Kyle Strait's prototype Vitus DH bike built for Red Bull Rampage 2023 is a thing of beauty

A hand-painted downhill bike on a Utah hillside
The custom finished and built Vitus VT-01 Prototype (Image credit: Vitus Bikes)

Kyle Strait is one of the favorites for this year's Red Bull Rampage competition that kicks off a week today. The riders, builders and race mechanics are already hard at it in the Utah mountains. This year Strait will be competing on a very special one-of-a-kind bike. Dubbed the Vitus VT-01 Prototype, not only is it a completely custom-built Vitus development model, but it's also been stunningly hand-painted by Jake Wilkins of Cathedral One designs, who's worked on Kyle's Rampage frames in the past.

The paint job is inspired by Kyle and his family's love of classic country and western music, while the components were all selected by Strait himself. Let's take a look at this stunning mountain bike...

A man inspects a mountain bike frame

Kyle Strait admiring the VT-01 frameset with Jake Wilkins (Image credit: Vitus Bikes)

A beautiful mountain bike on a hillside

Strait's Vitus VT-01 Prototype has 200mm travel via a RockShox Ultimate pairing of a Boxxer fork and Vivid Air shock (Image credit: Vitus Bikes)

Close up of a bike frame

The classic country design is a homage to the Strait family's love of C&W music (Image credit: Vitus Bikes)

Close up of a bike frame

The hand-painted finish also features references to the Strait family themselves (Image credit: Vitus Bikes)

A man with a mountain bike on a hillside

The man himself with his stunning custom bike (Image credit: Vitus Bikes)

Tech specs: Kyle Strait's Vitus VT-01 Prototype

  • Frame: Vitus VT-01 Prototype [200mm travel, custom 435mm chainstay, flip-chip in high/progressive setting]
  • Fork: RockShox Boxxer Ultimate 200mm travel
  • Shock: RockShox Vivid Air Ultimate
  • Wheels: Stan's Flow
  • Tires: Kenda Prototype 27.5x2.45-inch front and rear
  • Bar/stem: Deity Blacklabel 38mm rise, Intake direct mount
  • Saddle: SDG Patriot I-beam
  • Grips: Sensus Meaty Paw signature model
  • Pedals: Sensus Crue
  • Drivetrain: SRAM X01-DH 7-speed
  • Cranks: SRAM X0-DH 36T chainring
  • Brakes: SRAM with 220mm HS2 rotors

Red Bull Rampage takes place on October 13. You can watch the action unfold in various ways depending on where you live. ESPN+ will exclusively stream the event in the U.S., and the competition will be available live on Red Bull TV in all other countries. To stay up to date on the latest Red Bull Rampage information, including venue details, ESPN+ and Red Bull TV tune-in times, and spectator info, visit Redbull.com

Rich Owen
Editor, BikePerfect

Rich Owen joined the BikePerfect team as editor in 2021. He's worked as a journalist and editor for over 24 years, with 12 years specializing in cycling media. Rich bought his first mountain bike (a rigid Scott Tampico) in 1995 and has been riding MTB for almost 30 years.

Current rides: Merida One-Forty 6000, Banshee Paradox, YT Jeffsy Core 3, Saracen Ariel 30 Pro

Height: 175cm

Weight: 69kg

Read more
A rider wearing the best mountain bike goggles
Best mountain bike goggles 2025 – top-rated models that provide clarity and protection on the trails
The best MTB grips are the ODI Reflex seen here fitted to a mountain bike handlebar
Best MTB grips 2025 – our testers' picks of the models that will improve your mountain bike's comfort and handling
100% Celium – one of the best MTB gloves
Best mountain bike gloves – top-rated full-finger gloves for every trail and situation
Latest in Mountain Bike
Calibre Bossnut 2025 seen side on
Don't buy a budget hardtail! The full-sus Calibre Bossnut is the best-value MTB right now with a massive £500 price cut in this Black Friday MTB deal
Continental Race King XC tire side view
Continental’s Olympic and World Championship XC winning Race King Protection is the fastest rolling MTB tire I’ve ever ridden, but it’s not for the nervous
Schwalbe Rocket Ron
Schwalbe Rocket Ron XC tire review – our favorite all-condition race tire
Pinarello Dogma XC bike
Golden beginnings – How Pinarello’s Dogma XC HT rose to the top of cross-country mountain biking
GT Sensor ST Carbon Pro
Is GT's Sensor ST Carbon Pro full-suspension MTB cheap at half the price?
Calibre Bossnut 2025 seen side on
The all-new Calibre Bossnut is a fantastic comeback and only a shock tweak away from being a totally awesome budget full-sus MTB
Latest in Latest news
Calibre Bossnut 2025 seen side on
Don't buy a budget hardtail! The full-sus Calibre Bossnut is the best-value MTB right now with a massive £500 price cut in this Black Friday MTB deal
Ritchie Rude riding Fox Live Valve Neo listing
Fox launches Live Valve Neo, a wireless electronic suspension system that can be fitted to any full-suspension bike
e*thirteen's new Sidekick hub being ridden on a trail
e*thirteen launches Sidekick hub which eliminates pedal kickback using a new pawl system
Specialized Stumpjumper 15 Alloy
Specialized grants rider's wishes with the release of an alloy Stumpjumper 15 featuring its Genie shock tech and good old mechanical shifter routing
Steve Peat riding the Santa Cruz Hightower 4
Santa Cruz pitches its new Hightower 4 as the mythical MTB that can truly ride everything
Canyon Spectral:ONfly in a forest
The new Spectral:ONfly is Canyon's lightest e-MTB ever