Vitus Sommet 297 CRX, verde

The big-hitting Vitus Sommet CRX 297 Mountain Bike is all about the rush. The rush of air, the rush of trees passing you in a blur, the rush of tyres through dirt, the rush of light, the rush of sounds - the brief snapshots that flood your senses and place you deep in the zone. And then there’s the rush that boils up inside you and the feeling of total control as you float from takeoff to landing and rip down descents, from bike park to big mountain. The rush as you roll out at the bottom of the trail and chase one last uplift. The rush that pushes you to explore your limits without overstepping the mark. This is for the full-face thrillseekers and the diehards. This is why you do it.

The Sommet 297 CRX has been developed to run a mullet wheel setup. A 27.5” rear wheel gives you more clearance over the back for steep ground and is responsive through tight corners, while a stable 29” wheel at the front eats up rocky terrain and keeps momentum high. You’re getting the versatility of both wheel sizes in one bike. Plus, it’s easier to pull manuals and wheelies. With volume added to the carbon front triangle, stability is rock solid without compromising agility. It’s not a bike for taking just any line, it’s a bike for taking the best line. A bike that tracks so accurately it rewards you with time. Time to line up the next obstacle and pick your route as the trail unfolds in front of you.

The Sommet is a bike that you sit within, not perch on top. Eagerly shred the refined berms and manicured features of a trail centre, but take a step into the wild and that’s where this bike really comes alive, revelling in the unpredictability of naturally technical ground. Whether threading the needle through Enduro tape or dropping in on your favourite descent, speed comes easily to the Sommet CRX. It thrives in the chaos of turbulent trails. Bringing calm where all around there is frenzy.

Carbon first
By designing the new Sommet and Escarpe platforms in tandem Vitus decided early on that they were going to focus on a Carbon front triangle only with a aluminium rear triangle. This gives the perfect blend of stiffness and compliance. Vitus increased the tube volume in the front triangle to improve stiffness, giving better track holding and stability through the full size range.

Updated geometry
Vitus have updated the geometry to give a more confidence inspiring ride. Key changes are slacker head angles and lower BB drop. They have also steepened the effective seat tube angle and made it progressively steeper as you go up the size range. This ensures that each frame size has an optimal sagged saddle position with no compromise. By measuring saddle height at saddle lay back Vitus looked at the position of the saddle relative to the bottom bracket to ensure when the bike was in sag you had an optimal pedaling position. The reason they steepened the seat angle on the larger frame sizes was to ensure that the saddle layback wasn't too far behind the bottom bracket.

Adjustable geometry Flip Chip
The Sommet comes with an adjustable flip chip to adjust your geometry as required. Vitus have built and optimised the head angle and BB drop around the "low" setting. However the "high" setting allows you to increase head angle by + 0.5 degrees and lift the bottom bracket by 6mm. Giving you the option to tweak your ride depending on the terrain you're riding.

Frame protection
Robust frame protection on downtube, seat stay and chain stay. Chain stay protection features a soft rubber to quieten chain slap.