Classic & Vintage - new to the forums and ? about my fuji absolute

hey ya'll
i'm new here. hello! i recently picked up a vintage Fuji Absolute. i have no idea what year it is (maybe somewhere in the 80s? maybe someone can help with that) i'm going to turn this bike into my daily commute/city bike. i have been using my diamond back response for that, but its too heavy. so far i've put new tires, new brake pads on it. i want to convert it to a single speed bike (freewheel) and change the headset, stem and handle bars. any reccomendations? also is there a way to get my disc brakes from my DB repsonse to fit on there? (i don't think so, but its worth asking)

and here's a pic: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36022578@N05/sets/72157618536180473/

cheers!
michael

Hello Michael, and welcome to the forum. Your bike is a 1988 model. I don't think that you can put disk brakes onto it, but I'm not 100% on that. It's a nice bike. Ride the hell out of it.

http://www.classicfuji.com/AbsoluteSE_1988_Page.htm

very nice. I have a fuji team which has just undergone singlespeed conversion recently. Its such a great cruising bike

I have heard of disc conversion kits. But it really strikes me as a bad idea. Its a lot of money for the bike. And the frame will be under stresses it was not designed for. And, I have to admit that I am skeptical about how solid any bolt on disc tab could be.

I set up my first disc brake bike this winter, and it is really eye-opening how much stress those things have to work under.

jim

yeah i didn't think it would work out. i'll just stick with the dia compes that are on it. whats the easiest way to go about converting this over to singlegear? i've already taken off the derailer and shifters and what not. if its too difficult i was gunna take it to my lbs

you can take off the inner chainring on the cranks, and you'll need to get a freewheel and some spacers for the rear. They sell a conversion kit at a number of online retailers that includes spacers and a freewheel...and you'll need a freewheel cassette removal tool to get the old gears off the hub...or your LBS can do that pretty quick and cheap.

yeah i didn't think it would work out. i'll just stick with the dia compes that are on it. whats the easiest way to go about converting this over to singlegear? i've already taken off the derailer and shifters and what not. if its too difficult i was gunna take it to my lbs

http://i129.photobucket.com/albums/p233/Raan0001/Thread.png

yeah i didn't think it would work out. i'll just stick with the dia compes that are on it.

Put Kool-Stop pads on it.


whats the easiest way to go about converting this over to singlegear?

Shift it into one gear combo and leave it there.

-Kurt

shift it into one gear combo and leave it there.

-kurt

+1

Put Kool-Stop pads on it.



Shift it into one gear combo and leave it there.

-Kurt

+1 I bought my girlfriend a 12 speed Nishiki recently and she pretty much leaves it on the gear combo she likes. She's still getting used to changing gears, but hey they're there if you need em and don't worry about them if you don't need em. Nice to have though.

Hello Michael, and welcome to the forum. Your bike is a 1988 model. I don't think that you can put disk brakes onto it, but I'm not 100% on that. It's a nice bike. Ride the hell out of it.

http://www.classicfuji.com/AbsoluteSE_1988_Page.htm

I disagree on the year. The 88 had absolute on the center tube and Fuji on the down. Also there is an F decal that is not present on yours.

I think based on the looks that yours is a 1987 model in Nautical Blue.

http://classicfuji.com/Absolute_1987_Page.htm

yeah its an 87

My one and only single speed free wheel conversion; had the local shop take of the 6 speed, put on a single from a little kids bike(no spacers needed), took a chain off an old single speed tank bike, changed the drops to strait mongoose bars with old shool pistol grips and a two finger brake lever .Took about an hour. Turned $10 into $200.

Awesome man! Now all you need is a fixed cog and you'll have a SWEET FIXIE!

As others already implied, disc brakes aren't a smart idea on a bike like this. I have to add that the Diacompes you have, are actually pretty good brakes. I seem to have the same brakes on my '86 Raleigh Marathon.

I wouldn't convert to a single speed though. It just doesn't feel right. But hey, it's your bike :)

There is an inexpensive way to really improve your braking. If you stay with the existing bars, you can install aero brake levers. They not only look cool but provide a better, linear pull to the brakes, increasing your mechanical advantage.

hey guys thanks for all the replies and input. one thing i thought about doing also is disassembling the bike sanding it down and painting it flat black. do you guys recommend and specific way of doing this? (i also need to get some tools to disassemble it!)

one thing i thought about doing also is disassembling the bike sanding it down and painting it flat black. do you guys recommend and specific way of doing this?

Yes. Don't do it.

If you want a flat black singlespeed, get a trashy frame which has half of the paint falling off of it, and start your project with that. Better yet, find someone who has already spraybombed his frame flat black, and buy that.

-Kurt

Yes. Don't do it.
get a trashy frame which has half of the paint falling off of it, and start your project with that.

-Kurt

well this bike is my project as well as being my daily commute/city bike

well this bike is my project as well as being my daily commute/city bike

Ok, go ahead and ruin it with a cheap spraybomb job. It is, after all, your bike.

Just don't expect any sympathy from the C&V forum for doing so.

-Kurt

Ok, go ahead and ruin it with a cheap spraybomb job. It is, after all, your bike.

Just don't expect any sympathy from the C&V forum for doing so.

-Kurt

I don't think Kurt is trying to be harsh. He's right, though. The point is that good old bikes are a non-renewable resource, and as such should be conserved. If you WANT a wrecked bike, sell the good one and buy a pre-wrecked one. Each additional wrecked bike makes the world a slightly worse place.

that bike has such a nice paintjob. Don't spray it.

on the other hand its not like its a top of the line Fuji... its one step up from the full Hi-Ten frame, its one of their bottom line road bikes.

Right, but it's not like there aren't plenty of pre-wrecked frames out there, either. The fact is that wrecking something in good shape, regardless of whether it was cheap or expensive to begin with, is basically a form of vandalism. Legal vandalism, admittedly, if you happen to be the owner of the bike at the time the vandalism occurs, but vandalism all the same.

Legal vandalism, admittedly, if you happen to be the owner of the bike at the time the vandalism occurs, but vandalism all the same.

Precisely. Think of what Top Gear and Overhaulin' means to classic car buffs.

Yes, I happen to be bristling at the mention of either myself.

-Kurt

Oh... Isn't there a SINGLESPEED AND FIXED GEAR forum to help you with this project?

well this bike is my project as well as being my daily commute/city bike

And with an attitude like that...

*self-restraint*

Oh... Isn't there a SINGLESPEED AND FIXED GEAR forum to help you with this project?

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner on The Bike is Right!

http://www.jaysmarine.com/TBIR.jpg

-Kurt

whoa the end of this thread turned into a semi bash. just looking for some ideas and help guys

Than please ask nicely.

My idea (and that of many others here) is that you should keep the gears and not spraybomb it flat black. Further, if you truly do want a spraybombed flat-black singlespeed, it would be better to buy one of the many that are floating around there for sale, or to trade your current bike for it.

The Classic and Vintage forum is for people who like to restore and ride old bikes, keeping them clean an nice, as opposted to destroying, drewing, hacking, stripping, and rattlecanning them- we like them as is.

Hence the Singlespeed and Fixed gear forum. They like to cut up, sand, rattlecan, and single-speed-transmogrify old frames into singlespeed. (to our disdain here)

That would be the best place to go if you insist on SS'ing and rattlecanning that frame.

If you actually want our ideas and help, take what you get- keep the paint and gears.

For ideas and help on doing what it seems you're bent on doing, try the SS and FG forum.

And that was quite a pleasant repsonse on my part, if I say so myself.

-Nick