1992 Vitus 992
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

Of all the older gruppos, I always thought the Dura Ace 7400-series to be the prettiest. Its just so clean and honest, with the classic Dura Ace logo, engraved, not silk-screened. The Shimano 600 6207/8-series also has the near identical aesthetic, but its not Dura Ace. So I've kinda been looking for a 7400 gruppo for a while, but not trying very hard.

The other day I noticed an ad on craigslist for a Vitus 992 with Dura Ace. The ad was not too descriptive with only one picture, so I didn't pay too much attention. But after a couple weeks, the ad was still up and the price had come down, so I thought I would stop by for a visit. When I saw the bike, it was VERY purple and kinda dirty, but it did appear to have the complete Shimano 7402 gruppo, with 8sp STI shifters. The frame had a very minor dent on the top tube, but the price was right, so on January 14, 2011, I bought Vitus 992. After I left, the seller called me and said he had forgot to give me the original skewers, so I walked back to his apartment and picked them up - nice!

2/1/2011 - I finished stripping down the bike, but came across an unexpected problem. The top tube features internal cable routing, but it appears that the epoxy used to bond the frames ended up bonding the brake cable housing as well. I used Vice-Grips and pulled so hard that the spiral steel housing came out while the plastic sleeve stayed in place! No now I have a piece of housing stuck in the top tube with no way of getting it out, I hate stuff like that! I wasn't sure what the date of this bike was, so based on the Shimano date codes on the components, the parts were manufactured in 1991. Since the Vitus 992 model means it was introduced in 1992, I will assume that this is an early 1992 frameset.

8/14/2011 - I sold the frameset and ended up using the DA gruppo on the KHS Aero Turbo.

Here are the specs:

Frame: Vitus 992, 55cm, purple. Serial Number: E201789. Frame uses a 5mm grub screw to secure the seatpost.
Fork: Vitus 992 aluminum alloy fork, 1" threaded.
Rims: MAVIC Open Pro with hard anodized finish, 32h.
Hubs: Shimano Dura-Ace 7402, 32h, 130mm rear spacing.
Tires: Continental Gatorskin, 700x23c.
Cassette: Shimano CS-7400-8, 12-23T code "U" combination, Hyperglide.
Cranks: Shimano Dura-Ace FC-7402, 53x39, 172.5mm, 130 BCD.
Bottom Bracket: Shimano Dura-Ace BB-7400, 112mm spindle, NJS approved.
Front Derailer: Shimano Dura-Ace FD-7403, braze-on.
Rear Derailer: Shimano Dura-Ace RD-7402, 8sp.
Lever/Shifters: Shimano Dura-Ace ST-7400.
Headset: MAVIC Vitus System.
Chain: Shimano Dura-Ace CN-7401, narrow.
Stem: Italmanubri (ITM) Eclypse, 1" quill, 130mm.
Handlebar: 3T, aluminum. 41.0cm wide, 9.0cm reach, 14.8cm drop. Decal says "COMPUTERIZED HI-TECH HEAT TREATMENT / HIGH VIBRATION CONTROL".
Brakes: Shimano Dura-Ace BR-7403, SLR-S.
Pedal: Shimano PD-M520 SPD.
Seatpost: UNO Comp SLC, aluminum, 25.4mm, black.
Saddle: Velo, pink.

The bike weighs 21lb 8oz.