Touring - Fuji Touring bike

Hi all

I was hoping someone could offer me some advice about Fuji Touring bikes? I'm doing LEJOG later this year and have been on the lookout for a second hand touring bike. This one has come up on Gumtree (http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/fuji-touring-urban-bicycle-bike/1007042240), and it's not a brand I'm particularly familiar with, or that I've had a great deal of success researching online. It's a 2005 model from what I can gather (http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2005&Brand=Fuji&Model=Touring&Type=bike#.UQJZ8rbzd9k), and I understand from some cursory research that the wheels and brakes are of questionable quality on some of the earlier models, which would obviously add to the expense.

Does anyone here have any experience of Fuji Touring bikes? Or even of this particular model? Do you know what the original asking price was? And what price would represent a good deal (presuming it's all in working order)? Apologies for the barrage of questions, but any advice would be enormously appreciated.

Thanks for your time.
John-Paul

Here is the exact same bike new:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/tourist.htm

I probably should have mentioned - I'm in the UK, so that's not really an option for me. Thanks very much for your reply though.

realistically its a name painted on a frame.. all the other bits, get bolted on ..

above the craptastic BSO level, you can tour on anything you can stand to ride a couple weeks..

Dont be Brand obsessed.


UK touring bikes for loaded touring? Thorn/ SJS.. ship around the globe

or any of a number of Small and Traditional builders of frames
live and work there .. M Steel [newcastle] Holdsworth, Mercian [midlands] ETC.

Fuji has been making touring bikes for a long time and assuming it's in decent shape, it should serve you well. Wheels on any bike should be checked out so no big deal. Yea, Fuji had a period where some of the wheels (defective spokes) they were specing out with their touring bikes were problematic but I'm sure that has long since been resolved. Can't imagine paying more than 250 BP but you know local relative costs better than I.

Hi, and welcome

The 2006 model sold for $900 US.

The main disadvantage I see with the bike is the gearing. It has a road crankset 52/39/30 ( or something close) and an 11-32 cassette. IMO- This combination does not provide low enough gearing for loaded touring. It can be changed, but that would increase the cost significantly. If you are not riding loaded and hills are not a challenge for you, this may not be an issue.

If this ride is supported, another option might be to use a road or cyclocros bike.

This is my long-distance hill climber. Light aluminum framed road bike with a 46/36/26 crankset and a 12-2-34 cassette. I've also done some multi-week lightly loaded tours on it. Without fenders, I can put 28mm tires on it which are a good size for touring.

http://i783.photobucket.com/albums/yy112/Doug64_photos/Bianchi/TrekDrivetrain-2-1.jpg

Hi all

I was hoping someone could offer me some advice about Fuji Touring bikes? I'm doing LEJOG later this year and have been on the lookout for a second hand touring bike. This one has come up on Gumtree (http://www.gumtree.com/p/for-sale/fuji-touring-urban-bicycle-bike/1007042240), and it's not a brand I'm particularly familiar with, or that I've had a great deal of success researching online. It's a 2005 model from what I can gather (http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2005&Brand=Fuji&Model=Touring&Type=bike#.UQJZ8rbzd9k), and I understand from some cursory research that the wheels and brakes are of questionable quality on some of the earlier models, which would obviously add to the expense.

Does anyone here have any experience of Fuji Touring bikes? Or even of this particular model? Do you know what the original asking price was? And what price would represent a good deal (presuming it's all in working order)? Apologies for the barrage of questions, but any advice would be enormously appreciated.

Thanks for your time.
John-Paul

That's pricey for a 8 year old bike that you might have to change the crank and wheels on. You could do better.

I toured with a Fuji Touring frame. My Fuji came to me as a frame, so virtually none of the other parts were original to the frame. It rode fine and behaved well under load.

Converting the asking price in Pounds Sterling to Dollars comes to almost $500. That's a lot for that bike in the US market. I don't know anything about the UK market. You can tell a lot about the care the bike has been given by the condition of the parts the stick out. These don't indicate careful treatment:

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/ODAwWDYwMA==/$T2eC16R,!%29!E9s2fCHjSBQ9G5gVs-w~~48_80.JPG

http://i.ebayimg.com/00/s/NjAwWDgwMA==/$%28KGrHqJHJE8FD%28EyrdeGBQ9G5ow3,!~~48_80.JPG

I couldn't do it for that price.

Seems pricey to me.

I lucked out and picked up a 08 Fuji Touring on Craigslist for $150. Nice bike so far.

Thanks for the advice guys. Much appreciated. In terms of the British market, I loosely follow the assumption that we'll pay in GBP approximately what you guys pay in dollars. I've got a Marin hybrid that retailed for around $900 in the US, and would have cost about the same in GBP here. You guys get a lot more for your money it seems.

Thanks again for your comments. I think I'll give this one a miss.

Can't say about the price. I bought a Fuji touring bicycle about 19 years ago. Put about 10,000 miles on it since then. Did replace the rear wheel once, but all else is still working great. Changed to tandem riding last year, but still get on the Fuji from time to time. It's been a great ride for me.

I just brought my 2013 Fuji Touring home today. So far I think it is a well built bike and seems to meet every need so far. Lets just see if it will stand the test of time.

I've got a Fuji 2005 Touring bike, have over 55,000 miles on it. I'm not a connoisseur of bikes, but I've enjoyed this one and it has been very dependable. I just last week had a new chain ring on it, and the bottom bracket is still the original.

Here is the exact same bike new:

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/tourist.htm

I bought one of those last year.
I use it on the KATY Trail in Missouri where I do about 230 miles in 5 days.
I also use it for night rides and keep all the dorky reflectors plus a lot of lights mounted to it.
Lastly I'll use it if there might be ice on the roads or the roads are otherwise a mess. I don't want to crash on my skinny-tired, carbon fiber Giant Defy Advanced!

The worse thing about that bike is it's heavy! It's about 10 lbs heavier than my Giant.

I've got a Fuji 2005 Touring bike, have over 55,000 miles on it. the bottom bracket is still the original.

I'm claiming BS here or that bottom bracket needs to go into some Bottom Bracket Hall of Fame. I'm amazed you can still turn it over and if without noise? Unreal.

My '75 Fuji S-10S's bottom bracket is also still original, but only 45,000 miles on it. Sugino. New crankset, but still original bottom bracket. That isn't to say that I haven't regreased it every season though...

Japastie, I have one of those, 2010 model Fuji Touring, it's a good bike, I like it.

My 2008 Fuji Touring was a good bike till it took a dive take off my carmounted bike rack (long story). Had planned to keep it forever.

I agree that the crankset is wrong for any decent hills. You are likely well served opting for a 26 or so small ring and a wide cassette range in back. There is no reason to suffer with a 30 tooth ring. This is cheap and easy fix if the purchase is priced well.

I bought my 2008 Touring new in 2010 at $600, for what that is worth.

On the Fuji i loved the Tiagra STI and the dual brake lever setup.

My '75 Fuji S-10S's bottom bracket is also still original, but only 45,000 miles on it. Sugino. New crankset, but still original bottom bracket. That isn't to say that I haven't regreased it every season though...

But the 2005 one above is surely a sealed bottom bracket and I'm going to bet it's never been apart.

nashbar has last years frames on sale right now.... just got one in for 100.00