thomaswan

Hey All!

This is my first post on here, and I am seeking some advice.

I'm purchasing a Fuji Berkeley from the 80's in great condition. The only complaint I have so far is the brown tire walls, so here is my dilemma.

purchase new 27" black road bike tires, or...

purchase new 700c wheelset and tires.

What difference will I notice going from 27" to 700c?

And I haven't seen the bike in person yet, does anyone know if you can lower the stock fuji brakes? If I recall correctly it needs to be lowered around 4mm to be converted to 700c right?

Thanks for the input!

ScottRyder 

Stick with the brown/gum walled tires if they're in good shape, if not, go with the all black 27's. I'm not sure if I'd upgrade to the 700's.

Scott

cb400bill

If your tires are in good shape, I'd say ride them. If not, and you want nice but affordable black wall 27" tires, I have had good luck with Panaracer Pasela tires. They come in many sizes and in both black and gum wall.

I'd not bother switching to 70's on a nice, but basic, recreational grade bike.

cycleheimer

+1

Plenty of 27" tires still available, so there is no real need to switch if the original rims aren't trashed. You can also get different widths to fit your riding style. The Paselas are a great tire, and a good value for the money.

gerv 

I have had a couple of mid level Fujis from the 1980s. The Berkley is at about that level.

I actually love both Fujis I've had and imagine you will too. I'd recommend staying with the 27inch tires until you determine that you like the ride sufficiently to invest. But I had not probablem dropping the brake pads enough to fit a pair of 700c wheels that I built up.

Why don't you ride the current wheels (but certainly replace the tires if you seem cracks in the rubber) and one of these days, slip a borrowed 700c wheel in and see if the brakes fit. Probably will.

thomaswan

Thanks for the advice, also there are no water bottle cage holes on the frame.

Is it wise to drill the frame?

or what are some work arounds, I don't like the cages that attach to the handlebars or the ones that attach behind the seat.

Are there a such thing as like a clamp on one?

J.Wolfe

many clamp on style bottle cages, just type in google and go to 'shopping' tab. also i would not recommend drilling into the tube...

thomaswan

Ok, I'll look into that.

Is it possible to use brake hoods on this bike since it has safety levers?

I know that I could remove them, but the upright position is nice when I have a heavy back pack going to and from campus.

A couple more questions for you guys:

And are pedal sizes standard? or do I have to find one that will fit the crank?

And what is the best way to make my bike have quick release front and rear wheels?

Thanks!

TimmyT 

I'd ride the 27" wheels, if they are straight and true ... plenty of decent tires for them out there. Check Nashbar or Niagara Cycle (or any of your favorite online vendors) for reasonably priced tires. In terms of durability, I agree with others here that the Pasela TGs are the best per dollar spent.

If you were to switch the wheels, the Berkeley has got a 96mm front spacing and a 126mm rear spacing. A set of 700c road wheels with "off the shelf" hubs would have 100 mm front and 130 mm rear. You could squeeze them in just fine. Whether the brakes are long enough to reach the 700c wheels, I don't know. 27" wheels have a 630mm diameter but 700c's are shorter with a 622 mm diameter. I have a Fuji Sports 12 from 1980. It's a few years older than the Berkeley and has the same spacing, but I put 700c wheels on it with no problem. Note however, the original wheels were bent pretty badly, and my brakes reached the 700c wheels. The brakes on the Berkeley are different from the brakes on the sports 12.

Typically, if you don't care about the paint, people will use a hose clamp and a regular water bottle cage. Alternatively, wire ties will work to hold a water bottle. My paint is a 5/10, so I went with the hose clamp. There are *tons* of other options, such as putting a water bottle cage on the front bars (they make them with clamps for that) or behind the seat (yup! make clamps for that too). Lots of ideas can be found here: https://www.nordicgroup.us/cageboss/

To switch to quick release, you would need new hubs. This would mean that you would need to buy new wheels (or build them). Again, I wouldn't worry about it for now, provided the wheels are straight. You can ride the bike a bit, and if the wheels aren't to your liking, then you can switch them.

Pedals for the Berkeley are standard. You will have no trouble finding pedals of any stripe for this bike.

I don't know about the brake hoods. My guess is no. I swapped out my bars and levers right away, too, so I didn't even try to figure that one out.

thomaswan

Thank you Timmy, excellent advice.

I wanted quick release hubs to fix flats without tools, are 27" less susceptible to flats than 700C?

This is my first vintage road bike, and my trek 1.1 picks up flats all the time.

TimmyT 

I've had two flats on Panaracer Pasela Tourguards (TGs) with the wire bead and kevlar reinforced center in about 2000 miles. If you're worried about flats, pick up a pair. You'll like them so much, you'll put them on your Trek. I've got one set of Pasela TGs and one set of Panaracer RibMo's. The RibMo's also have kevlar centers, and I don't think I've ever had a road flat on them (pinch flats when I'm setting them up, though, because I had a nasty set of Sun MZ14 rims that were impossible in terms of mounting). The RibMo's are faster, but the Pasela's are surer, especially in the rain.

So, go kevlar, boy. Even if you have to carry tools, you'll use them a lot less.

thomaswan

if i go with the panaracer pasela, I want the 27" x 1" size, will I have to worry about them fitting on my wheel? I didn't know if there was a certain width I would have to get.