# Vitus Nucleus 29 VRS vs Voodoo Bizango 29er



## grgr (May 16, 2020)

Hi, I want to buy my first serious MTB bike but I have difficulty choosing between the Vitus Nucleus 29 VRS and the Voodoo Bizango. Both seem to be nice bikes but I don't know whether 100mm travel on the Vitus is enough and whether it's worth spending extra £25 on the Bizango.
What do you think of these bikes? Which one would you choose and why? Thanks in advance!


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

Can you define what you mean by "serious" mountain bike? Defining it could help us point you in the right direction.


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## grgr (May 16, 2020)

By "serious" I basically mean better than my previous one which was a cheap £200 bike. Now I'm looking for a better bike for up to £675.


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

You can't go wrong with either model. Both of them are great. Have you been in contact with Chain Reaction Cycles? From what I understand, they sell Vitus and may even carry Voodoo. They can give you good advice seeing they are located in the UK.


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## Taroroot (Nov 6, 2013)

I had a Voodoo back in the day and it was a great bike. Took a hell of a beating, you should have seen how dented and scratched the chainstays were, and kept on going!
Voodoo is a different company now, but they seem to be keeping the same ethos and have retained Joe Murrays expertise, which is good.


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

Do you have a link for the Voodoo you've found?
Specs on the one I found shows 19mm rim wheels. Those are no sale skinny. 
30mm rims make a major performance difference.


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## grgr (May 16, 2020)

eb1888 said:


> Do you have a link for the Voodoo you've found?
> Specs on the one I found shows 19mm rim wheels. Those are no sale skinny.
> 30mm rims make a major performance difference.


I see that the rims are 29" Alloy, black, 32H so I guess they're 32mm but I honestly have no idea. Could you check it yourself and let me know?
Here: https://www.halfords.com/bikes/mountain-bikes/voodoo-bizango-29er-mens-mountain-bike---16in-18in-20in-22in-frames-448053.html


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## grgr (May 16, 2020)

Battery said:


> You can't go wrong with either model. Both of them are great. Have you been in contact with Chain Reaction Cycles? From what I understand, they sell Vitus and may even carry Voodoo. They can give you good advice seeing they are located in the UK.


Unfortunately, I don't live in the UK so I have to pick my bike based purely on the parts of the bike and can't test ride it in person because in Poland (at least in my region) there aren't any bike shops selling Voodoo and/or Vitus. Moreover, CRC don't sell Voodoo bikes. They do sell Vitus but asking them for advice would be kinda weird. "Hey, which bike would you recommend: the one you sell or the one your competition sells?" haha


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## Battery (May 7, 2016)

grgr said:


> Unfortunately, I don't live in the UK so I have to pick my bike based purely on the parts of the bike and can't test ride it in person because in Poland (at least in my region) there aren't any bike shops selling Voodoo and/or Vitus. Moreover, CRC don't sell Voodoo bikes. They do sell Vitus but asking them for advice would be kinda weird. "Hey, which bike would you recommend: the one you sell or the one your competition sells?" haha


You would be surprised. Over here, my bike shops have recommended that I visit certain shops when I need specific parts.


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## grgr (May 16, 2020)

Battery said:


> You would be surprised. Over here, my bike shops have recommended that I visit certain shops when I need specific parts.


Could you also take a look at the frame sizes? I'm 174cm tall and can't decide between 16" and 18" sizes.


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

You also need to measure your inseam with shoes. Not pants inseam. 5'8.5" height.

Voodoo website specs say Alex TD19 rims. 32H means 32 holes for spokes.
https://6ad11a77-3fe0-4468-a698-03c...d/607f97_de98e2bf0acf42759ef2dbf2cbb6288a.pdf

TD19 is 19mm wide based on other rims on Alex site. No listing for TD19. It's probably oem only.
Wheels are 15x100 thru-bolt hub front 135 quick release hub rear. Not Boost which is 15x110 front and 12x148 thru-bolt rear. That's current.

Email Halfords for more specs on the wheelset.

The Vitus also has 135 QR rear but does have a Boost fork with space for a wider tire and 15x110 hub.


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## grgr (May 16, 2020)

eb1888 said:


> You also need to measure your inseam with shoes. Not pants inseam. 5'8.5" height.
> 
> Voodoo website specs say Alex TD19 rims. 32H means 32 holes for spokes.
> https://6ad11a77-3fe0-4468-a698-03c...d/607f97_de98e2bf0acf42759ef2dbf2cbb6288a.pdf
> ...


Inseam without shoes: 78cm, so with shoes it's probably 80cm. Also, measured my height again (previous one was right after getting up) and it's 173cm if it makes any difference.

Are these rims an issue? If they are, then it's "pick your poison" between the Voodoo and Vitus. Either 120mm fork and 1 more gear on Voodoo but 19mm rims OR 100mm fork, 1 less gear and 30mm rims on Vitus.


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

80 is 31.4" 78 is 30.75". These are long for a 173cm height so your torso is short. This affects bike fit showing in your need for less cockpit space. Reach is the number that most reflects cockpit space. You can fine tune cockpit space with stem length, but 45mm is currently a good area for that. Bar width, bar sweep and bar rise also affect cockpit fit. 

Reach is listed as 'L' on the Voodoo site but not included in the chart. ?? Email Voodoo about this. 
You're likely a 16".
The rims are a big deal. Completely affects your traction in cornering. 
You can get upgrade rims and new spokes to relace your hubs. WTB has 35mm inner width rims and Sapim Lasers are my spoke of choice with brass nipples Polyax.
I'd go with the Vitus VRS 1x10.


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## grgr (May 16, 2020)

eb1888 said:


> 80 is 31.4" 78 is 30.75". These are long for a 173cm height so your torso is short. This affects bike fit showing in your need for less cockpit space. Reach is the number that most reflects cockpit space. You can fine tune cockpit space with stem length, but 45mm is currently a good area for that. Bar width, bar sweep and bar rise also affect cockpit fit.
> 
> Reach is listed as 'L' on the Voodoo site but not included in the chart. ?? Email Voodoo about this.
> You're likely a 16".
> ...


I chatted with two assistants on Halfords: one of them said 16" frame is best, the other one said 18". Now I wonder whether the right size is objective or subjective. Although neither Vitus nor Voodoo are available in my local bike shops, I'm probably gonna go to some of them and test ride some 16" and 18" bikes to see what fits me better.


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## eb1888 (Jan 27, 2012)

grgr said:


> I chatted with two assistants on Halfords: one of them said 16" frame is best, the other one said 18". Now I wonder whether the right size is objective or subjective. Although neither Vitus nor Voodoo are available in my local bike shops, I'm probably gonna go to some of them and test ride some 16" and 18" bikes to see what fits me better.


When you do this note the reach and stem length of the bikes.


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## KaaneGuji (Jul 2, 2020)

I would go for Bizango simply because it would be easy to go to Halfords if I have any problems and they offer Lifetime warranty on frame etc.

If you are not dead set on the two options then the Calibre Line 20 also falls with in your budget and has quite good specs. It's £599 at GoOutdoors site and £630 in UltimateOutdoors site.

https://www.ultimateoutdoors.com/equipment/361898-calibre-line-20-mountain-bike-red.html


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