dailycommute

You do see fujis that did not make the catalog(s) like this 84 club fuji "special edition" I have posted before. Fix and ride would be my advice, keep it safe but simple so you can re-sell as/when needed.

ramzilla

Welcome to the Fuji crowd. I'm working on a 84 Del Rey out in the garage right now. It has an identical front derailleur cable set up. Also - you need to be aware that the front derailleur pops the chain up on the big ring in the neutral position. (It's totally backwards from all other bikes). When you pull the lever down it will put the chain down on the small ring. This feature really messes with some people's heads.

The Golden Boy 

He has to replace that derailleur- it's being held together with a zip tie.

79pmooney

I feel like I am in a time machine. I worked at Lifecycle in 1977 racing a Fuji Pro for NEBC. Haven't seen or heard my boss's name in decades. He would sell me properly aged Clement Criterium sew-ups from his stash that I used as my good race tires.

Say hi to those Lifecycle folk from Ben Jeffries.

ramzilla

It was probably broken due to operator error. Inexperienced people tend to jack those Fuji FDs pretty hard.

MauriceMoss

This is why I love BF. @ScottRyder, I just checked out your Ritvo collection bikes - that Ultima Superleicht is super sweet

eschlwc

the high-normal fd is a problem when you have more than one bike with dt shifters.

riders shouldn't be forced to remember which way to trim the front. it should come naturally.

they're also heavy, ugly, and offer no benefit to experienced riders.

if i were the op, i'd try to find a suntour fd among the bf crowd. ebay is too expensive right now. a v-series or blue line should be found for $15ish.

Seizedpost

I really appreciate all the replies. ScottRyder, any information you could get would be great. Dailycommute, that was about my plan. I'm not repainting it, and I'm only replacing what I have to. Eschlwc, thanks for the tip. I'll put up a "wanted" thread.

Seizedpost

I just went to try and figure out what size seatpost it takes. The steel one it came with is 25.4mm, it's marked. The lug that doubles as the seatpost clamp (as well as the end of the seat tube) has a smaller diameter than the rest of the seat tube because whatever apebrain got their wrench on this bike last tightened it until the way too small seatpost actually fit.
I need to figure out a way to spread the seatpost clamp back to its original size so I can fit a correct diameter seatpost. Any suggestions? Flat tip screwdriver?

Don Buska

I would agree with the post that this was a 10th Anniversary model. That front derailleur setup would be a correct style for the original Suntour Barcons as those used the reverse action front derailleurs most often, i.e. the center cable was anchored while the outer cable jacket performed the derailleur movement. A great alternate front derailleur would be the SUNTOUR COMPE-V FD-1100. Those show up all the time on eBay cheap. I have an SR 10-speed (originally a Windsor frame) that came with the BARCONS. It used the aforementioned front derailleur. They used this style front derailleur so that the barcon shifter would move in the same direction to make the gearing easier or harder in the same direction on both shifters. Not in the opposite direction as is common with down tube shifters. That was actually a great idea!

BTW, my SR 10-speed now uses a first generation Suntour Superbe PRO RD-3100 on the rear, but still uses a NOS Suntour FD-1100 on the front. I got that front derailleur for around $15 still in the original package off eBay. Sadly finding the barcons to return that back to original will probably run you some decent buck as they are in higher demand.

Seizedpost

Does anyone know what size seatpost this bike is supposed to have? I'm guessing 26.8, because it's 331 Cro-Mo, and accoring to this database: Sheldon Brown's Seatpost Size Database
the 1982 Fuji Professional, which is also 331 Cro-Mo, has a 26.8mm seatpost.

eschlwc

i've only had to shim a suntour fd on french motos. on one, i used a suntour specific gasket, which was cool. on the other, i used a piece of inner tube.

edit: my bad. post <> tube. i was still thinking you were shopping for fd's.

Seizedpost

Just to be clear, I was talking about the seatpost, not the seat tube. The seat tube's outside diameter is 28.6, the standard size. That's clearly marked on the front derailleur clamp. I changed the subject away from derailleurs. I'm asking about the seatpost diameter, which would also be the seat tube's inside diameter, because as I said in one of my previous posts, the lug that acts as a seatpost clamp was squeezed too small by the person who tried to make a 25.4mm seatpost work. They overtightened the binder bolt until it actually fit.
I've been massaging it, trying to bend the steel back to its original shape, and I've gotten a 26.6mm seatpost to fit. Not bad considering it was tightened for a 25.4mm seatpost. I just wanted to verify that 26.8mm is the correct size before I buy one and try to make it fit.

ScottRyder 

Thanks @MauriceMoss ... the Ultima Superleicht now resides in the Austro-Daimler in Maine. I figured it went full circle!!

Scott

ScottRyder 

@79pmooney .. I'd like to talk to you more so I'll drop you a PM. My Fuji group is trying to fill in some information about Lifecycle around that time period. Somewhere on BF (I think) I posted the story of how I came across Mr. Rivo's bike collection. It involves some BF C&V members and one well known veteran of Lifecycle. If I still have a copy of it I'll post it again.

Scott

Seizedpost

I started a separate thread and got some answers on seatpost size. It looks like I need a 26.6mm one.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-diameter.html

Seizedpost

Does this look like a decent wheelset for the money?
Vintage Ukai Wheel Set 36 Spoke w Suntour Hubs 6 Speed Cassette 700 x 25c | eBay
If anyone on here has something I'm interested.

Seizedpost

Today I finished taking the bike down to its frame. The frame with nothing on it except the shifters seems to weigh about 5 pounds, the fork's 2 pounds. This is a 21 inch frame.
I cracked the plastic compression ring in the headset, it was brittle plastic and really wedged in there. From what I've read it looks like I can replace it with an O ring?

Seizedpost

I got wheels and a front derailleur from SkyDog75 on Friday (thanks!) and everything else from my LBS's literal fire sale on Saturday. I've been busy but I've worked on it when I've had time, and I got it pretty much assembled and tuned today and took it for a short test ride.

I'll post more details and photos when I get a chance.

cb400bill

So far, so good!

Seizedpost

As I said, I got all the parts except the wheels and FD from the LBS. I got it back together over last week and took it on its first real ride on Friday. Then I rode it to a bike donation drive, where I took the photo next to the donated blue Fuji.

The wheels are Araya 27" rims and Sansin sealed system hubs. The freewheel is a Shimano 14-28. The tires are cheap Kenda K35's. I was going to get Paselas, but my LBS only had these in stock and they were $15 a tire. They seem OK.

I think I'll try to track down a correct Dia Compe sidepull rear caliper to match the front one. I'm not liking the Chang Star centerpull all that much.

I've put just under 40 miles on the bike and I'm really enjoying it.

USAZorro

Looks like you've done a great job. Has the model been determined yet? I'll look for brake calipers in the stash. Not sure if I have something, but those are not too hard to find.

Seizedpost

It's definitely a 1982. The serial number shows a November 1981 build date. I'm pretty sure it's a special version of the S12-S LTD. The frame is right, the seatpost diameter is right, and the components are right, except for the downtube shifters- but I've seen pictures of S12-S LTD's with downtube shifters.

Note that it originally had a Suntour NSL front derailleur, and the Spirt is a replacement because the NSL was broken.

MauriceMoss

Great job! It's come a long way from the sad state in the original CL ad. I think the bike has a big grin on its face in the pic above.

USAZorro

I was going to suggest that we look back 10 years to see what was introduced in 1972. If it were a Finest or a Newest, or an Ace, it surely would have said it and the Ishiwata tubing would have been noted. I don't think the dates on those models lines up either. I believe the S-10S came out in '72 and that you are correct.