Does the Vitus Auro Disc Rival AXS deserve a place on our list of the best triathlon bikes? Experienced tester and workshop manager Will Poole finds out...
Online sales powerhouse Wiggle is the current home of Vitus, a storied brand name originating in France in the 1930s.
Down the years it’s been owned by brands including Time and Look, but the latest manifestation of the company has enjoyed associations with road legend Sean Kelly, mountain bike personality Rob Warner and – critically for these pages – triathlon icon, Helen Jenkins.
Vitus Auro Disc Rival AXS updates
Now in its third season, the Vitus Auro Disc replaced the rim brake-equipped predecessor. Aside from the obvious change in location of braking hardware and contact surfaces, the stem is where most of the updates have occurred.
Despite the greater flexibility of hydraulic hoses and their ability to go through tighter turns without impeding performance, the hoses are now routed out of the base bar and into the hollowed-out spacer beneath the stem.
The stem on the rim brake version could hold the SRAM AXS ‘Blip Box’ within it, but this new version doesn’t have space, so it sits somewhat untidily atop the stem.
Other differences from the rim-brake version are the seat clamp now neatly integrated and accessed from under the top tube and a seatpost fully capable of housing a Shimano Di2 battery with a charge port for the previous format of that groupset.
The build kit on the complete bike tested here involves a Zipp Vuka aluminium bar and extension set-up, SRAM Rival AXS wireless shifting and hydraulic disc brakes along with Reynolds’ AR58/AR80 wheelset.
Storage and fit
The unidirectional carbon frame has no internal storage but does feature two sets of bottle bosses on the down tube and seat tube.
A third-party storage unit can be fitted to the seatpost behind the saddle adjustment system.
Meanwhile, a press-fit bottom bracket keeps the cranks turning, brake calipers are on flat mounts front and rear and both axles are of the 12mm bolt-through flavour.
Zipp’s Vuka aluminium cockpit runs a standard 31.8mm round clamp so could be changed for an upgraded carbon unit at a later date.
The round clamp also offers the facility of tilting the bars upward if the rider prefers a more secure grip, while routing the hoses underneath the stem does leave enough slack to remove the bars and stow them alongside the frame in transit.
The round clamping area extends to the pylons, allowing them to be rotated backward far enough to facilitate a rather aggressive ‘praying mantis’ style position with hands in front of the face.
The seatpost also boasts a huge range of adjustment with a sliding unit built into the head of the seatpost offering 60mm of fore/aft movement without loosening the seat clamping bolt.
It should be possible to set the correct size Auro up to help you achieve any goal you may have, be that sprint distance or going long.
Groupset performance
Much has been made of SRAM’s best-value Rival AXS wireless groupset and with good reason – shift quality is crisp and consistent.
The Auro does miss out on one of the biggest benefits of electronic shifting, however. Right from its inception, a huge positive of electronic shifting has been the facility to run multiple shift points allowing gear changes from the extensions and from supplementary shifters on the base bar.
This allows simpler navigation of technical courses or easier gear changes when climbing on the base bar.
Having to sit down every time a gear change is necessary is a throwback to mechanical shifting, and given the Blip Box has four ports, leaving two unused is a bit of a head-scratch situation.
The other slightly odd spec choice is the chainring sizes – 35/48 is one of the stock options from SRAM, but there are two reasons TT riders run larger chainrings.
First, average speeds are much higher and on a straight descent it’s very easy to spin out on this set-up.
Second, the minute aero gains from having the chain both straighter in the middle of the cassette and creating marginally less drag on a larger sprocket.
Vitus Auro Disc Rival AXS performance
Reynolds wheels are both fast and easy to set up tubeless. Although arriving with tubes in the tyres, the rims are tubeless ready and valves and sealant are supplied.
The tyres are 25mm Michelin Power Cup Classics, but Vitus says the Auro will take 28mm tyres for added comfort.
The considerable stem and bolt-through axles make the disc brake- equipped Auro much stiffer than the rim-brake predecessor. On hillier routes it’s noticeably quicker due to the more solid response climbing and the extra stability on descents.
While no PBs fell on the local TT courses, the opening kilometres of each were consistently several seconds faster for the same reasons. Longer rides were surprisingly comfortable in spite of the added stiffness.
Available as a complete bike for £4,699.99 or as a frameset at £1,999.99, the Auro represents great value for money with some smart spec choices.
Verdict: A great-value TT bike with key upgrade potential.
Score: 82%
Vitus Auro Disc Rival AXS specs
Weight: 9.3kg
Frame: Unidirectional carbon
Fork: Integrated bayonet style
Gears: SRAM Rival AXS wireless
Brakes: SRAM Rival hydraulic
Wheels: Reynolds AR58/80
Finishing kit: Zipp Vuka alloy cockpit, Vitus TT saddle
Highs: Great value, wide range of adjustability.
Lows: No shifters on base bar, small chainrings.
Buy if... The Auro would make a great first TT bike, offering the chance to make upgrades as they become necessary.
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