# Vitus Nucleus 24



## Floyd1715 (Apr 20, 2019)

Went to pull the trigger (finally) on this for my 9 yr old daughter and looks like they are no longer selling the 2019 on Chain Reaction or Wiggle. As of now I haven't seen anything on the 2020's.

The only 24's carried right now are the 24+ models.

Does anyone know if there is anywhere else to pick one up? Or when we may see the 2020's

Thanks..


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

Last year it was late fall for new models.


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## 2melow (Jan 5, 2004)

Floyd1715 said:


> Does anyone know if there is anywhere else to pick one up? Or when we may see the 2020's
> 
> Thanks..


I would email them directly since CRC/Wiggle owns Vitus and is the exclusive (only) seller.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

Beware that emailing CRC/Wiggle will likely get you zero info on in-stock dates and emailing Vitus will take a while to get a reply (and still may not have any useful info).

At least that was my experience last spring when I was trying to figure out when they would be back in stock.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

Floyd1715 said:


> Went to pull the trigger (finally) on this for my 9 yr old daughter and looks like they are no longer selling the 2019 on Chain Reaction or Wiggle. As of now I haven't seen anything on the 2020's.
> 
> The only 24's carried right now are the 24+ models.
> 
> ...


Not sure if you are interested in spending a little more but the Rocky Mountain Vertex Jr has a really similar spec but better components and the 2020 is shipping now from Rocky for $739. I just picked up 2 from my local Rocky dealer. I was also going to get the vitus but when it was out of stock it sent me down the rabbit hole of finding the best bang for the buck and I don't think there is a better bang for the buck than the rocky. The geometry if pretty progressive as well.

https://www.bikes.com/en/bikes/vertex-jr/2020?tid=77

We are expecting them next week so I will post up a review when I get it and one once the first ride shake down is complete.


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## airwreck (Dec 31, 2003)

That Rocky does look good, shorter chainstays, but wish they would update the specs to include crank length, looks long in the photo. We upgraded the fork on our Nucleus to the suntour, gave up on the tektro brakes and switched to shimanos, hubs and bb bearings are not sealed well, cup and cone. The Rocky has a better gearing front and rear, but I'll take the Nucleus shimano over x5. Looking forward to a review.


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## rockcrusher (Aug 28, 2003)

airwreck said:


> That Rocky does look good, shorter chainstays, but wish they would update the specs to include crank length, looks long in the photo. We upgraded the fork on our Nucleus to the suntour, gave up on the tektro brakes and switched to shimanos, hubs and bb bearings are not sealed well, cup and cone. The Rocky has a better gearing front and rear, but I'll take the Nucleus shimano over x5. Looking forward to a review.


Just got the bikes. Too late to get it on dirt this weekend. They have 155 cranks, which is reasonable I guess. Nicely built out with, thankfully, Shimano brakes, which is nice as I have 6 other pairs of those. Oddly came with Schrader tubes but otherwise nicely built.

Kids size grips and kids saddle. Will report when we get more than the shake down ride we had on the bike path with the dog this afternoon.

Sent from my SM-G955U1 using Tapatalk


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Sweet man. I think both Rocky and Norco have done some good stuff for that 750$ range hardtail. You should put up a new thread for the rocky bikes when you have a good ride or two in.


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## hogfly (Mar 6, 2018)

Anyone know why these bikes can't currently be ordered from CRC? Have they sold out or awaiting a new update? A friend of mine is looking for a 24" bike for his son for somewhere around 400-500 US dollars, and I was trying to point him to the Nucleus.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

hogfly said:


> Anyone know why these bikes can't currently be ordered from CRC? Have they sold out or awaiting a new update?


Waiting on an update is always a possibility. But they do go in and out of stock. Like I mention above, they were out of stock early spring when I was looking at them but were in stock again 1-2 months later.


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Man, I wonder what's up with those bikes. I see they are making a rigid 24" bike similar to their 20". Hope they aren't going to stop making the Nucleus 24" hardtail.

GT Stomper Ace 24" at 399$ isn't a bad buy for the money assuming you can swap the fork out for an air fork. Maybe their is a deal or coupon to be had soon. 350$+150$ air fork and 60$ for hydraulic brakes = 560$ for a sweet little bike. That Vitus at 480$ tho is such a screaming deal on a very solid bike for most riders.

I've emailed them in the past and gotten a response is about a week. Wiggle sells them too...guessing they are out as well.


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

svinyard said:


> Wiggle sells them too...guessing they are out as well.


Wiggle and CRC are the exact same company these days. So if one is out, the other is going to be out as well.


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## eyeballs (Sep 16, 2016)

Sometimes wiggle will show an item that crc will not. And wiggle will ship free for items over $49, where crc is $50! I was able to use this to my advantage for my last order.


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## s13browe (Aug 22, 2019)

I emailed vitus about this and this was their reply. 

“I am sorry for any disappointment however we do not have a due date for these coming back into stock as we are now focused on our 2020 range of bikes the manufacturer's are no longer making the 2019 range and they will be discontinued once the stock depletes.

Please keep an eye on our registered retailers websites and our social media for further updates on the 2020 range.”


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## TimTucker (Nov 9, 2011)

eyeballs said:


> Sometimes wiggle will show an item that crc will not. And wiggle will ship free for items over $49, where crc is $50! I was able to use this to my advantage for my last order.


Shipping is also cheaper for "bulky" items at Wiggle -- I've been seeing $23 vs. $46 on some frames that I was looking at.


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## Floyd1715 (Apr 20, 2019)

I saw the 2020 Nucleus 27 VR's are out now. Maybe the 24's will be coming shortly...>


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## Floyd1715 (Apr 20, 2019)

I got tired of waiting and checking the Vitus site. Couldn't get a very clear answer of when the 2020 24's would be released. And from the larger model's that have been released already, it seems that the pricing point for the Nucleus line are going up.

So... I stopped in and picked up a GT Stomper Ace 24 for my daughter. On Sale at Dicks for $379. I figure i can upgrade the fork, brakes and a few others and still be ahead.

Initial reaction is I'm pretty pleased. Seems like a pretty solid little bike. Hopefully it lasts for her little brothers.


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Hey the Vitus Nucleus 24"/26" are back! It looks nicer in the looks department too. I love this bike because a sub-500$ airfork hardtail with appropriate cranks, hydraulic brakes and decent tires (non-plus!) just doesn't exist and is often a magic price point for families getting kids started. Not everyone is trying to drop 1200$+ on a Spawn/TrailCraft/Prevello. You'd have to spend about 750$ with Norco Charger or whatever to get something similar to this. Some of the nicer rigid bikes are even 600$+.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/vitus-nucleus-24-youth-bike-2020/rp-prod181444


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## StanfordRacer (Sep 29, 2008)

Looks great! $20 more than last year ($499 vs $479) but with some upgrades vs last year:
-Fork has lockout
-28 spoke vs 32 spoke wheels probably shed some weight and seem more appropriate for kids
-The brakes are now the kid-specific Tektro M282 vs the M290.
-Schwalbe Rocket Ron tires
-And a better color--certainly more gender-neutral this year. My daughter turned up her nose at last year's olive drab.

I'm not aware of any bike under $800 that is as good as this. My kid has a Norco Charger (which I got a deal on used), and I think the Vitus is a better bike on account of having a sensible crank length. The 152mm cranks on the Norco are too long.


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## svinyard (Aug 14, 2017)

Yeah its a ridiculously nice bike for the money. We have those brakes btw (took them off of another bike). They are terrible. The levers are a mile long for some reason, 4 finger brakes. That being said they still totally work fine, especially if you can move them way inboard. But yeah everything you said is spot on. I just hope they made enough of them this time. Nothing else comes close. The RR tires are a huge upgrade imo


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## CascadiaPNW (Jun 2, 2019)

StanfordRacer said:


> Looks great! $20 more than last year ($499 vs $479) but with some upgrades vs last year:
> -*Fork has lockout*
> -28 spoke vs 32 spoke wheels probably shed some weight and seem more appropriate for kids
> -The brakes are now the kid-specific Tektro M282 vs the M290.
> -Schwalbe Rocket Ron tires


FWIW, the 2019 had lockout as well. It's just not listed in the CRC info.

But the other upgrades are solid. Especially the tires.


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