Classic & Vintage - Fuji America Wheel Size

I purchased what looks like an early 80's (1980 - 1982) Fuji America bike today.


I want to change the wheets to traditional size wheels (i.e.- from 630mm to 622 mm (700C) wheels. The front is fine I am sure, but I worry about the rear. Can anyone tell me if the older bikes will accept the smaller wheels (i.e - will I have issues at all with the chain and its function between the front crank and rear casette.

Also - will the bottom bracket accept a more modern BB such as FSA's single speed Mega Expo BB and Crank?

Thanks,

VT Biker

I have an early 80's Fuji Supreme that Ioccaisionally run with a 700 wheelset. It really depends on the reach of your brake calipers. Stick in a 700 rear wheel and see if the brake pads can be adjusted to contact the braking surface of the rims.

I generally run a six speed freewheel on a 27" wheelset on this bike. Every now and then I slip in my 700c 8 speed all-Campy wheelset. Its a tight fit for the 8 speed cassette, but I haven't had any troubles.

Can't help with the BB.

Silversmith:

thanks. I appreciate the help. I need to replace the brake calipers anyways. They are not the greatest and quite possibly dangerous at this point. So I will keep the reach in mind when I purchase the new calipers.

Thanks,

VT Biker

Silversmith is right, there should be no drivetrain issues with wheel changes, only brake reach. Incidentally, the larger wheels are more "traditional" than the ones you're putting on! Regarding the BB, you shouldn't have a problem replacing that. Typically, French bikes from the early 80's back, Raleigh 3 speeds, and Italian bikes have odd threading, and everything else, specially things made in Japan, are all nice and standard.

Are you sure the wheels are 27"? And if they are, they may not be original.

According to the Fuji catalog on the classic rendezvous site and my memory, the America was orginally speced for 700c wheels. I believe the S-12-S Ltd came with 27".

Worst case, most decent 47-57 reach brakes will allow you take a bike built for 27" and run 700c wheels with no problem.

Stunning bike. Out of curiousity, how much?

I have an S12-S that came with 27's, but i fit 700's on with a little pad
adjustment...

Changing the wheels has zero effect on the drivetrain. It neither changes the position of the chain rings, the derailleurs, or the freewheel/cassette.

I have a Fuji Finest that had 27" wheels on it when I got it. It was originally sold with 700c wheels, and converted back to that size by simply adjusting the position of the brake pads.

I paid $100.000 for the bike from some guy unloading his old collection of bikes. The frame has some rust, and it is scratched a little bit. The rims are okay on the wheels, but the hubs look to be in bad shape ruse wise. Also- the components have seen better days. I am probably going to convert it to a Single Speed due to the condition of the components. However, the frame is so nice I think perhaps I should restore everything to its original condition.

Regardless, due to the rust, I going to take it down to Colorado Springs to have it Bead blasted and powder coated to the original pain scheme. Based on what I read, they can even recreate the decals for me, which is great.

My only other concern is rusting on the inner part of the tubes. I am lookinginto options on this.

For rusting on the inside of the frame tubes, you can fix up a nice pool of water mixed with Oxalic Acid (40/60 mix or something) and then throw the whole frame in for a day or so, such that the tubes become filled with the mix. An old kids inflatible wading pool can work for this. After a day or 2 of soaking, take it out, change the water to a baking soda mix (in order to stop the acidification process), and soak for an hour or so. Remove frame, all interior (and exterior!) rust will be gone. Then treat inner parts of frame tubes with Frame Saver, and there you have it! I guess another way would be to stop up the tubes and fill them with the above mentioned mixes, if you don't have a wading pool.

The best part of the frame are the chrome dropouts/chainstays and chrome fork.

I am mechanically speaking an idiot. So I worry about screwing up the rust removal process. Are there professionals who could do it correctly?

As anyone who's been here for a month knows, I love old Fuji's. I have two with 27 inch wheels and one with 700's. The only problem with the 700's, other than moving the brake calipers down 4mm, is that the hubs may be a little wide. The rear drops are probably 126's and your new hubs may be 130. Of course if you go SS/Fixed they may be 120 and you need to space the axle. Either way it's no big deal. I've been very happy with how mine rides on the 700x25's.

Fact of the matter is, chrome absolutely loves Oxalic Acid. After a bath in that, your chrome will shine like you can't believe. There are several threads here on the Forums where folks have described their experience and showed before and after pics of various bikes and parts they have treated. Do a search for "Oxalic Acid" and you can see for yourself.


The best part of the frame are the chrome dropouts/chainstays and chrome fork.

I am mechanically speaking an idiot. So I worry about screwing up the rust removal process. Are there professionals who could do it correctly?

I want to thank everyone for all of the information. When I first bought it, I was not quite sure what I purchased other than: (a) It was a Fuji; (b) It was lugged (a plus) and (c) it was perfect for a commuter bike. But once i bought it and started really looking at the frame, I wanted to know exactly what I purchased, the frame's history and what the quality was.

I never thought I would like lugged frames. But once you see the craftsmanship. I am sorry. Welds are just not the same. (I hope my Cannondale did not hear this).

I'd like to tag onto this thread, since its seems to have resolved the original question - my Fuji Del Rey from early 80s was damaged in an accident last summer and I need new cranks and front chainrings. I need a little help figuring out what I need. I'd like to be able to get a hold of original replacements, but not sure where to look other than ebay. Are there other sources, or should I just look for new modern parts to replace them? A very basic question too - are the plastic plugs in the cranks supposed to pull out without destroying them?

Actually:
I have a follow-up question to evwxxx:

If I use Oxalic Acid, will it hurt the paint job currently on the frame? I guess because if it does not, I might try soaking it in Oxalic Acid, and then determine if I should bead blast and repaid the frame.

but not sure where to look other than ebay. Are there other sources, or should I just look for new modern parts to replace them? A very basic question too - are the plastic plugs in the cranks supposed to pull out without destroying them?

I've got new Campy Veloce cranks on my Supreme and old Sugino Maxy on another. Both work well, but the Campy cranks shifts rings better with ramped teeth and pins.

Those caps screw out. Most of the old Sugino and Sakae caps are slotted for a wide screwdriver (or coin) The newer ones need a hex key.

I'd like to tag onto this thread, since its seems to have resolved the original question - my Fuji Del Rey from early 80s was damaged in an accident last summer and I need new cranks and front chainrings. I need a little help figuring out what I need. I'd like to be able to get a hold of original replacements, but not sure where to look other than ebay. Are there other sources, or should I just look for new modern parts to replace them? A very basic question too - are the plastic plugs in the cranks supposed to pull out without destroying them?

I'm not a huge fan of keeping older bikes spec-correct or even period-correct. If the bike is one you're going to ride, select the best parts for it regardless of when it was made. Some new stuff (like Shimano RDs) are very good and some old stuff is garbage (like period correct swagged cranks and cheap low end side pull calipers).

With this in mind, I've converted all my old bikes to using Shimano cartridge BB with square tapers. They are cheap and last a long time and eliminate the need/ablilty to over-haul the BB. If you want pure period correct, stick with a classic loose ball BB spindle.

I would suggest starting with the gearing you want and then choosing the type of crank that gives you the best gearing choices. Many folks are happy with 144bcd doubles. I strongly prefer 110/74 bcd (aka compact) triples. Groing numbers of people are moving to 110 bcd (aka compact) doubles.

After that, you'll need to do some research on models within that type. In general, newer cranks put your pedals further apart and older cranks put them closer together. This is called tread or q-factor. I prefer a tread in the 150mm range and for this reason love the old Sugino AT triple. Most compact triples will give you a tread of 160mm or so.

BBs/spindles and cranks go together as matched pairs. In general, new cranks want shorter spindles and older cranks want longer spindles. Harris cyclery stills sells loose spindles if you go that route. Personally, I'm going with Shimano sealed BBs for now and I'll go back to Phil Woods someday when I hit the lotto.

I converted my Royal to a square-taper Shimano BB (it came as a bare frame). If the crank and BB are good on a bike, I'm content to leave them as they are but if it needs to be replaced, I prefer to replace it with a modern sealed-cartidge BB. The trick is to match the BB width to the crank you choose so that you get the correct chainline. Finding out what width I used for my Fuji doesn't do you any good since I used a Sugino RD crank with only one ring. This is an area in which I prefer professional advice.

My experience with oxalic acid and paint is that there are no discernible effects. I have soaked forks in pure oxalic acid to above the paint line with no injury to paint. Did this with Trek Reynolds 531 forks and others, paint still fine. That is after soaking for 2 days!


Actually:
I have a follow-up question to evwxxx:

If I use Oxalic Acid, will it hurt the paint job currently on the frame? I guess because if it does not, I might try soaking it in Oxalic Acid, and then determine if I should bead blast and repaid the frame.