Classic & Vintage - 1981 Fuji Cambridge VI

While recovering from the 3 broken ribs I got on my last MTB ride I ran across this bike at a yard sale near my home. They were closed down and nobody was there. On my third pass they were back out loading up the unsold items and I stopped. $10 later and I had a new bike! I figured I'd wasted $10 in much less useful ways so why not.

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My initial goal is to do what needed to be done to get her on the road again ride her a bit and then decide what direction I want to take it. Looks like she took a good lick on her drive side. So far I've done the following :

New Tires
Wheels trued and hubs greased
Replaced bent crank
Straightened rear DR hanger
New chain
Adjusted the front DR so that it shifts to all the gears and doesn't throw the chain
General wipedown everything still needs a good cleaning

Now that she is drivable I'm going to polish everything up and replace the handlebar foam with tape and go from there. I'm hoping to get out one morning this weekend and get more than a few blocks of riding in. Any recommendations on upgrades would be appreciated.

That's like the Mr. Hyde version of a Cambridge!

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff142/Head_High_and_Glassy/1981%20Fuji%20Cambridge%20VI/198322CambridgeVIandCambridgeVIL-1.jpg

That's the catalog page I found that let me know it was not 100% original. From what I can tell it looks like the previous owner installed a Sugino Crank (52t/42t), Nitto BIII, Dia Compe brake levers and shifters, and a Shimano 600 front DR. I swapped the bent crank for a Suntour Powering Blaze Crank with the same size rings.

Wow, nice grab! $10?

Enjoy.

Yep $10. There was no question for me when the guy said that was what he wanted. This is the first road bike I've owned since I was a kid. I can't wait to get out and get on the road with it.

There is a part of me that wants to go ahead and strip it down and start upgrading, but really I just need to ride it to see if I want to put any more $ into the project. I could see her powder coated to match the pepper white on the 05 Mini Cooper S I used to own then polish up the shiny bits and have some custom black repro decals made up for it.

Yep $10. There was no question for me when the guy said that was what he wanted. This is the first road bike I've owned since I was a kid. I can't wait to get out and get on the road with it.

There is a part of me that wants to go ahead and strip it down and start upgrading, but really I just need to ride it to see if I want to put any more $ into the project. I could see her powder coated to match the pepper white on the 05 Mini Cooper S I used to own then polish up the shiny bits and have some custom black repro decals made up for it.

I just bought an '81 Fuji as well (S12-S Ltd.) I have quite a bit more into it than you have in the Cambridge. I jumped right into modernizing it a bit. I had to put wider bars on it, and while I was at it I put some more modern brake levers onto it. I'll drop a little more into it soon enough (need a taller stem adaptor), but once I'm done I'm sure I'll have a ride that will last me for a long time.

It's hard to beat an old Fuji. They're great bikes.

A brake upgrade would definately be something I would be interested in. I guess the first thing I should do is look at some new brake pads. The installed pads don't look very worn, but they are probably hard and brittle. What would be a good pad to put against the aluminum rims?

Kool-Stop's often come recommended. In my experience they are most critical on steel rims, which are slippery to begin with. With alu rims any shimano road pad will work.

First 10 miles on the $10 road bike project. This is my first significant ride sinc I broke 3 ribs mountain bike riding back on 06/30. It felt really good to be out.

A few pics from today. She still needs a good bit of cleaning, but I just had to get out!

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