The Vitus E-Sommet VRX electric mountain bike is the brand’s top-of-the-line, consumer-facing, longest-travel model designed for the rigors of enduro riding.
For £5,499.99 / $6,099.99 / €6,999.99 you can get a RockShox Zeb Ultimate fork, a Shimano M8100 XT drivetrain and brakes, and a Shimano EP8 e-bike motor.
Keeping up with the latest trends, the E-Sommet features mullet wheels (29″ front, 27.5″ rear) and a modern, if not trend-setting, geometry with a 64-degree head tube angle and 478mm reach (large size) . bicycles.
On paper, the relatively affordable Vitus may appeal to many, but can it balance price, weight, and performance on the track?
The E-Sommet frame is made from 6061-T6 aluminum with integrated chainstays, downtube and engine guard. This reduces the noise from chain strikes and the possibility of damage from rock strikes or other impacts.
The bike cables are routed internally through the bearing caps of the Acros headset. This is an increasingly common design used by many manufacturers.
The headset also has a steering block. This prevents the rod from turning too far and potentially damaging the frame.
The tapered headset measures from 1 1/8″ at the top to 1.8″ at the bottom. This is the thicker standard most commonly used on e-bikes to increase stiffness.
According to Linkage Design, the E-Sommet’s 167mm rear wheel travel has a relatively progressive gear ratio, with suspension forces increasing linearly under compression.
Overall, leverage increased by 24% from full stroke to minimum. This makes it ideal for air or coil spring shocks where there must be enough bottoming resistance for a linear coil character.
The largest sprocket sprocket has 85 percent sag resistance. This means that pedaling force is more likely to cause the bike’s suspension (called the swingarm) to compress and expand than on bikes with higher numbers.
Throughout the bike’s travel, there is between 45 and 50 percent lift resistance, meaning that braking forces are more likely to cause the suspension to stretch rather than compress. In theory, this should make the suspension more active when braking.
The Shimano EP8 motor is paired with a proprietary BT-E8036 630Wh battery. It is stored in the downtube, hidden behind a cover that is held in place by three hex bolts.
The motor has a maximum torque of 85Nm and a peak power of 250W. It is compatible with the Shimano E-Tube Project smartphone app, which allows you to customize its performance.
While the geometry of the E-Sommet isn’t particularly long, low, or slack, they are modern and well-suited to the bike’s intended enduro use.
This is combined with a large reach of 478mm and an effective top tube length of 634mm. The effective seat tube angle is 77.5 degrees, and it gets steeper as the frame size increases.
The chainstays are 442mm long and the long wheelbase is 1267mm. It has a bottom bracket drop of 35mm, which equates to a bottom bracket height of 330mm.
Front and rear RockShox shocks feature Charger 2.1 Zeb Ultimate forks with 170mm of travel and custom tuned Super Deluxe Select+ RT shocks.
Full Shimano XT M8100 12-speed drivetrain. This matches Shimano XT M8120 four-piston brakes with ribbed sintered pads and 203mm rotors.
High-quality Nukeproof (Vitus sister brand) Horizon components come in a wide range of specifications. These include Horizon V2 wheels and Horizon V2 handlebars, stems and saddles.
Brand-X (also a sister brand of Vitus) offers Ascend drip posts. The large frame comes in a 170mm version.
For several months I have been testing the Vitus E-Sommet on my home runs in the Scottish Tweed Valley.
The challenges ranged from riding the British Enduro World Series circuit, downhill runs used in national competitions, to soft central runs and exploring the Scottish lowlands for all-day epic off-roading.
With such a variety of terrain, it helped me get a clear idea of where the E-Sommet excels and where it doesn’t.
I set the fork air spring to 70 psi and left two spare reduction gear spacers in the positive chamber. This gave me a 20% sag, giving me good off-top sensitivity but plenty of lean down.
I leave the high speed compression control fully open, but increase the low speed compression two clicks wide open for more support. I set the rebound almost completely open for flavor.
Initially I loaded the rear shock air spring to 170 psi and left the two factory installed shock shims in the airbox. This resulted in me sinking 26%.
However, during testing, I felt that light-hitting tunes would benefit from increased spring pressure, as I used full travel too much and frequently switched or deepened mid-stroke when compressed.
I gradually increased the pressure and it stabilized at 198 psi. I also increased the number of volume-reducing pads to three.
Sensitivity to small bumps was not affected, although sag was reduced thanks to a very light shock setting. With this setup, the bike stays farther in its travel and bottoms out less frequently at high load settings.
It was nice to see a lighter damping setting compared to the general trend of over-damping the factory settings.
While relying primarily on spring pressure to adjust ride height is a compromise, the lack of dampers to limit the suspension’s ability to handle bumps means the rear end feels good despite less sag than usual. Plus, this setup is perfectly balanced with the Zeb fork.
Uphill, the E-Sommet rear suspension is very comfortable. It jumps back and forth, absorbing the smallest high frequency impacts with ease.
The boxy side bumps found on worn trail center surfaces or rock-strewn ramps have little effect on bike imbalance. The rear wheel moves up and rolls over bumps with ease and agility, isolating the bike’s chassis from erratic impacts.
This not only makes the E-Sommet very comfortable, but also improves traction as the rear tire adheres to the road, adapting to its contours.
Spicy rocks, deep or technical climbs become fun instead of intimidating. They are easier to attack without the risk of wheel slip due to the large grip.
Grippy Maxxis High Roller II rear tires provide maximum grip. The steep slopes of the tire’s tread are good at digging loose ground, and the MaxxTerra compound is sticky enough to cling to slippery rocks and tree roots.
The Zeb Ultimate mirrors rear end traction and ride over small bumps, proving the E-Sommet is a worthy plush partner.
While Vitus’ anti-squat data showed the bike should wobble under load, this only happened at lower cadences.
Spinning the crank in a lighter gear, the rear stayed impressively neutral, only moving in and out of travel when I became unsteady when pedaling.
If your pedaling style isn’t very smooth, the EP8 motor will help offset any losses from unwanted suspension movement.
Its riding position improves suspension comfort, and the relatively short top tube keeps me in a more upright position, a position favored by winch and upright enduro style riders.
The rider’s weight is shifted onto the saddle rather than the handlebars, helping to reduce shoulder and arm fatigue on long trailhead transitions.
While Vitus has upped the seat tube angle on this generation of E-Sommet, replacing bikes with tighter corners like the Pole Voima and Marin Alpine Trail E2 suggests the E-Sommet will benefit from tighter cornering.
To be picky, I would rather have my hips above the bottom bracket than behind it for more efficient pedaling and comfort.
It will also improve the E-Sommet’s already impressive climbing abilities, as a more centralized position means less excessive movement is required to transfer weight to the front or rear wheels. This significant reduction in weight transfer helps to minimize wheel spin or front wheel lift as the bike is less likely to become lighter on both sides.
Overall, however, the E-Sommet is a fun, attractive, and capable hill climb bike. This certainly expands its scope from enduro to super class trail bikes.
Weather conditions, driving style, rider weight and type of track affect the range of the E-Sommet battery.
With my curb weight of 76kg on a single charge, I typically covered 1400 to 1600 meters in hybrid mode and 1800 to 2000 meters in pure eco mode.
Jump into Turbo and you can expect range to drop somewhere between 1100 and 1300 meters of climb.
Post time: Jan-30-2023