Classic & Vintage - The early Fuji Absolutes

By any chance, does anybody know when Fuji first started making the Absolute 12 speed road bikes??

I grabbed this one at the thrift store thinking that it would be a perfect winter commuter w/ some fenders on it (read: "beat the heck out of it in 2 feet of snow"). I just dont have the heart to do it to one of my Schwinns....
I'm thinking that the lugwork on this frame just looks a bit too "old school" to be from the 90's. All Suntour gruppo but, a "Made in Taiwan" sticker on the headtube under the metal head badge

I posted a question about the absolute a few months ago, asking about info on it and got no response. Is there some rule that these are bikes that should not be spoken about??

I'm pretty sure the line dates from the 80's. T-Mar would likely have more info on it. I'm guessing it's a little bit nicer than the S-10-S or S-12-S (aka "Special road racer").

I love those Fuji's. I have a 12 speed Supreme and a frame from a 12-speed Royale that I'm just building up with an 8-speed Nexus hub. I'd love to find more about them but the information is scarce. I've never even seen a catalog from the era. The current Fuji company doesn't have any information from the 80's or earlier. No one can even tell me what years my bikes are from. Believe me, if I ever stumble across any catalogs from the 70's or 80's, I'll scan them and post them.

Bob

I sold Fuji bikes for many years and as far as I can recollect the Absolutes appeared somewhere around1984-1986. It was your basic garden variety made in Japan high quality 12 speed road bike. The Supreme was about 4 models above it.

I love those Fuji's. I have a 12 speed Supreme and a frame from a 12-speed Royale that I'm just building up with an 8-speed Nexus hub. I'd love to find more about them but the information is scarce.

I love the old Valite-frame Fuji I have. I'm in the process of building it up again after I braised on a pair of downtube shifter bosses.

I tried to buy one at a flea market but the owner wanted too much.
The color was too ugly for words ( in otherwords, I had to have it ! :) )
Asylum green ! The one I looked at definately was not 90's era .