Vitus Razor Disc Road Bike Claris review - are disc brakes worth it at this price point?

Disc brakes don't necessarily mean braking performance

Vitus Razor Disc Road Bike Claris on a blue background
(Image credit: Future)
Cycling Weekly Verdict

Even in the close competition amongst its competitive peers, the Vitus Razor Disc Road Bike Claris stands out as one of the few entry-level aluminium road bikes to include disc brakes. It has a balanced geometry and reliable componentry which all makes for nicely poised ride even if it does lack a bit of zip. Sadly the performance of the brakes doesn’t live up to the spec sheet. There’s very little stopping power from the mechanical disc brakes which combined with the hard-compound tires results in a sketchy ride on descents and cornering.

Reasons to buy
  • +

    Aesthetics

  • +

    Few bikes specced with disc brakes at this price point

  • +

    Shimano Claris 2x8 shifting

  • +

    Reliable drivetrain componentry

Reasons to avoid
  • -

    Poor performance of brakes

  • -

    Poor grip from tires

  • -

    Arm and hand comfort

You can trust Cycling Weekly. Our team of experts put in hard miles testing cycling tech and will always share honest, unbiased advice to help you choose. Find out more about how we test.

Once a French brand, the relaunched version of Vitus has been selling direct-to-consumer for a few years now following its acquisition by Wiggle and Chain Reaction Cycles. In that time there have been massive developments in its range and reputation from producing ‘best budget’ mountain bikes to winning Enduro World Series races and, on the road side, reappearing in the pro peloton.  

The Razor has been Vitus’ stalwart entry-level road bike through all of this period of change. It’s well-specced and well-priced compared to many other of the best cheap road bikes out there but does the ride match up? 

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Rachel has been writing about and reviewing bike tech for the last 10 years. Cynical by nature, Rachel never really trusts the marketing hype and prefers to give products a mighty good testing before deciding whether they're worth buying or not. 

Rachel's first riding love is mountain biking where she's been European and UK 24hr Champion on more than one occasion. She's not just confined to the trails though and regularly rides - and occasionally races - on gravel and road too.