Back during the height of the first full coronavirus lockdown in the spring, the bicycle as means of escape, as resetter of perspective and far more besides, really came into its own.
Initially for my rides during enforced home-working and avoidance of anyone I didn't live with, I swapped between a pricier bike from a bigger, better known brand and the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 road bike.
Soon enough I settled for the latter and the Vitus became my only go-to for any 'proper' rides. Now, with a second lockdown underway, the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 road bike is once again taking up the same role.
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Frameset
The frame has touches of a traditional 'compact road' geometry with its sloping top tube but, as we are used to seeing on many bikes these days, comes with dropped seat stays. It creates a contemporary looking bike that rides nicely to boot.
It climbs well, clips along nicely on the flat and is comfortable enough for a gruelling Classics ride.
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The wheelbase is on the long side at 1,017mm which can, in part, be attributed to the longer fork rake pushing the front wheel forward.
Coupled with the 71.5° head angle, the bike's handling is stable and corners well.
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Components
The bike is set up with a Shimano Ultegra Di2 groupset and Vitus's own Prime wheels. The groupset is the best my riding standard needs and also indicates the bike's good value.
Many bikes of a similar price – RRP £2,499.99 – come with Ultegra mechanical, with electronic groupsets usually commanding a higher outlay.
When set up properly, Shimano electronic gearing is near-faultless and in terms of shifting that is true on the Zenium too.
However, many bikes now hide the Di2 junction box – in the bar end, the seat post or elsewhere – which gives much cleaner lines, helps keep external cabling to a minimum and moves the junction box further out of harm's way.
This is not the case for the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 road bike and forms one of my few complaints about the bike. Looking like a model from five years previous, the junction box is hanging about below the stem, attached with a fiddly rubber band.
This is a bike build feature I'm not a fan of anyway, but I was further perturbed when using a Rapha Bar Bag to store ride essentials and ensure I could be as self-sufficient as possible on any ride.
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The Ultegra hydraulic disc brakes work fantastically and have been very welcome as the weather has turned and we head towards winter.
A consistent upgrade I make to bikes is to swap in a pair of Michelin tyres as, in my experience, they are unrivalled. However, rather than just being a point of preference as usual, this time it was a necessary change.
They may just have been from a bad batch, but the pair of Vee Tire Co Road Runner 700x28 tyres that the bike came with had such a curve to them, laterally, that it was like riding with a bent rim. In fact, I was convinced for a while the rim was indeed bent, and even did a wheel swap to isolate the problem and confirm it really was the tyre.
I've since spotted that the 2021 version of this bike comes with Schwalbe Pro One tyres, so I couldn't have been alone in thinking an upgrade was needed.
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Ride
Eye-catching in an iridescent, sparkly purple at the front end that fades to black at the back, the other riders out for their solo jaunts (and those in groups who didn't believe the rules of a global pandemic applied to them) were unlikely to be on a similar machine, instead rolling around on the stealthier shades of grey and black that many brands currently favour.
But this bike is, thankfully, style and substance. While the former might be a down to personal preference (a friend I rode with in the summer was not a fan of the paintjob) the latter I can vouch for after months with and many kilometres on this bike.
The previously mentioned geometry suited my riding style, which I might describe as being at the racier end of average: a long way from sit-up-knees-out but equally not charging around everywhere with a flat back like I'm forging a solo breakaway in a Belgian headwind.
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My main achievement on this bike, if 'achievement' isn't over-egging it, is twice bettering my time on a tough climb in the Surrey Hills where my previous PB had stood for about five years. Part of this can be attributed to chasing the segment on Strava Live on my Wahoo, but the bigger part of the credit should go to the bike.
Power transfer, particularly when climbing out of the saddle as I was on the 20% incline, is efficient on the Vitus. Each hard-slogged pedal stroke feels like it is effectively translated to forward motion – it never failed to make steep hills feel that bit easier to summit and helped to offset the bike's 8.3kg weight.
Conclusion
No doubt with some influence on my opinion coming from the freedom cycling on any bike can afford – especially in lockdown, every kilometre on the Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 was enjoyable.
But I think it does go beyond 'any bike would do' during lockdown. With the fit perfectly dialled and the bike competently rolling along or over anything I chose to point it at, this bike made me want to get out and ride. Early mornings before work and longer rides at weekends didn't feel like a chore, as they sometimes can, with the Vitus as my choice of ride.
A bike that's comfortable without being slow, climbs with ease despite not being feather-light and is always fun to ride, with a couple of tweaks this could sit well above rival brand offerings in the same price bracket.
Find out more: The new 2021 Vitus Zenium CRI Ultregra Di2
Buy the 2020 Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2for a reduced priced on Wiggle
Buy the 2020 Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2for a reduced priced on Chain Reaction Cycles
Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 2021 update
While the frameset has remained the same, some componentry changes for 2021 and a switch to single colour only have seen the Zenium's weight drop by 250g from 8.3kg down to 8.05kg (advertised weights) – which addresses my main gripe about the bike's heaviness, although it's hardly a brute as it is.
As mentioned, the tyres have also been changed and though they aren't Michelin I can see the merit of using Schwalbe.
If the Di2 junction box disappears into the bar end for the bike's next update then it'll be a clean sweep of improvements for me and will surely produce a 5* bike.
Vitus Zenium CRI Ultegra Di2 2020: Spec
| Frame | Zenium UD Carbon T700 with UD carbon fork |
| Groupset | Shimano Ultegra Di2 |
| Brakes | Shimano Ultegra R8000 Hydraulic, 160mm rotor front and 140mm rotor rear |
| Chainset | Shimano Ultegra R8000 52/36T |
| Cassette | Shimano Ultegra R8000 11-30T |
| Bars | Vitus Aero |
| Stem | Vitus |
| Seatpost | Vitus Carbon |
| Saddle | Vitus |
| Wheels | Prime Baroudeur - Aluminium Disc Tubeless, with Prime hubs |
| Weight | 8.3kg |
| Contact | vitusbikes.com |
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