Vitus Sentier

mrb123

I'm in the market for a hardtail MTB for general trail riding - Hamsterley, Kielder, nothing massively technical.

I'd be grateful for any feedback on the Vitus Sentier models sold by Chain Reaction.

In particular, I'm a little torn between the VRS+ and VRX models linked to below.

The VRS+ has a Reba RL fork, SLX and 2.6" tyres (I think on wider rims than the VRX). It is £1300 before British Cycling discount, Top Cash Back etc.

The VRX gets XT kit and a Revelation fork, but doesn't have the plus size tyres (they're 2.3" on this one). The VRX is £1500.

So do we think the VRX is worth the extra cash?

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... prod159772

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/vitu ... prod159774

JBA

There have been numerous threads about the Sentier models. Do a search and you will find lots of discussion about the various models.
Personally I'd go for the VRX - better forks with wider stanchions and the groupset is a grade higher. Those upgrades are worth far more than the £200 extra retail price.
You can always change to wider tyres once the perfectly good 2.3's have worn out or been torn to shreds.

billycool

Vitus get good write ups.

Depends what you want to get out of it but 2.3 tyres are plenty wide enough IMO.

For XC riding 2.6 just seems to much to me. There are those that like it so it's up to you.

mrb123

Yeah, not sure the tyres are going to be a deal breaker either way - they can always be changed in due course.

I'm thinking the VRX may be the way forward due to the better fork. Not sure I'd notice a huge difference in the groupsets.

Just a shame that the Sentiers don't seem to be included in the current spend and save offer at CRC.

mrb123

Just having a quick scan at the prices of the groupsets and forks for anyone else looking at these two bikes...

Evans currently have SLX for £250 and XT for £340, so that's £90 difference there.

Wiggle are doing the Reba forks for £300 and Revelations for £460, so another £160 difference, £250 total

Better deals may be available elsewhere but it does suggest the VRX is well worth the extra cash as JBA suggested.

tallpaul_s

Revelations are a big upgrade over Rebas, 35mm (same chassis as the pike) and you can swap out the air spring for the new debonair one, and the damper for the charger 2 from the pike, so the upgrade path is better.

I would say though, the price difference between the Sentier VRX and the Escarpe VR isn't huge, and you get basically the same spec (SLX rather than XT). Of course you're getting a lighter bike with the Sentier, so ignore if you're not looking for a FS bike

mrb123

TallPaul_S wrote:

Revelations are a big upgrade over Rebas, 35mm (same chassis as the pike) and you can swap out the air spring for the new debonair one, and the damper for the charger 2 from the pike, so the upgrade path is better.

I would say though, the price difference between the Sentier VRX and the Escarpe VR isn't huge, and you get basically the same spec (SLX rather than XT). Of course you're getting a lighter bike with the Sentier, so ignore if you're not looking for a FS bike

Cheers for that. Just checking out the Escarpe on CRC.

Is it your review on the website?

Do you mind me asking how tall you are? If it's your review I note you got an XL. I'm 6'4" so will be in that region for sizing. Interested to hear your comments on the sizing.

Also, any reason you went for or would recommend the 27.5 over the 29er?

tallpaul_s

MrB123 wrote:

TallPaul_S wrote:

Revelations are a big upgrade over Rebas, 35mm (same chassis as the pike) and you can swap out the air spring for the new debonair one, and the damper for the charger 2 from the pike, so the upgrade path is better.

I would say though, the price difference between the Sentier VRX and the Escarpe VR isn't huge, and you get basically the same spec (SLX rather than XT). Of course you're getting a lighter bike with the Sentier, so ignore if you're not looking for a FS bike

Cheers for that. Just checking out the Escarpe on CRC.

Is it your review on the website?

Do you mind me asking how tall you are? If it's your review I note you got an XL. I'm 6'4" so will be in that region for sizing. Interested to hear your comments on the sizing.

Also, any reason you went for or would recommend the 27.5 over the 29er?

Yeah one of those reviews is mine and I'd say exactly the same now - I've got about 400 miles on the bike and it's still great. There's no creaks or noises, everything still works as it should.

I'm 6'3" so could have gone for either the XL or L - it's a long bike!! If I was buying again I would think about going for the L instead of the XL, just for a bit more flickability, but the long reach and wheelbase do make it super stable when you're doing 30+mph down a rocky flint covered straight chute Since buying the escarpe I've ridden a 458mm reach bike (the XL escarpe is 495mm reach) and it felt awesome, so the 470mm reach on the large would probably have been perfect.

On the 29er vs 27.5 thing, i just prefer 27.5 bikes. I rode quite a few demo bikes of both types and I prefered every 27.5 bike over the 29ers. I likes the maneuverability and the agility of the 27.5, and with 2.5" tyres the grip is awesome.

I will say though, comparing to the Sentier you're looking at a good 4.5lbs heavier bike - that's 2kg which is a fair amount. However, the weight of the Escarpe doesn't mean it's hard work, I did a 52 mile ride on it a couple of weeks back, some road and a good chunk of wide straightish trail, and the bike certainly wasn't holding me back. I wouldn't have loved to have been on a nice 25lbs hardtail with light fast rolling tyres, but the escarpe on 2.3" and 2.5" minion DHF's did well

Oh and if it helps, I was originally looking at the Sentier VRS+ - but after demoing a couple of FS bikes there was no chance of me going for a hardtail. I've basically come back to MTB's after a 15 year gap (early 20's to mid(ish) 30's) and my fitness level a few months back was terrible, I needed the comfort of a full suspension bike. Last year in November I did a couple of 10 miles trail centre rides and I was done in, my legs were like jelly and I needed to sit down at the end, which was giving me pain in my sitbones as every root and rock was coming through the saddle on the harsh alloy hardtails I'd hired. If you're going to be riding smoother trails and/or are much fitter then the comfort issue might not be a factor. I want a hardtail at some point in the next year as well as a FS bike, and my fitness is going from skywards at the moment, I'd never have been able to do a 50+ mile ride a few months back.

mrb123

Paul,

Thanks for your very detailed and helpful reply.

I'm in a similar position to you in that I used to do a bit of mountain biking 20 years back in my late teens and I'm now looking to get back into it having done a lot of cycling on the road over the last few years.

I'm certainly not ruling out a full suspension bike at this stage but budget is a consideration as I want to get something with a decent spec. I am a bit wedded to the roadie bias towards a lighter weight bike but I probably need to put that to one side to some extent.

I'm not in too much rush to buy so planning to spend some time looking at the options and keeping an eye out for any good deals that come up.

I'm going to have a look at some Whyte bikes this weekend. I think their 905 and T130 models compare fairly closely to the Vitus Sentier and Escarpe.

I've already sat on a Whyte T130S in size large (reach 467 stack 594) which probably felt a little small if anything as I would end up with a bit of drop from saddle to bars which I gather isn't really the done thing on modern MTBs.

I note that the reach on the Sentiers is a bit less than on the Escarpes so I reckon an XL Sentier should be a decent fit.

tallpaul_s

Funnily enough it was after testing a T-130S and an S-150, then a 905 that I made the decision that a FS was the way forward.

If you're coming from road riding then your fitness will be much better and you might find a FS bike a bit heavy and not as 'direct' as you're used to. Worth demoing a couple though to see how you feel.

mrb123

Had a look into my LBS today and sat on a few bikes.

Looks like I'd definitely need an XL in the Whyte 905 so presumably the same in the Vitus Sentier.

They did have a 2017 Cube Stereo full suspension in my size which looked and felt great and was a really good price but it was 160mm travel so wondering if that might be a bit much for me bearing in mind I started off looking at hardtails!