Bicycle Mechanics - old azuki

This is a long story then I am going to try to download pics. This might be a long night.

My Dad died a couple of years ago and while cleaning out his shed I found my old Azuki. I bought this Azuki after my Fuji got snatched from the place where I worked. I was about 14 and was washing dishes for bike money. The Fuji replaced a Schwinn maybe Varsity, it was the 70's and in the next few years I killed a lot of brain cells. Anyway I rode this bike until I was 16 and thought I was too cool to ride a bike.

Ok two questions. What was the name of the Fuji in the mid seventies that was a weird green color?

I am looking to buy a new commuter and was planning to spend around a grand. Would it be possible to fix up this Azuki to make a decent commuter?

oh yea, I tried to download pics of it but I have never successfully down loaded a pic to the internet.:(

It says my files are too big, how do I fix that?

i will not quit.:o

http://i296.photobucket.com/albums/mm171/mak5660/002.jpg

My son did that I will never figure it out.

What was the name of the Fuji in the mid seventies that was a weird green color?


The Fuji Gran Tourer SE came in a very nice sea foam green... someone donated one at the bike library where I volunteer and I thought the color was spectacular!

It's a basic old road bike, but I like it. Aluminum rims, crank, and bars. Nice brakes, but you should fix the rear cable hanger/stop - looks like something might be bent or broken there.
If I were fixing it up, I'd immediately replace the pedals and saddle with something respectable, lose the safety levers, install some fenders (gold Esge maybe?), try to find some old Suntour barcon friction shifters to replace those crappy plastic ones, and consider a moustache handlebar (and a high-rise stem?) to replace the drops.

edit: Just noticed that there might be some rippling in the top & downtubes at the headtube, and maybe some chipped paint - is the frame damaged from a front-ender?

It's a basic old road bike, but I like it. Aluminum rims, crank, and bars. Nice brakes, but you should fix the rear cable hanger/stop - looks like something might be bent or broken there.
If I were fixing it up, I'd immediately replace the pedals and saddle with something respectable, lose the safety levers, install some fenders (gold Esge maybe?), try to find some old Suntour barcon friction shifters to replace those crappy plastic ones, and consider a moustache handlebar (and a high-rise stem?) to replace the drops.

edit: Just noticed that there might be some rippling in the top & downtubes at the headtube, and maybe some chipped paint - is the frame damaged from a front-ender?

By rippling do you mean the paint or is it damage to the frame? Does it kill the project?

You know, I forgot about that, a car stopped in front of me and a friend of mine. We were following him we were side by side, he stopped but we were looking at a girl at the ice cream shop. My friend went over the trunk onto the top of the car. I just kinda bounced off the trunk. Messed up both of our front wheels and tires but seem to work fine after we replaced the front wheels. Scared the car driver half to death. My oldest son is 14 and I really hesistate to allow him to ride his road bike on the road probably becasue of that accident and others like it. back then helmets were for woosies and we were, what do you call it, vehicular riders.

If the frame's top and/or down tubes were damaged, it's also very possible the headtube was "ovalized" in the same accident and equally likely the fork was knocked out of alignment. Any of these problems would certainly be a showstopper.

Even if the frame is perfect it was not a high quality bike to begin with and modernizing it would cost a large amount of both time and money that could be better spent elsewhere. Unless the thing has great sentimental value, I wouldn't bother doing more than clean and lubing what's already there and riding it in it's current state.