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Vitus Mythique
Phrases by Dario DiGiulio; images by Tom Richards
Billed as a “confidence inspiring all-day ripper,” the Mythique 29 AMP falls properly into our path bike class, suiting the wants of all kinds of riders and functions.
• Journey: 140mm / 140mm fork
• 29″ wheels
• 65.5° head angle
• 77.5° seat angle
• 445mm chainstays
• Attain: 482mm (L)
• Sizes: S-XL
• Weight: 33.8 lb / 15.3 kg
• Value: $2,599 USD
• Extra information: vitusbikes.com
The Mythique has an all-purpose 140mm/140mm frame-fork journey combo, supplied by a RockShox Deluxe Choose R shock and a Pike Choose RC fork. You will get this construct with both Shimano SLX 7100 brakes (as examined) or SRAM’s 4-pot DB8s. With an XT/SLX drivetrain, WTB KOM wheels, and Schwalbe Hans Dampf – Magic Mary tires, you will be shifting fast up and down the hill.
Whereas the Mythique would not have any geometry changes you could make on the fly, the bike does come in brief and lengthy journey configurations (130 or 140mm), which give barely totally different geo numbers. Our longer journey variant had numbers to match, with the 65.5° head angle, 482mm attain, 445mm chainstays, and 77.5° seat tube angle all coming collectively to make for a properly fashionable body association. The 40mm backside bracket drop and 643mm stack gave the bike a really roomy really feel, serving to it is easy-going nature.
Climbing
The Vitus was our lightest bike on check, weighing in at slightly below 34 kilos. However as most of us are fast to say, weight hardly ever tells the entire story of how a motorcycle climbs, so let’s dive into among the extra related particulars.
Stability is the secret right here, with a pleasant upright really feel that locations you squarely between the wheels, giving the bike a properly predictable and calm nature while you’re hammering up the hill. The longer rear finish makes turning really feel extra like an arc than a fast whip-around, and the supportive and sporty feeling suspension give some pep to your step. The quite steep seat angle is a pleasant element to see on a price bike, pretty much as good geometry is free and all the time welcomed.
Descending
Straightforward to journey, laborious to push was my preliminary thought when testing out the Mythique. I instantly felt comfy on the bike, because of the well-sorted geometry and strong, unfussy element selections. Once more, stability is the secret right here, defining the journey high quality for probably the most half. In moments the place you actually begin to push the bike although, the suspension had a bent to dive a bit greater than you may want, versus offering help by these compressions. This was solely actually current in additional excessive conditions, because the Vitus was largely a pleasing journey associate.
The upside to that less-supportive suspension was the presence of nice grip in chattery sections of path, in addition to by looser corners. Urgent into the bike gave a pleasant degree of chew, whereas taking the sting off.
Whereas grippy and planted bikes are likely to skew in the direction of feeling uninteresting on path, the Mythique retained a pleasant playful vitality, not robbing any pop while you needed to choose the bike up. The upside to the simple to get together with geometry is the power to rapidly rise up to hurry in technical areas, which additionally makes up for among the lack in suspension efficiency.
The RockShox Pike was a sticking level for a couple of of us on this bike, specifically in how laborious it was to arrange in a means that felt acceptable for the otherwise-capable Mythique. All three of us had been nicely over the producer’s advisable stress, simply to get a good degree of help out of the fork. At instances this led to the entrance finish feeling fairly low on the bike, regardless of having a nicely-high static stack top. A greater damper would assist right here, however for the informal rider not trying to smash into holes and push by corners, it won’t be that huge an issue.
We have harped on this level many a time, however resin-only pads and rotors are all the time a disappointment on a mountain bike able to actual driving. This brake spec merely would not carry out when circumstances are moist, sizzling, or when descents are sustained, making for a fast swap for the potential proprietor. Fortunately, the brakes themselves are high quality, with the SLX two-piston stoppers offering their time-tested sharp really feel and energy.
Due to the simple driving nature of the Mythique, it is a bike I might readily suggest to many individuals moving into the game. The chassis is kind of good, with well-sorted exterior cable routing that may make element swaps and mechanic work very straightforward down the road. The geometry feels dialed, and the element spec is sweet sufficient to get going, even with some damaging marks.
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