Vitus Venon Disc 105 review

You normally associate carbon bikes with low weights, but at comfortably the wrong side of 8kg the Vitus Venon Disc 105 is a long way from spritely.

The Venon is, however, certainly on the modern side, with its Toray T700 carbon frame and disc brakes – which go a long way to account for those unexpected extra grams.

Out on the road, comfort is decent and well-balanced geometry front and rear makes for assured, predictable handling.

We’re confident that most riders will find the Venon a perfectly good companion for even the longest and lumpiest of sportives.

Shimano’s RS505 brake levers are a little longer and chunkier than both their non-hydraulic 105 equivalent and the higher-level Ultegra hydraulic disc brake levers.

On first impressions, we were worried they may not be as comfortable, but our fears turned out to be unfounded, and even those with smaller hands should find the hoods comfortable.

The only thing to bear in mind is that the extra length may have a knock on effect on sizing.

While the main components are excellent, including the reliable 105 groupset, some of the finishing touches feel like compromises have been made to hit a price point, such as the narrow aluminium handlebars and thin bar tape.

Our biggest gripe, however, was the rattle from the internally routed cables, which became a little distracting on rough roads.

Still, the Venon’s responsive frame and moderate weight ensure that it is on the whole an excellent performer on the road.

The head tube length and geometry suggest a bike that is aimed more towards endurance than racing, but is not so high that you are sat up into the wind.

When climbing, no flex is noticeable through the frame, while downhill the Venon is superb, giving a fast and comfortable ride that can be leaned into corners with confidence.

That's helped by disc-specific Fulcrum wheels that do the job without fuss, and the 25mm Michelin PRO 4 tyres which give a wide contact patch and plenty of grip.

Ratings

Frame 9/10; Components 7/10; Wheels 7/10; The ride 8/10

Verdict: The Venon is a bike with a huge amount to offer, although the quality of the frame isn’t quite matched by some of the component choices. Still, it ticks most boxes with stable geometry, excellent handling, reasonable weight and a first-rate groupset with hydraulic brakes. A strong all-rounder.

Spec

Vitus Venon Disc 2016 review

21 April 2016, by Josh Cunningham

£1,350 (at time of review)

Vitus is another direct-to-market brand that, in its words, ‘cuts out the middle man’ by selling directly to the customer.

A key benefit of this is keeping prices low, and the Venon Disc is available at £1,214.99 from chainreactioncycles.com at the time of writing.

The Venon has been in production since 2011 but the 2016 model sees a major overhaul of the frame design, as well as a new paint scheme and the addition of disc brakes.

From the outset, it bodes for a well-conceived, well-balanced bike – and it’s a bit of a looker.  

Frame

At first glance, we were impressed with the Venon’s visual impact. The shapes of the frame – formed by the tube profiles and the relationship between front and rear triangles – come together very smartly indeed.

The mixture of ovalised and squared tubes, internal cable routing, and unusual (with it’s murky-fluoro contrast) yet nonetheless classy paint job, belie its price bracket.

From a design perspective, it’s clear to see the noticeably thin seatstays, which coupled with the 27.2mm seatpost, are designed to reduce road buzz and increase comfort without compromising the bike’s lateral stiffness.

Speaking of which, there’s a mighty big bottom bracket shell and chunky down tube that look capable of transferring ample amounts of power.

However, despite the bike’s sporty aesthetic, it opts for middling-to-relaxed geometry, and a slightly longer than average head tube confirms the endurance-orientated nature of the Venon.

Groupset

Shimano 105 is the Dura-Ace of yesteryear and its inclusion on the Venon fits right in line with the rest of the bike, delivering accurate transmission with every shift, and the 50/34 chainset and 11-28 cassette give plenty of scope for mixed-terrain riding too.

Vitus has equipped the Venon range with disc brakes for 2016, which suggests it sees the model becoming its do-it-all bike of choice.

The TRP Spyre brakes are dual piston, which means rather than just one pad compressing against the other, both pads grip the rotor in unison, and although this has minimal effects on performance, it should make adjustment and maintenance easier.

The adaptor that’s needed to connect the calliper to the Shimano Flat Mount platform is a little unsightly, but ensures the mounting is upgrade-ready. 

Finishing kit

The stem, bars and seatpost are all in-house, which keeps costs down, and the carbon seatpost is a nice touch.

Given that saddles are so personally subjective, with plenty of buyers swapping out for their tried-and-tested favourite, issuing the Venon with a Vitus saddle is no bad move. Saying that, we found it comfortable enough.

Wheels

The Fulcrum Racing Sport wheels are a welcome addition to the Venon, with their durability and strength all but guaranteed, and the Continental Grand Sport Race tyres provide an assured contact point with the ground.

The bike is fitted with 25mm tyres, but a step up to 28mm is easily doable with the clearance granted, and for a lot of riders the extra cushioning afforded may be preferable.

The ride

Hopping aboard the Venon is something we could have continued doing well beyond the test time available for the bike, as riding it quickly became something we looked forward to – be that on the commute home from work, or five-hour weekend rides in the lanes.

The way it marries comfort with speed is impressive, and we found the braking quality only enhanced the overall experience.

The Venon treads the line between comfort and speed very well, ironing out the worst road buzz and yet not taking any of the feel out of the ride. Given the bike’s modestly plump weight, it isn’t the sprightliest when tackling inclines or punching up to speed from dead stops and turns, though.

The oversized bottom bracket and stocky down tube do feel as if they’re withstanding the power, but transferring it into snappy forward motion is just a little restricted by the 8.73kg weight. 

Although Vitus has the Vitesse Evo as its flagship race bike, the Venon Disc would hold its own in a racing scenario if it weren’t for its disc brakes. As long as you’re not pinning numbers on, though, the TRP Spyre brakes work well.

In wet or dry, city or country, we had complete confidence in the stopping system, and their use is reflective of the bike’s adaptability as a whole. 

With its slightly elongated head tube, the Venon sits the rider up a fraction more than an all-out road bike, which is exactly what Vitus intends, and it will certainly be to the benefit of a lot of riders.

But the Venon is far from being a rocking chair, and once down in the drops and tucking in the elbows, the steepish seat tube has you in as racy a position as you’ll ever need when riding a bike like this.

We measured the head and seat tube angles as being slightly wide of the claimed goalposts, but in effect that played into the bike’s hands, with any twitchiness nullified by the gentle slackness of the front end, and the teasing forward lean offering a feeling of speed at the rear. 

For: Treads the line between comfort and speed

Against: On the heavier side

Verdict: The Vitus Venon Disc is a great looking bike whose adaptability is key to its appeal.

Geometry

Spec