Hi Greg,
The Vitus 979 dates back to 1979 and I'd date yours to early 1980s since it is 120mm spacing and internal cable routing.
The downtube shifter bosses are made for shifters with flat plates (70s/80s Campagnolo, Shimano, Simplex/Mavic etc). If your backing plates are contoured for the tube you just file them flat.
The chamfered face of the bb shell will work for the Mavic bb or any cup and cone bb, no problem. Not an issue.
The coolest thing to outfit your Vitus with would be all Mavic. The Mavic catalogs were always illustrated with Mavic parts on Vitus frames. The stuff shows up out here on the West Coast at swap meets with little or no collector interest so far. I have four bikes with full Mavic and two of them outfitted totally with swapmeet acquired Mavic parts for next to nothing.
Good luck, Chuck Schmidt South Pasadena, Southern California
Greg Achtem wrote:
>
> I just received a new to me Vitus 979 frame. I'm planning on building it
> up slowly and am on the search for a few parts. A few things have me
> stumped however. I know there's a few of you out there with Vitus
> experience and I hope you can offer me some guidance.
>
> Does anybody know how to determine the age of Vitus frames? Here are the
>
> clues I came up with. The serial number stamped on the bb shell is
> E116756. The rear dropout spacing is 120 mm. Yes, 120. I guess that
> means a freewheel hub for this one. I was thinking maybe American
> Classic, or a Phil if I can afford one. The frame came with a Shimano
> 600 headset (cup n cone) but that is easily replaced/upgraded. Frame
> also came with a Shimano 600 (EX? AX?) seatpost. The post is aero style
> with a one bolt clamp and a tilt adjust screw in the front top of the
> post. The post diametre is 25.0 This is probably original to the frame.
> Attached to the right chainstay is a Shimano branded protector. Rear
> brake cable routing is internal throught the toptube. The brake mounting
>
> holes on the frame and fork are for recessed bolts.
>
> I have found a few peculiarities withe the frame that I am sure are
> going to cause me some headaches during the build. The first (and most
> frustrating so far) are the downtube shifter mounts. Instead of the post
>
> sticking out of a curved tube, these mounts offer a flat surface to
> attach the shifter to. The shifters will be nowhere near the downtube
> once they are mounted. Okay, they'll be one or two mm away. The problem
> is I have a set of Superbe Pro shifters that look like they'll ony mount
>
> on to a curved surface. I don't think I can leave off the last piece of
> the shifter as there is some sort of integral stop as part of that part.
>
> The next potential problem is the bb shell. It looks like the ends were
> chamfered at the factory. The only thing I can think of is it would be
> for the Mavic bb. But it has been faced. Not very well, but it has been
> done just the same. Is this cause for concern, putting a cup an cone bb
> onto a shell where the ends have been thinned?
>
> Im looking for a bb cable guide. I hope someone has one to spare.
>
> That seems to be it for now. I'm sure more things will crop up as I
> continue on the journey.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Greg