Hopefully not too much.
Don’t forget a pair of these your arse will thank you for them 
Planet X are another great company to deal with and always reasonably priced - their helmets are outstanding vfm I don’t use anything else now.
2 Likes
And Schwalbe Marathon plus are super tough tyres too
1 Like
Though not familiar with the brand those types of tires are usually adequate for dry gravel type offroad trails. Need to be more careful braking at higher speeds on down slopes, low speeds they generally okay. Not so great off tarmac in the wet, you want a bit more tread for that though not necessarily knobbly.
The Vitus looks more geared toward faster on road so check tire clearance, from what you’ve said you may want the option of putting 40-45mm tires on.
1 Like
I’m really happy with this.
Meets budget (£900) and has clearance for tyres up to 45mm should you wish to use off road more in future. I’ve not felt the need and a lot of my riding on gravel paths. I wouldn’t bother with anything with a front derailleur nowadays, one thing less to go wrong and the rear gearing has more than enough range for day to day stuff.
Escape 0 Disc (2021) | Giant Bicycles UK (giant-bicycles.com)
2 Likes
Explain please.
Which will achieve what? Better grip on loose stuff?
Sorry to ask so many questions but the last half decent bike I had was a Trek which I bought to do a Coast to Coast charity ride around 30 years ago. I’m a little out of date with my knowledge of bikes.
Different flavours of hybrid, some are designed, geometry wise, to be more road/road bike oriented, some more gravel (slacker geometry angles etc for stability) some simply for more comfort, more sit up and beg. The Vitus pictured looks to be more the former.
The Giant posted by Tony looks ideal. He’s right, you no longer need a front mech on these types of bikes, you can now get huge range from the rear.
Tires, yes, wider adds grip and comfort, not just from the wider contact patch, you can run lower tire pressure which conforms to the terrain better and helps absorb shocks. All helpful when riding offroad
2 Likes
Ok thanks.
As I said originally the off-road use will be very occasional. I would guess easily < 5% so it will be used as a road bike for the vast majority of the time.
1 Like
After a serious think about what I really need from this bike, I decided that the off-road capability was by far the least important element. It’s going to be used for getting me to and from my usual birding sites for the vast majority of the time and the odd trip to the shop.
I’ve had some really useful advice here, so thanks for that.
Following the post by @downbeat I looked into the Vitus range (which I’d never heard of before) and read a few reviews. The result is that I’ve ordered this
Looking forward to getting out on it!
7 Likes
I’m sure back in the day when I was racing Vitus were a French bike company who were one of the first to move across to using Aluminium for bike frame construction. Previously it had all been about (increasingly exotic) steels but Vitus were one of the first French companies to use Al.
Paul, knowing your background you might have some thoughts on the “arms race” in steels prior to Al, Ti and Ca if you can be arsed to look😁.
The leading companies in Europe were Reynolds in the UK with 531, 653, 753 and 853; and Columbus in Italy with Genius, Nemo and Max.
How things have moved on with Ca and the different lay ups etc!!
Yes, Chain Reaction bought the name when they were developing their own brand offering. One nice touch, Sean Kelly who rode Vitus in his heyday was involved with the regeneration of the brand out of Ireland.
As for steel, it still has its niche in the market, mainly custom built frames. Stainless steel is the go too high end these days and Reynolds is still going strong. 853 is as highly rated now as it was 25 years ago.
1 Like
My Uncle still has his Reynolds steel bike, I think he’s had the same frame since the 60’s
Not that he uses it anymore, he’s 90 now
1 Like
Yes, I had a Steels 753 and then two Davd Yates 853s, the first with 531 seat and chain stays and the second being full 853.
The monikers of M Steel, Dave Yates and Joe Waugh were interchangeable as they were all built by Dave Yates and sold through the shop in South Gosforth, called M Steel Cycles, which was owned by Commonwealth medallist Joe Waugh.
Joe retired and the shop closed but I regularly see him in The Grey Horse in East Boldon, which is a pub I am sure Paul will be aware of.
Never heard of it.
Cowboy country 
1 Like
It was rocking recently when Sunderland had their annual trip to London:grin:. Better result than previous years granted:smirk:
!
Always wanted one of DYs Dogs Bollocks, was mtb for me at the time. Had an 853 and then 653 Kona, great bikes.
Met Dave a couple of times when i was in the NE but never had anything to do with Steels. I must have met Joe, vaguely remember the shop and did try and get Kona into them when i was in the trade but they were never interesred.
Had more to do with Arthur Caygill who iirc built frames back in the day Teeside way.
Yes, that MTB was in response to another builder who had one called Donkeys Knob or something similar.
Dave moved from Howdon in North Shields down to the Hull area I believe.
Did you deal with Jim Teasdale at MTS with Kona? He had them for a period and his personal bike was a Hei Hei King Kahuna.
Yes, I supplied Jim, great little shop tucked away, was a big dealer for us. I also ended up with a KK, the best bike I’ve ever owned and much better than the standard Hei Hei which was a little flexy.
Got on well with him and rode with them a couple of times from the shop. Until… he fell out with me when I supplied a few bikes to a dealer in Newcastle. I had no idea he’d have an issue, don’t think he ever spoke to me again. Bit of a shame but that’s the bike trade I guess
Yes, he could be funny could Jim😁! Fantastic bike mechanic though. Retired now and shop closed. Alan is working in a shop in Team Valley.
I rode for the team in local road races having moved from GS Metro which was the M Steels based team. (I got better deals on parts etc through MTS!). I say local but it included the big Scottish races and some down in N. Yorkshire. Managed to get my first category licence and retain it each year until I packed it in.
They also had a Premier Calendar team that were given bikes etc. but I was too old at that point and didn’t have the time for the extra travel and training required. Should have given it a shot looking back at it now.
1 Like
1st cat is a great achievement. Smoking, drinking and MTB for me at that time. Wasn’t until well into the 40s that I got going and started on the road, now the MTB rarely gets a look in.
I should think he did alright, he was always pretty shrewd. Hopefully happy and healthy in retirement with a couple of Porsches in the driveway. Never forget one afternoon when I visited, a lad came in, also interested in cars. After he left Jim was scathing, Corsa, bloody Corsa is what that kid aspires to. Funny at the time.