baldinbro

I just picked up a 1988 Fuji Saratoga and am wondering what I should replace / upgrade. The bike rides pretty good as is (the shifting is particularly good), but I'm pretty sure the wheels are the originals and they definitely have some wear and tear on them. If I upgraded to a new $100 - $200 wheelset would I notice the difference? Would it be a bad idea to do a week long tour on these this Spring?

The hub says "Sansun Sealed System" and the tire reads "SCCR 900."

Photos : https://goo.gl/photos/w6JNSxghk7HpMhob8

If I do upgrade, should I go 700c? Can this bike take 700c? Is getting a used wheelset a bad idea?

If it's not obvious, I'm not the most experienced "bike upgrader," but I'm looking to learn and would like some non-bike salesman advice if ya'lls have it.

Sam

coolkat

I would have no problem riding those, but new wheels, especially if these are out of true/warped or the tension's way off, are one of the best upgrades you could make--as long as the new ones are nice enough to be an upgrade! Changing to 700C gets tough when cantilevers are involved and it kinda depends on the specific frame if it'll work or not

jimc101

Looks nice as is, would just give it a clean up, as they look pretty dirty; if you looking to spend anything on it, would just look at replacing the tires, as guessing the ones fitted (from the look of them are original/pushing 30 years old.

degan

The easiest improvements that make the biggest difference are the tires and wheels. I assume the bike currently has 27" wheels. 700c will open up a much larger range of tires but there are some good 27" tires out there. 27" wheels are slightly larger than 700c, but most bikes can handle the change. As long as the brake pads can be moved down a few MM you should be fine.

Dave Cutter

+1 Replace those old tires. But keep the wheels.

Which would mean (from my experience) you will also want/need to replace the rubber rim strip (fits between the tube and rim). And if you're going to be touring... I'd install new tubes as well (keep the old tubes for spares). The 27 X 1 1/4 is a fine tire size. And you can get a replacement (in limited styles) everywhere (even Walmart).

You have a good bike there. Besides the new tires, tubes, and rim strips... you'll want to re-grease everything with maybe some new loose bearings. A good scrubbing and some new handle bar tape and the bike will look pretty good too. Check those brake pads... if they are dry and hard, or don't stop the bike well, replace them. Maybe new cables and cable housing (although they look good it the pics), and likely a new chain. Then you should be good for at least a couple thousand miles... with only the regular maintenance that any other bike would require.

bikemig 

Those tires are dry rotted; you need new ones. There can be real isues in going from a 27 inch to a 700c wheel with a bike that has cantilevers. The brakes may not reach properly and there is no good way in advance whether this will be a problem or not. So I would overhaul the bike and clean and tension those wheels.

Pemetic2006

https://www.classicfuji.com/1988_34_S...ions3_Page.htm

Great website.
The tires are original.
Nice bike; keep the wheels. Is this the Brooklyn CL bike by chance?

katzenfinch

Oh hey, I saw that bike on ****** yesterday! With new tires, tubes, rim strips and maybe a chain you’ll be good to go. Happy touring!

(FWIW, I’m a Schwalbe fan: https://www.biketiresdirect.com/prod...rathon-27-tire)

Edit: I guess that site with the alien mascot must be The Social Media Site That Must Not Be Named....

Phil_gretz

I have that bike. I rode the original wheels, but cracked a hub flange on the rear wheel in my first 1500 miles or so. Shame, as it was a 40H rear wheel. I replaced them with another pair of 27" wheels because the DiaCompe 980/981 cantilevers cannot be made to work with 700c wheels on that frame, in my experience.

Great bike. Really great bike. PG

Narhay

Put new grease and bearings into the hub, true and tension the wheel and get some new tires. I would only replace if they are damaged (bent rim, pitted hub, etc).

The Golden Boy 

Hey Sam,

I'm pretty sure you'd be 'downgrading' to a set of $100 or $200 set of new wheels. Those are pretty nice hubs, and chances are you've got double walled rims- which inexpensive wheels will not have.

If you do an upgrade to 700C- it may go well for you- it's a little later than other touring bikes- so the distance between the cantis may have gotten larger- meaning you have some room to adjust your pad angle.

Used wheels are a great idea- unless the wheels you get are bad. You can get some top of the line wheels from days gone by that are still excellent performing wheels- but someone just doesn't want "old."

IMO- there's nothing inherently wrong with 27" wheels. I have 3 Class A tourers, all three are still running 27" wheels- I'm using 1 1/4" Panaracer Pasela Tourguard tires. Chances are, if I were to be running 700C on these bikes, I would probably be running 700c x 32 or 35- Effectively the same tire width, and chances are, I'd probably be running Panaracer Paselas.

Switching over to 700c is a *someday* project for me- I'm in NO hurry- I've got REALLY nice wheels on these bikes- regardless of them being 27" wheels.

The Saratoga is a nice bike with a whole lot of potential- and it's pretty swell the way it sits right now.

Best of luck!

baldinbro

Thanks so much! I didn't realize that wheels from the late 80s would hold up so well today, but I guess that's the case! New tires and a complete overhaul this weekend. Woo hoo!

baldinbro

Yes indeed bought it off BK CL from a really nice lady who accidentally bought a way too big of bike for herself. My old bike (an 80s Peugeot) was stolen out of my basement on Christmas so I needed a replacement.

bradtx

Sam, If those are the original tires, the wheels will still have a lot of life left in them, just possibly retensioning and trueing. Perform an overhaul on the bike (clean and grease the hubs, head set, and bottom bracket) along with new tires, tubes, rim strips, and possibly brake pads.

Brad

Pemetic2006

I was confused about the size of that bike as listed on CL. It is very nice, enjoy.

T-Mar

As already noted by many members, the 98x series of Dia-Compe cantilevers have a notoriously narrow range of pad adjustment, typically about +/2.5mm. If the manufacturer set the studs at nominal position (why wouldn't they), you would not have enough pad adjustment to accommodate the 4mm drop required by 700C. However, if necessary, there is an option to get around this - install new V-brakes.

I would probably make my decision based on the condition of the races of the cones and hub shell. If they were bad, I would seriously be considering new wheels. The rims' sidewall wear doesn't appear to be excessive, so I wouldn't be concerned unless there were bulges or cracks starting to appear around the spoke holes.

Those are pretty decent set of wheels. Not great but not bad. You'll get some weight savings from new wheels but it may not be noticeable. You can get get a much more noticeable improvement from new tires, depending on what you select.

Lascauxcaveman 

Nice find @baldinbro, looks like it hasn't been used much, so if there's no obvious damage to the rims, I'd say keep the wheels as-is+new grease. The main advantage is not having to futz around with finding new calipers to go down to those lowly, inferior 700c wheels

You do realize, however, you now have a firmly binding moral responsibility to take and post some better pics of the bike; drive side, outdoor light, closeups of the components, etc.

baldinbro

Haha... ok, will do! Once she's gotten a good wash I'll definitely do that. Should I keep it in this thread?

Pemetic2006

Are the decals on the fork easily removable?
I really wish I had taken a look at this bike but driving to Brooklyn seemed daunting.

baldinbro

Yeah I'm gonna pop those off this weekend as well.

09box

Saratoga's are nice riding bikes. I had one and never had any issues with it.

ramzilla

Absolutely. There is nothing finer than a brand new set of 27" wheels. Get a set of these & put some 1" Panaracer Pasela tires on them. And you will be a happy man.

Sorry - I had to remove the link to the LP-18 Weinmann wheel set that's on Amazon due to some kind of f#%^* up hi jack s*%$#t that re-directed link to Walmart. You have got to be kidding me. RAMZILLA WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS !!!!!!!

The Golden Boy 

I would get at least 1 1/8" tires if not 1 1/4" or 1 3/8" for a touring bike.

I would also not get a new $100 wheel set with cheap Quando hubs. You've got a quality bike, almost any "vintage" wheel set with alloy rims will be better than those.

ramzilla

Sorry about the malfunction above. I've bought two sets of the LP-18 Weinmann rims. They're both holding up beautifully well after a couple years of riding. You must remember that yesterday's expensive technology is today's bargain. A close analogy is tennis rackets. 30 years ago composite resin tennis rackets cost hundreds. Today, you can get them at Wally world for 15 bucks. Same thing with these new LP-18 wheels on Amazon. Thirty years ago they were state of the art. Now ........ You can spend all the money you want on status wheels. But, I'll just blow right by you on my pair of double wall alloy 36H $120 rims.

The Golden Boy 

The question isn't the rims, it's the hubs. It's not about technology or status- it's about quality. They're made from inferior materials- that's why they're cheap, not because the technology of hub making has brought down the cost. When you can get a quality used wheelset (even top of the line) for around $100, it's silly to get an entry level wheelset that appear to have an enormous history of lack of reliability- especially within the last 6 years.

The stock Sansin sealed bearing hubs were upper tier touring/MTB hubs- it doesn't make sense to replace them with entry level wheels.

Blow by what you need to blow by, but life is too short for cheap ****.