eschlwc

hola, c&v. i picked up an '84 club fuji (s# kf400315) in desperate need of some tlc. it needs a complete overhaul and the usual bits and pieces replaced -- saddle, seat post, clips, levers, etc.



the worst bit of it is the paint, which is nicked in about a thousand places, especially on the ds chainstay where a protector should have been placed thirty years ago.



the best bits of it are found in the basically straight frame, original derailleurs, bar, crankset, beautiful shimano 600 side-pulls (that probably aren't original), and the history, this being the 'club' model's first yea. here are my questions.

- i'd like to cover the ds chainstay with a stainless looking stick on protector, but soma is out of them, and i can't find another. what do you suggest?

- i wanted to upgrade the levers to aero (like the next year's model). what are the least expensive new aeros with gum hoods? i may just install new $10 cane creek gum hoods on some s600 non-aeros.

- what are my options for a 700x23/25c gumwall tire besides paselas?

here's the catalog photo to show what it should look like in a couple weeks.

DIMcyclist

Great bike-- you should post some pictures of it for our nostalgic edification!

As far as the tires go, there are a few available, aside from Panaracers (although personally I have no complaints about Panaracers; not as nice as some, but certainly better than many others)...
Grand Bois' 'Col de la Madeleine' are probably just what you're looking for, but be aware they also make a few more gumwall clinchers in 700c.
An outfit called 'Challenge' also makes several, and Dia Compe & Kenda make one or two.
I think both Continental & Hutchinson both still make gumwalled tubulars (if you're into tubulars).

As far as the tape goes, have you looked into 'natural' colored cork tape? It's still kind of a golden color, but not as neon bright as straight-up yellow.

The hoods are going to be a challenge; everybody's always looking for a NOS hoods.

likebike23

I think you are right on the money with what you want to do. The cane creek hoods should be fine. As for the tires, I think that the paselas are much nicer than the kenda/cst tires. If you are flipping the bike immediately, go for the kenda tires. If you are going to ride it/maybe keep it, go with the paselas. To protect the chainstay, I've cut a length of the center tread on an old tire, and neatly zip tied it in place. It gets the job done, is pretty stealth, and costs nothing.

Glynis27

Very cool! I have an '85 that I've been working on and riding. Love that bike. I used Paselas on mine, along with the Soma CS protector.

Can't wait to see some pictures.

DIMcyclist

+1 Kenda's cheapie tires corner like they're slathered in grease.

Whit51 

I like red bar tape with red bikes.

eschlwc

i just spent about three hours overhauling the suntour vx-s rear derailleur. i dropped all the little loose parts in naval jelly, cleaned the big pieces with wd-40, polished the road rash with a file and sandpaper, and assembled it all again with new grease. the vx-s isn't the prettiest derailleur ever, but at least this one looks almost new again. here's a pic of the components after also deanodizing the crankset and rebuilding the pedals:



i picked up a new pair of pasela tourguards on ebay today for $34. thanks for the advice.

also bought some new cane creek non-aero gum hoods off ebay for $10. gonna scare up some shimano 600 levers to go with the calipers and hubs to replace the dia-compe levers that just have too much rash.

since the rims didn't match (and one was gold), i picked up a set of ambrosio elite wheels built on shimano 600 hubs. they're very pretty, but the rims run big, making tire mounting a real challenge.

Cougrrcj

You purists will probably excommunicate me, but waaaay back in '76 I used a piece of low-tech black electical tape to protct the DS chainstay of my blue Fuji S-10S. It has been there ever since. It has never come loose or curled up. Nowadays, I'd use lower autobody gravel shield (clear vinyl adhesive sheet/tape).

FWIW, I also used two bands of automotive pinstripe tape (white over black) to highlight the paint/chrome demarcation lines on the fork and rear stays.

DIMcyclist

I think most of us have done that one at some point. In fact I'm currently doing it on my commuter since the backing adhesive on its last TWO Salsa protectors apparently dried out in the store, causing them to peel off within hours of application. It's been three months and I still haven't gotten around to finding a replacement...

eschlwc

here are the final build pics i meant to post earier. (i also added a couple in the two edited posts above.)





build detail
- fuji valite tubing (58cm) frameset, fuji forged drops
- suntour vx-s rear derailleur, arx front derailleur, brazed shifters
- sr fluted seatpost
- shimano 600 hubset, brakeset
- nitto olympiad bars, nitto stem (95)
- ambrosio extra elite rims (700c, 19mm, 36h)
- sugino rt crankset 52/42 (170)
- brooks b17 champion saddle, black
- sunrace 6-speed freewheel, 14-28
- cane creek gum hoods
- kool-stop salmon pads
- sram pc-830 chain
- fizik microtex bar tape, yellow
- jagwire cable
- sr pedals (sp-100al)
- wellgo clips, leather straps
- panaracer pasela tg folding tires, 700x23c
- stainless bottle cage

eschlwc

had i a chance to repeat this build, i would have reprayed the rear triangle. instead, i spot filled the paint chips with model paint, which took hours. for the chainstay, i spot painted it, sanded it, then repeated and compounded it with scratch remover. the model paint matched real well, but the overall quality can be improved with a full respray of the whole rear of the bike.

the only other outstanding issue is rear triangle alignment, which is off center by 3mm. that's not quite enough to worry about at the moment, but in its next overhaul or bb replacement, i'll center the stays so the rear tire is perfectly centered with the rear brake bolt.

thanks for you help with this one. it's a lot of fun to ride, and now it looks great.

Glynis27

It sure does. You went with a much more original look than I, but I can put mine back to 100% original in 10 mins. These bikes are really fun to ride. Enjoy it!

DIMcyclist

Beautiful build; the yellow housing is a nice touch, it really harmonizes the bar tape with the rest of the bike.

eschlwc

thanks. it's always hard to improve on the designer's original idea.



i was skeptical about using yellow tape, but it works. i thought brown straps would be better than the catalogue black, but it's not. they really got it right from the start. all i'm missing are the two ribbons on the seat tube, which look to be green and gold ... at least, that's what i want them to be.