Vitus Venon CR Disc 105

For 2018 Vitus has given its endurance model, the Venon, a revamped frameset to improve the balance of speed and comfort. It's not just a matter of oversizing this and promoting flex here or there, this CR Disc 105 model's geometry has had a massive overhaul, making it a lot less aggressive than its 2017 predecessor.

• Pros: Neutral handling makes for an easy bike to ride, 30mm tyre clearance
• Cons: Quite stiff for an endurance bike

If you take a look at our First Ride piece on the newly launched Venon back in 2016, you can see how much this new model has changed.

The ride

For 2018 a lot of the tubing has been beefed up for power output, like that massive down tube, and the bottom bracket area and chainstays aren't exactly shrinking violets either; the whole thing looks a lot more aggressive.

It means the Venon is a very stiff bike, which goes against the thinking behind many endurance bikes, as they tend to be a little easier on the contact points than an out and out race bike.

The Venon CR is a fast bike, too, especially over long distances, though it doesn't have the snappy acceleration of a race bike and feels heavier than you'd expect of its 8.86kg (19.5lb) overall weight. Moving off from a standing start quickly, you have to work quite hard and if you're on busy roads with multiple traffic lights, roundabouts and junctions it can become labouring on the legs, especially if you're trying to maintain your place in traffic.

Once you're moving, though, the Venon rolls well and you can really cover some decent mileage over varying terrain.

The slightly upright position means you can use the drops to get out of the wind without having to get into too extreme a position, and if you spend most of your time on the hoods you can stay much more relaxed around the shoulders, neck and back.

The high levels of stiffness mean the Venon climbs pretty well, though it does favour those short, sharp ones where you can get out of the saddle and really nail it. Then again, if it's a long drag, that relaxed position comes into play, allowing you to tap out a rhythm to the top.

For 2018 this 56cm Venon has had the head angle relaxed by half a degree to 72.5, and the wheelbase is slightly longer by about 10mm at 993mm. That's still pretty short for a disc brake-equipped road bike, and gives the CR Disc a slightly neutral and sedate feel as regards handling.

It's fine in the non-technical stuff and actually means it is a very easy bike to ride whatever your level of ability, or when you are tired coming towards the end of an epic event.

High-speed descending was a little vague – I couldn't quite get the feedback I wanted on road conditions and grip levels going into corners so found myself making constant little micro-adjustments to stay on the correct line. Keep the speed at sensible levels, though, and you'll be fine, and if the bike does step out of line it does so gradually and you don't really have to fight it back to where you want it. Exhilarating, maybe not; safe, yes.

It's a sensible compromise for this style of bike. If you're a sportive rider you're likely to find yourself on a lot of unfamiliar roads, and nearly every organiser feels the need to send you up all of the steepest local climbs and obviously down them. A neutral handling machine with no surprises is ideal.

Frameset & geometry

The frame is made from Toray T700 high-modulus uni-directional carbon fibre, as is the fork, which also includes a full-carbon tapered steerer increasing from 1 1/8in to 1 1/2in as it gets to the crown.

As I've said above, it is a very stiff frame, with its carbon layup offering very little in terms of 'give' anywhere.

Oddly, though, the frame barely resonates over rough surfaces; in the comfort stakes that goes a long way to offsetting the firm ride.

The new frame comes with 28mm tyres as standard but it'll take up to a 30mm width so you can knock the pressure down a bit to compensate for the frame.

Internal cabling features throughout and will work with both mechanical and electronic groupsets (you can get an Ultegra Di2-equipped model for £2,999.99) and you get no rattles from the cables or hoses. The down tube entry ports have been moved to the head tube for a much cleaner look.

A couple of years back when the Venon was first developed, disc brake calliper standards hadn't really settled down, but now most people are agreed that 12mm thru-axles are where it's at when it comes to wheel retention. It's this setup that we now see on the 2018 model rather than the 15mm thru-axle fork and rear quick release found last year.

Geometry has seen the biggest changes, though, especially with the range being reduced from six sizes to just five.

Last year's 54cm is closest to the M(56cm) model we've got here, and the main difference is the length of the head tube: an extensive 170mm on our test model compared with 140mm for the previous model.

This has obviously made it taller at the front end and had an effect on the stack figure. This 571mm, when divided by the reach of 381mm, gives you a more endurance-friendly ratio of 1.5. The original model was around 1.4, which is race bike territory.

Overall, the Venon has become a much more relaxed ride, making the difference between it and the Vitesse, Vitus's race bike, more clearly defined.

Groupset & options

Our test bike, as you can guess by the name, is the Shimano 105-equipped model, priced at £1,799.99. There is also a women-specific CRW model for the same price.

The range starts with a Tiagra setup, which costs £1,399.99, with two Ultegra models sitting above the 105 bikes, a mechanical option that'll set you back £2,199.99, and that Di2 version I already mentioned for £2,999.99.

The model we've got comes with a full groupset from Shimano, so no crankset swap-out or anything to save costs.

Gearing-wise, the Venon shows its speedy intentions with a 52/36-tooth semi-compact chainset, where most endurance bikes would go for a compact 50/34. This is paired to an 11-28 11-speed cassette which gives a taller spread of gears than you'd expect for an endurance bike, but you could drop that lowest gear by swapping to an 11-32. Vitus has included a long cage rear mech, which makes this a cheap and easy switch without having to update any other components.

Shimano's 105 is probably next up for an upgrade, since we've recently seen the excellent new Dura-Ace and Ultegra groupsets, but this current 5800 model still offers great shifting and value for money.

The Venon CR 105 uses hydraulic disc brakes so you get the 105 equivalent hydro levers which, it has to be said (time and time again by me just in the vain hope Shimano is listening), aren't as good at changing gear as the mechanical models.

I find them uncomfortable too, especially where they have this gap underneath the hood which can nick the skin of your fingers if you aren't careful when flicking the lever across.

Braking is pretty decent, though not on the same level as the more expensive and more appealingly shaped Dura-Ace/Ultegra versions.

The Venon uses flat-mount brake callipers and is specced with a 160mm front rotor and 140mm rear; there's plenty of power and modulation.

Although the Venon doesn't take mudguards, the addition of disc brakes seems like a sensible idea. Being a bit of an all-rounder, the Vitus is likely to be used in a lot of weather conditions and ridden on unfamiliar roads, where a bit of extra braking power is welcome, just in case.

Wheels & tyres

DT Swiss's E1800 wheelset is a nice addition to the spec list, considering their £350 rrp, often a place where downgrades are made. It's great to see a bike coming with a great set of wheels – after all, they are one of the major defining elements of how a bike rides.

The E1800s are part of DT's endurance range so they've been designed with reliability in mind, married to performance and weight. A claimed weight of 1,660g is pretty good too, so they don't feel like they are holding the bike back. And durability is top notch, especially with the latest batch of rain and freezing temperatures doubling the number of potholes around here.

Ultra Sport II is Continental's entry/mid-level road tyre and they offer a decent mix of grip, durability and rolling resistance. Thanks to the new compound, compared with the originals cornering confidence is much higher because of the increased grip; they are nowhere near as sketchy in the wet as they used to be.

I had no issues with punctures either, especially good considering the amount of hedge trimming going on around these parts.

Finishing kit

The rest of the components are all Vitus branded and similar to that seen on other bikes in its range. It all works well enough, with the alloy handlebar offering plenty of usable hand positions thanks to its compact shape.

The stem is also aluminium alloy, but at the rear you do get a carbon fibre seatpost in a 31.6mm diameter. Shimming this down to a 27.2mm might be an option to bring a little more flex into the equation. The Vitus branded saddle has a decent amount of padding and I found it quite a nice shape.

Value

At first glance I thought the Venon CR Disc 105 looked a little on the pricey side, but checking back through recent reviews and the latest price lists from the big brands just shows that everything has crept up.

Trek's Emonda SL 5 is £1,800, and while it doesn't have disc brakes it does come with a 105 groupset and carbon frameset like the Vitus.

> Buyer's Guide: 22 of the best 2017/2018 sportive bikes, from £500 to £9,000+

Giant's Defy Advanced 1 is the Taiwanese manufacturer's endurance model most in line with the Venon, and it's the same price. It does get Ultegra mechs but with a non-series crankset and 105 mechanical shifters, as it uses Giant's own cable to hydraulic brake converter. The fork also has an alloy steerer.

You can go cheaper if you wanted to, with Ribble's Sportive Racing Disc; it's slightly lighter and nearly £200 cheaper at just £1,604.

Conclusion

The Venon CR Disc 105 has morphed away from its racing geometry to create a bike that is easier to live with for those who don't want all-out performance.

It hasn't dropped those high-speed ambitions, though, and it's still a very quick bike in most conditions, so it'll just come down to whether or not you can cope with that firm ride on long jaunts in the saddle.

Verdict

Well-mannered mile-muncher for those who like a stiff ride