Vitus Energie EVO CRS (Force - 2021)

This new Energie EVO CRS from Vitus is their World Cup level cyclo-cross race bike, and it's a belter. With aggressive, race orientated geometry and a low weight, it's an absolute blast to race or just take out for a spin. With large tyre clearances and mudguard mounts you're just a few tweaks from a competent gravel bike or year-round commuter, too.

We've always been fans of the Vitus Energie here at road.cc. I found the Energie CRX a hoot to ride with a great build for the money, and Dave loved the entry-level Cyclo X back in 2016.

The EVO range sits above the standard Energie line-up, and for 2021 it has had a complete rethink from the ground up. It's one of the best off-road racers I've ridden.

The biggest highlight for me is the handling. This thing is really quick through the bends, and not just thanks to its rapid steering, which is good for getting you out of trouble. There's fantastic feedback coming up from the tyres. It allows excellent precision, letting you keep the power on even when sliding your way out of a tight corner.

The 33mm Vee XCX tyres (the UCI restricts the maximum width, and this is aimed at racing) can feel skittish in wet mud, and the bike slithers a fair bit under power or braking, but that feedback and responsiveness just lets you ride through it.

With a slightly longer top tube matched to a relatively short head tube, Vitus has created a low-slung race position. The 90mm stem is shorter than you'd find on a road bike, but that helps keep that handling lively.

The head down, low barred position feels just right for tackling anything the terrain is throwing at you. Even in the drops on fast gravel descents, the Vitus feels planted, while the 8.12kg weight keeps it responsive, especially when accelerating hard or climbing.

The EVO is stiff. Beefy tube profiles that chunky bottom bracket shell means little of your power is wasted, certainly not that you can detect. But what if you don't want to race?

Well, that's probably the best thing about the EVO. You don't have to. With a maximum tyre clearance of 45mm, the Vitus can easily live as a very capable, fun gravel bike.

I spent a fair amount of time on gravel tracks – long, steady miles of three to four hours – and found the EVO CRS very comfortable indeed, especially once rolling on wider tyres. It's happy for you to just enjoy the scenery for hours, then go for it when you fancy some fun on a steep, tricky descent or a flat-out blast.

Gearing is a contentious issue when it comes to gravel riding, with many riders choosing 1x over a double chainring. But not everybody. Vitus has gone for the 1x, which makes a lot of sense for cyclo-cross thanks to increased mud clearance and greater chain security. It won't please everyone with its relative lack of low ratios, though.

The gearing is very much aimed at racing, with a 40T front spinning a 10-32T cassette. That 40/32T bottom gear isn't that low, and while I found it ideal for racing speeds, long, steep gravel climbs in non-race mode could use something a little lower.

This is a race bike, mind, so that's an observation rather than a criticism. Those ratios also work well on the road, as there's much less chance of spinning out on the downhills than with a typical gravel bike. Should you still want to swap, the Energie Evo has the front mech mount to take a 2x chainset.

In fact, the EVO is quite capable on the road. Its sporty nature transfers over, and the riding position works well for getting a shift on. With 32mm slicks fitted it rolls along nicely, and the handling is still fun even on a firm surface.

You can also run mudguards too, should you fancy it for the commute during the week and adventure/touring at the weekends.

Frame and fork

Both the frame and fork get a 'refined' carbon fibre lay-up, according to Vitus, which it says makes this its lightest, stiffest cyclo-cross frameset yet – 880g for a painted medium.

For racing, weight isn't just important when pedalling, as there are times where you're carrying it while running or jumping. And while cable routing used to be a big consideration for frames that need balancing on shoulders, like most carbon frames these days, the Energie EVO buries all its cables and hoses internally. So that's fine.

Vitus has hidden the seat clamp too, using an expanding wedge inside the seat tube, and even shaped the underside of the top tube (where it meets the seat tube) for comfortable carrying. Neat.

One thing that won't sit well with everyone is the press-fit BB386 EVO bottom bracket, due to the design's tendency to creak once the elements (read: watery filth) get in there. Something that's inevitable in a CX race.

To be fair I didn't have any issues with the Vitus throughout testing, even after a washout week with three days of continuous rain. As I mentioned earlier the mud clearance on frame and fork are very good, aided by the dropped drive-side chainstay which gives room for the chainring.

The paint job is a thing of beauty, flipping from purple to blue and a few colours in between as the sunlight shifts. The subtle graphics set it off well.

There are five frame sizes with effective top tube lengths from 517.8mm to 601.8mm, and this medium model offers a wheelbase of 1,030mm, a top tube of 560.1mm, a head tube at 142mm and a fork length of 400mm. The head angle is 71.5° and the seat is 73.8°.

All this adds up to a stack of 565mm, and a reach of 396mm.

Finishing kit

There are four specs of Energie EVO, with this CRS being one down from the top. It's based around a SRAM Force groupset, which means you get carbon cranks, an 11-speed cassette and hydraulic discs paired to DoubleTap shifters/levers.

It's a good system with loads of power and modulation from the 160mm rotors, while shifts are crisp and quick. The hoods are quite tall compared to Shimano's offerings, but feel very secure off-road, especially when braking hard or descending technical sections.

The Doyenne handlebar and 90mm stem come from Prime, while the seatpost is Vitus branded. While there is no carbon fibre in sight, it's all good quality stuff.

The only thing I'd change this were mine is the bar tape – I'd prefer it full width – as the flats can get slippery in the rain and the bar is quite firm. The extra grip and comfort on long rides would be welcome.

Atop the seatpost is a Vitus Race Performance saddle. I won't lie, it's not my favourite seat to spend time on, but I didn't find it uncomfortable either. It's just not my shape.

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It has a good balance of padding for firmness and comfort, though, and you get a decent rail length for adjustment fore and aft.

Wheels and tyres

This EVO model rolls on Prime Baroudeur wheels, which is a good thing – our Liam gave them the full five stars back in April.

Their aluminium alloy rim is 30mm deep and has a 19mm internal width, which sits well with the 33mm tyres – although gravel offerings around 38mm to 40mm work fine too.

With 24 J-bend Pillar double-butted spokes laced in a 2x pattern to Prime's own hubs, it's a solid build which takes plenty of abuse. Crashing over tree roots, rocks and potholes throughout testing caused no harm, and at just under 1,600g performance is pretty good too.

The Vee XCX tyres are tubeless-ready with a fair bit of edge support and pretty good performers, especially in dry conditions, but you'll probably need something gnarlier for the wet seasons as the minimalist centre tread isn't great in sloppy mud.

Value and competition

Vitus has always been good at delivering quality builds for strong prices, and at £2,499.99 the Energie EVO CRS does nothing to buck that trend. A few years back we tested the Canyon Inflite CF SLX 8.0 Pro Race, which had a very similar spec and price to the Vitus.

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That build is no longer in Canyon's catalogue, though – the closest thing now is the Inflite CF SL 7 with an Ultegra RX800 GS groupset and DT Swiss wheels for £2,599.

Meanwhile, something like the Specialized Crux Elite will set you back £2,600, but with a groupset mix of SRAM Apex, Praxis and Sunrace it can't match the specs of the EVO CRS.

Conclusion

I think Vitus have nailed it when it comes to the Energie EVO CRS. If you want a sweet handling, light and flickable CX bike that won't let you down for efficiency and stiffness, then this is for you. And if you want a capable gravel machine with a racy edge... it won't disappoint you then either.

Verdict

Fast, precise and a light frameset makes this a hugely competitive CX bike or gravel racer