- I saw a post season citerium in Germany in the '70s
where a lot of the pros were riding what I remember to be Vitus bikes
that looked like 979s but I think the time period predated the 979.
Anyone know what thoses bikes would have been? I don't think they were
Alan but they might have been. Those bikes were one of the things I
remember most about the race other than the fact that Eddy Merkcx was
supposed to be there and didn't show.
JP
Rob Benetton
sprints.I always laughed when people said it was a "Swingset"
frame,ie,Flexible.It is flexy,but some pretty big dudes won sprints on
them,and alot of climbers used them as well....
I have seen 3 or 4 separate,but atleast they are repairable.I won a
USCF district RR on a blue one that had been on the roof of a van that
burned to the ground....the sewups on this bike blew,but I raced the
frame for 5 years after that.....
Thanks to all for your help;I will fix this thing myself.I'm confident
it will be fine.I'll probably still race my San Lorenzo
though....Thanks,Bob
Tim McNamara
> Sean Kelly rode a Vitus,back when he was routinely beating LeMond in
> sprints.I always laughed when people said it was a "Swingset"
> frame,ie,Flexible.It is flexy,but some pretty big dudes won sprints
> on them,and alot of climbers used them as well....\
Kelly has referred to them as his favorite bikes, and rode them on
several different teams. I've only ever seen a few in person and
have never ridden one, it'd be interesting to see if the flex is all
it's cracked up to be. I'm 6'4"/215 lbs and generally think that
lateral frame flex is not all that important.
Steve Blankenship
news:m2hdzx9...@bitstream.net...
A 979 would be seriously noodly for someone your size. At 5'8" 140lbs, I
loved mine. To date the smoothest-riding bike I've ever been on. Just the
ticket for a long day on cruddy roads. The other bike in my stable back
when my Vitus was new was one of the first Cannondale racing bikes, so I had
the flexibility spectrum pretty-well covered... ;-) Always thought I was
quicker on the Cannondale, but the results weren't much different. You did
have to pay attention to your spin more on the Vitus, as it didn't take to
mashing a huge gear too well.
My 979 bit the dust in a big field sprint pileup in '94 with about 60K miles
on it. The top, down and fork tubes all bent, but the lugs stayed put.
Trivia bit - if memory serves, Columbian Lucho Herrera was the first amateur
rider in modern times to win a stage of the Tour de France when he won on
Alpe D'Huez on a Vitus back around '84 or so.
dianne_1234
wrote:
>Just curious- I saw a post season citerium in Germany in the '70s
>where a lot of the pros were riding what I remember to be Vitus bikes
>that looked like 979s but I think the time period predated the 979.
>Anyone know what thoses bikes would have been? I don't think they were
>Alan but they might have been. Those bikes were one of the things I
>remember most about the race other than the fact that Eddy Merkcx was
>supposed to be there and didn't show.
>
>JP
I'm probably wrong, but maybe Kettler Alurad?
http://www.kettler.net/index_en.html
Matt O'Toole
I had a 979. I'm not as big as you (6'0", 175#) and I experienced ghost shifts
all the time. But what really bugged me was that the bike was not
confidence-inspiring on twisty descents. It never steered exactly where I
wanted it to go. I found myself holding back a lot. This was a 60cm frame.
Smaller ones probably don't flex as much, especially with smaller riders. Vitus
were very light for the time, but probably not for today. Anyone have any frame
weight figures? The later 992 model was supposedly stiffer.
My Vitus had been repaired by the previous owner. I had no trouble with it
except for the scary handling. I have heard several other first hand accounts
of failures too. Since then, I have repaired two of the carbon ones, for
friends who bought them at garage sales or on eBay.
Trek built a series of aluminum bikes like the Vitus, with aluminum or carbon
tubes glued into aluminum lugs. But Trek's tubes were fatter and stiffer. The
bikes handled beautifully, and didn't fall apart. These were some of the
sweetest handling frames ever made, yet no one fusses over them. I guess they
lack that Euro mystique.
Matt O.
Adam Rush
> burned to the ground*.the sewups on this bike blew,but I raced the
> frame for 5 years after that.....
If Hunter S Thompson was hybridized with Jobst Brandt, this is the
kind of stories you would hear.
ajames54
Well I still love the one I rode (ride..) ... it was great for me at
165 ... and OK till about 190 .. after that.. well I still plan to get
back to a serious weight one of these days (keeping the bike till
then). I still ride it occasionally on short courses or on really
hilly rides. Personally I love the handling and find the Treks you
mention to be sloppy and sluggish, but each to his own as they say.. I
recently picked up another used one for my wife...
I don't necessarilly agree with "euro" mystique but I have to admit I
love it when people say shit like .. "What kind of bike is that?" or
"It can't be all aluminum, the tubes are too small" or there is no way
an aluminum bike that light could last 15 years"... (I'm pretty sure
mine's an '88 or '87). Hell a large part of me thinks that if I ever
see another in good shape in my size I should buy it.
BaCardi
Looks to me to be appealing since it would tend to form small groups as
I see it. I think small groups more easily form communities. That said,
I particularly like this forum because I've spent enough time on here.
Think that holds true for any enthusiast forum, it takes time to feel a
part of the community.
--
John Everett
wrote:
<snip>
> Vitus
>were very light for the time, but probably not for today. Anyone have any frame
>weight figures? The later 992 model was supposedly stiffer.
Yes, the 992 addressed most of the concerns inherent with the 979. My
992, purchased new in 1992 is still my favorite bike. I bought it with
Dura Ace 8-speed, since updated to 9-speed. I've also re-rimmed the
wheels, but other than that (and the saddle rail clamp bolts that
occasionally break) it's been a real work horse.
Funny thing, before I bought it I did some research, including talking
to Othar Oschner, then the Vitus importer. One of the things that
swayed me to buy it was that Harry Havnoonian was in Philadelphia,
only about twenty miles from my home in Marlton, New Jersey. Lot of
good it's done me since I've been in Aurora, Illinois since 1995. :-)
<snip>
>Trek built a series of aluminum bikes like the Vitus, with aluminum or carbon
>tubes glued into aluminum lugs. But Trek's tubes were fatter and stiffer. The
>bikes handled beautifully, and didn't fall apart. These were some of the
>sweetest handling frames ever made, yet no one fusses over them. I guess they
>lack that Euro mystique.
My first bike when I resumed cycling in 1989 (or so) was a Trek 1400;
lugged and glued aluminum. I still own it and use it as my beater
bike. I find the handling dead solid and it's still the bike I've gone
the fastest on. When I upgraded the Vitus to 9-speed I put the
leftover parts on the Trek, just popping the 130mm rear axle into the
126mm dropouts. That was several years ago. So far, so good.
jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3
Eric M
>all the time.
I'm 6'0 and 150 (~10 lbs less when I was racing my 59cm Vitus).
Never had a ghost shift, but then I'm the sort of rider it's built for.
>But what really bugged me was that the bike was not
>confidence-inspiring on twisty descents. It never steered exactly where I
>wanted it to go. I found myself holding back a lot.
I think that's partly due to the super quick steering. Also I found that
staying loose on the bike is required... tense up and it'd let you know.
>Trek built a series of aluminum bikes like the Vitus, with aluminum or carbon
>tubes glued into aluminum lugs. But Trek's tubes were fatter and stiffer. The
>bikes handled beautifully, and didn't fall apart.
I thought that some of them did... Mike J?
>These were some of the
>sweetest handling frames ever made, yet no one fusses over them. I guess they
>lack that Euro mystique.
I'm suprised that anyone fusses over a Vitus! The only reason
I do is that I have an emotional attachment to the thing after
spending so much time suffering on it.
Eric