Johnny Mullet

Found this Fuji at a yard sale and had to get it.The bike needs some help as in tires, tubes, chain, and some tuning, but cosmetics are in really good condition and all the original components are there except the seat is new. This is a 1990 Fuji Ace road bike. Here are the pics of it................













I could not really find much info online about this bike, but I found this spec sheet, so it seems this was a mid-line priced bike with decent stuff, but not top of the line.............

Bianchigirll 

Ah the Fuji Black Lightning

Deal4Fuji

Where's the Huffy Johnny ? Nice Fuji, here's a link to the Classic Fuji site I found on BF....I think one of our members runs the site. It should have the catalog info too

https://www.classicfuji.com/

Johnny Mullet

I still have my Huffy and my Reflex mountain bikes. My last road bike purchace was a Panasonic DX 4000 that I did not like for some reason or another and sold it toa local who rides it daily. For some reason, this Fuji is much more comfortable the the Panasonic was. The Panasonic was a 58CM and this is a 56CM and I am 5'11" tall. Something about the geometry I guess? anyway, I plan on restoring it to like new again. I am actually cleaning up the frame right here in the living room and the paint is beautiful! Only a few small scratches and no rust.

mikeybikes

Nice find! I'm digging the all black scheme.

clubman 

I love that bike. I want it. I don't understand how an Ishiwata triple butted bike with Suntour could be over 25 pounds but what do I know.

Johnny Mullet

I will be getting all black wall tires on it first thing!

noglider 

It has potential.

Johnny Mullet

I will get some updated pics later today. It cleaned up nicely!

Johnny Mullet

No bike shop open and Walmart did not have anything good in a 700x25c tire, so I decided to ride it up and down the road and not go far from home with the dry rotted tires. Surprisingly, they held air! I noticed this bike has pretty much mostly high gears and it really hauls! Like the first reply to this thread, I named it "Black Lightning". Unlike my mountain bikes, I can maintain about 16-18 MPH compared to the 13-15 MPH I usually ride. I have a feeling any steep hills will be a pain, but we will see.............

dddd

Excellent bike, Johnny!

This bike's shifting should really benefit from a more-modern chain, something on the narrow side, like a 7.1mm-wide KMC or SRAM chain would be my first choice to go with that Suntour 6s freewheel and those chainrings.

Gearing changes might not be needed if this bike handles well with the rider off the saddle and with weight bearing on the lever hoods. Takes some arm-muscle adaptation over a few weeks of riding, but that's how I get up the local steeps with my paltry road gearing and without knee pain. I've worked my way up to longer, steeper climbs, fitness-wise, and it gets better every day!

That's a cool road bike of that particular vintage. Avoid WalMart/Bell/TaYa chains though, they tend to break. Cheng C-740 tires are working very well for me at a really decent price.

Johnny Mullet

New tires and a closeup of the gorgeous black paint after hours of polishing..................

DIMcyclist

Ahhh, the Black Ace... Definitely one of Fuji's best, from their best period; I'm sure you're in for some fine rides.

OldsCOOL

Indeed.

OldsCOOL

The Ace of Spades. Gorgeous.

crank_addict

johnny- Distinctive cool bike. I know of two near me and one that occasionally joins in the group ride. Next time I'll have to look closer but his is equipped with higher end components - period DA but uses DT shifters, light saddle,different saddle, clipless pedals. Feels light and guessing 20-21 lbs. One of the fast riders and when on this Fuji definitely looks all business.

Rocket-Sauce 

I have the same bike. It is a "sleeper" for sure. That frame is *very* nice and worthy of upgrades. I'd say it NEEDS upgrading since many of the cost saving parts hurt the bike. For example, the steel seatpost is a boat anchor, the squishy brakes merely "suggest" stopping, and the wheels are HEAVY.


Here is mine as found:



And As it sits now after 2 years of parts bin upgrades:



Oh yeah... It rides fantastic.

Johnny Mullet

I would have to agree with you on upgrading and weight loss on the bike. I removed the front and rear reflectors and removed the "Dork Disk" from the rear wheel. I alsotook it for a good 19 mile ride today and the bike is way faster then my mountain bike, way more comfortable tham my old Panasonic DX 4000 I had, and these larger 700x35c tires made all the difference in the world for me. Sure, the tires are heavier and slower, but I am a big guy and hate flats. I only got flats when riding 700x25c tires.

The Suntor Blaze components work well but not as smooth or precise as my Shimano DeoreXT equipped MTB. Had a few gears skip on me when switching.

greg3rd48 

I am going to pick your brain about your upgrade. I actually just picked up a mint Fuji Ace identical to Johnny Mullet and I do want to decrease the weight. It is a beautiful bike but I am having issues with the Blaze RD also. For some reason I am finding that it is very resistant to shifting to the higher gears. I have to tinker with it a bit more I think.

Really nice bike Johnny Mullet. Are you still riding it regularly and have you made any upgrades? I am looking forward to riding this bike. Also did you have any issues adjusting the Blaze RD?

P.S. Sorry about the resurrection of the thread but I just picked this beautiful bike up. I will post pictures tomorrow when I am home.

ChicagoGOBLUE

Nice bike, man! Looks very stealthy!

Johnny Mullet

I sold this bike and got my Huffy Techtra Lite for it.

Clang

You traded a Fuji Ace for a Huffy? That's brand loyalty.

Johnny Mullet

I stripped the wheels, gears, stem, drop bars, brakes, etc to upgrade one Huffy and traded the frameset for another Huffy.

Johnny Mullet

Just wanted to update this thread and let you know that after I decided I was not riding this bike anymore because of needed upgrades and repairs, I stripped the wheels, bars, stem, brakes, etc from this bike and installed those parts on my Huffy MTB and turned it into a drop bar 700c commuter bike............



My plans were to build this Fuji Ace bike with better components, but after finding the Huffy Techtra Lite that I really enjoy, I traded the Ace frameset and another bike for the this Huffy road bike. Note the Ace stem, diacompe brake levers, and diacompe brake calipers....................



I knew the Ace was going to a good home and the guy really loved how beautiful the frame was. He got what he wanted and I finally got a road bike I could comfortably ride. I been browsing his ads on Craigslist and finally last week he put this bike together and sold it for $350.............



Now this Ace is AGAIN up for sale for a whopping $400..................



All I can say is I am glad this bike is on the road because it would have taken me a long time to to the build.

spedrunr

Hi, I found a CL Fuji Ace but it is not lugged (TiG?). When did they switch to butted tubing?