Lascauxcaveman 

Hmmmmm...

79pmooney

I don't think I have ever seen a '77 or '78 Fuji Pro since I sold mine in '82. Murray Missile's Team brings back memories and looks like the geometry of the bike I raced but a lot of details are different. The bottom Ace in cb400bill's post is close to the grey, fork bend and age of my Pro, but i suspect rides quite differently.

I have a lot of memories with that bike, I'd love to see one again.

Ben

willydstyle

Hmmm, that color scheme could be a few different bikes, but my guess would be an 85 Del Ray, which is good but not great, or one of the Touring Series which could be a better find depending on the trim level. Try to get pics!

jetboy 

he says its an "ace" on the CL side bar. but I can ask for pics and facilitate if anyone is interested. unless it turns out to be a 60cm pretending to be a 56

willydstyle

I'm guessing it's

https://www.classicfuji.com/Ace_1990_Page.htm

Which IMO would be well worth the asking price, but isn't as good as the '70s incarnation of the same name.

eschlwc

yes, i've had two. it's the best japanese bike i've had i think. but i haven't had a fuji pro, newest, finest, ace, or opus.

i mean ... just look: https://www.classicfuji.com/1983_08_OpusIII_Page.htm

willydstyle

I think I have a new dream bike.

Look what I found on ebay:

RARE 1980's Fuji Titanium | eBay

And the owner doesn't even know how their brake quick releases work...

Pemetic2006

I'm always on the lookout for one of their touring bikes or lugged MTBs but rarely see anything close to me (4 hours or less driving time). I did recently see a Mt Fuji but it was too big.
I was in Bozeman , MT over the summer and saw a real nice Club Fuji (86 I believe) parked on the sidewalk.

OldsCOOL

Anything related to Japanese manufacture in the 70s was something to be avoided. I recall being a teen in the 70s and if you had something Japanese it was regarded as low quality. This could be part of the reason for seeing relatively few topshelf bikes from that era.

dailycommute

One is sitting in my basement==1984 team fuji, the first Japanese bike that showed me what kind of quality you can find in 80s upper end Fujis. In 84 the pro, opus, and team all used the same frame but different forks/stays/hardware. I found this one on CL and drove 2 hours to get it, have ridden thousands of miles on stock build (swapped seat, pedals) and it has never let me down. This past July on the commute home thunderheads built, then a massive wind/rain storm. Had no choice but to keep pounding the pedals, it started hailing and wind blowing sideways. The team just kept rolling through it all, one of those bikes where every time I ride it say to myself "do not sell this, do not sell this". I have turned down multiple offers/trades from a local who really wants it but it would just be a collectible vs actual rider. Great bike.

bikemig 

I know a lot of the bakeshop guys I worked with back in the day figured that European bikes were just better. Probably the best riding bike I have ever owned was a team miyata. Still own the frame actually.

ScottRyder 

hehehe.

Scott

ScottRyder 

The high end Fujis are out there, they just don't come up for sale very often. When someone does find them, they hold on to them. Our Fuji Group on Google acts as a bit of a clearing house as a few of the members used to work for Fuji or some of the larger distributers, so we have a pretty good network going around the country. Massachusetts/New England has always been a hotbed for Fujis because of Gene Ritvo at Lifecycles in Cambridge. He and his team did all the design and specifications for Fuji back in the day. Color, components, etc.

If anybody is ever looking for a certain model, drop me a pm, I can try and help.

Cheers,

Scott

ScottRyder 

A mystery no longer!! Neal, didn't I trade you a PX-10 for that frame?



Scott

tmh657

I found this Opus 3 about 4 years ago on CL. Superbee/Pro components. It's the only Opus I have ever seen on CL. Nice color and 1 size too small for me. This guy from Hawaii called me and said he had to have it no matter what it cost to ship it.

Univega was mentioned and I see a couple Competizione per year on CL and sold one last summer. I almost bought one for myself but it was too big. It's basically a Miyata Pro right?

ScottRyder 

WOW!

Scott

Phil_gretz

I had one and built up one for my college roommate, which he still rides. Nothing special about the frame or the bike, unfortunately. Low-mid level.

My '82 Team was a far better riding bike. By a mile...

dailycommute

The 84 team above does have a cambridge cycle shop decal, I had heard they are more common here in NE for same reason.

noglider 

I agree. I think there was a perception that if you wanted very high end, above a certain level, it better be American or European to be "taken seriously." And I think fewer Japanese bikes were brought here, too. I don't know which is the cause and which is the effect, though.

One thing I like about Fujis is that they avoided Shimano components more than any other brand. They had many (but not all) models that had not a single Shimano nut or bolt.

OldsCOOL

No doubt, the French and Italians ruled the cycling world. In highschool my buddy had a The Ace and the heavier Motobecane.

thumpism 

The last one to show up locally was a blue and chrome '70s Finest in my size (24-25"). I always wanted one but it was badly rusted and he wanted more than I thought reasonable. Also, I'm out of space and time for such a project so did not pursue it.

ScottRyder 

Dailycommute, any chance you could post a shot of the shop decal for my archives. It's most likely Lifecycles.

Thanks!

Scott

dailycommute

Hey Scott

Well I thought it was Cambridge but actually this decal is International Cycles (Allston, Newton). Just checked and looks like the IC shops closed this past January.

dweenk

I have a Fuji The Finest hanging in the joists of my garage. I traded a $0 cruiser for it (really) just to save the bike. It had been left outside near the ocean for quite a while. The original bars, stem, pedals, brake levers, seat, and seat post were replaced. The owner apparently thought that wrapping a lot of masking tape around a skinny seat post was the appropriate repair. I still have not removed every trace of that stuff from the seat tube. I have removed a lot of the rust that was on the frame, but lost interest and hung it in the joists. It is far too small for me anyway.

Murray Missile