zoo mob

Hi, I'm not much of a bike mechanic, but I have a Fuji Touring IV that I'd like to turn from traditional touring bike into something with a more upright stance and up-to-date, indexed shifters. I'm hoping this group can help me come up with some recommendations for new bars, shifters, brakes, and cable routing.

Any ideas are welcome. I'd like to be able to ride more upright like a mountain bike, and have brakes and shifters on the bars. What equipment do I need, and any pics of inspiring builds would be appreciated as well. Below is the starting point.

yuoil 

What a lovely bike. I'm sure many would rather keep it as is...!

Anyway, you'll need basic tools such as metric allen key set, screwdrivers and a few metric wrenches perhaps. Then you'll need a flat bar that has the same diameter as your stem clamp area. You might have to swap to a different stem. After that, you'll need the type of flat bar shifters you're interested in. I can't recall but I think this bike is either five or six speeds in the back, so you'll need a shifter that is indexed for the correct number (like a modern grip shift or shimano rapid fire shifter) and the appropriate derailleur and/or freewheel for that shifter if you are set on index shifting.

There won't be many options in the 5 and 6 speed range for index shifting. You can find something but it will probably be very low end.

As far as cable routing all you need is downtube shifter stop mounts and then you can route the cable just like a standard bike. They look like

Anyway, to summarize, you will need:

A handlebar that fits your stem diameter.

Indexed shifters for the appropriate number of gears (I think it's 3 and 6 but count).

The proper derailleur for your rear shifter. Since this is a fuji I suspect it has suntour rear derailleurs (looks like arx) and freewheel (the rear gears). The spacing suntour used was slightly different than the spacing SRAM and Shimano currently use, so if you stick with the original derailleur and/or freewheel it may shift messily, poorly, or just fine. You can try it but I seem to recall it won't work great without these changes. You might be able to get away with a newer shimano-spacing freewheel and the current derailleur with a shimano shifter. If you go to a sram 1:1 ratio shifter you will need a sram rear derailleur.

Downtube cable stops and the cables to route the new shifters.

The proper tools to do this stuff.

Grips!

If you're really going this far into it, I'd get linear pull (v-brakes) as well since their much easier to set up without squealing.

Without a budget I can't really recommend specific parts. Personally I think it's a great bike as is and I wouldn't change it (it's my size!! ) but I hope whatever you decide to do works out well for you!

P.S. - Where are you located? If you're local maybe we can trade bikes if you decide you don't want to get into this project (sorry I couldn't help myself).

jade408

You want some nice upright handlebars like the North Roads or Porteur style bars. These look great on a classically shaped diamond frame.

matimeo

I agree that it would be a shame to change that bike. I have a similar Nishiki touring bike that I found at a thrift store where someone had put flat bars on it. Most of those old touring bikes have 130mm rear spacing, so they can take a modern wheel and 10 speed components. I put drops back on it and a 10 speed cassette and it's just about the finest bike I've ever ridden.

That's a really big frame. Is it 64 cm?

MichaelW

+1

I have a classic steel roadie with downtube friction shifters. When I decided to go all modern and convenient I figured it was better just to buy a whole new bike. My commuter has Al frame (no rust), hub-gears (Alfine), disc brakes, dynamo hub and On One Mary bars. Retail cost of the parts is comparable with new bike cost, without the trouble of matching new components to obsolete standard dimensions.

himespau 

the transition to flat bar is usually rather expensive. Often cheaper to sell and buy something already set up with what you want. I've done it the other way, but it's never been financially the wisest of decisions.

pdlamb

I'd suggest selling the Fuji (to someone who appreciates it), and buying whatever you think a "city bike" is. By the time you buy new bars and brake levers, you'd be close to breaking even on the new bike. If you're going to update the gearing, it's probably cheaper to go new.

PennyTheDog

Yeah, I'm with pdlamb. Without changing the shifters you could do it pretty cheaply on ebay, but then you'd have upright bars and a long reach down to friction shifters; it would be a pain. If you could put up with friction shifters, it wouldn't be too hard or expensive to change to upright bars with friction shifters. But as has already been pointed out, changing to indexed shifting opens up new problems if the cog spacing doesn't match shimano.

You can get nice older mountain/city bikes on craigslist (at least where I live) for under $150. You just might have to wait a little longer than most for your size to pop up.

bmthom.gis

Well you have a lot of options....it depends on how much you want to spend. Doing something basic you will have to keep your eye on ebay for 5 or 6 speed indexed rear derailleurs and shifters. The other option is to keep it friction and look for old Suntour atb shifters. All you will need to do then is find bars you like that will fit in your stem, some brake levers, cable stops, and new cable/housing. The routing will be very much the same.

It will still probably ride kind of funky. Your best bet is to keep your eye on your local CL and find yourself a "city bike"

One more thing....do you just want your brakes and shifters in the same place? You could hunt down some Suntour Command Shifters and get brake interrupters that would go on the flats of your bars. Upright riding, shifters near your brakes - pretty close to a "city bike"

PS- Suntour did make 6 speed indexed thumb shifters. You're just going to have to watch ebay. If you were wanting to completely update your bike, you are going to need to cold set your rear dropouts to accept a modern wheel with a freehub and get a new cassette, chain and rear derailleur in addition to the items already mentioned. At that point, just buy a new/used bike that already conforms to what you want.

matimeo

That's probably not actually true. Most touring bikes had the 130mm spacing, so this would actually probably work fine on this bike. However, like others have said, it's probably not worth the cost and hassle of changing the drive train. It always ends up costing more than you think. Best to just get a bike set up the way you want and send this one to me.

mstateglfr 

Ignore everyone else and listen up. Here is what you do.

1- Sell that bike to me.
2- Buy an upright bike.

Seriously. That is meant to be shown off as a classic example of an excellent 80s Japanese touring bike.



If you must change that bike, fine, just for all that is good in the world- keep the original parts please for when you want to part with the bike or change it back.


Go to a local collective or hit up ebay and buy a used quill stem that is a riser and not 7 shaped for under $20
Pick up some mtb bars or trekking/butterfly bars for under $20. Nashbar has trekking bars for about $20
Buy some bar tape if you get trekking bars or buy some grips if you get mtb bars for under $10
Buy 6 speed indexed shifters Amazon.com : Shimano SL-TX30 Tourney 6 Speed Shift Levers : Bike Shift Levers : Sports & Outdoors for under $20
Buy brake levers https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 for under $10

It has been previously mentioned that you need some cable stops. You do, but it looks like you need different ones than what was mentioned. Your bike's shifters aren't attached via brazing, they are attached with a clamp. Get a downtube cable stop from your collective or buy one for $9 Amazon.com : Origin8 Alloy Cable Stop : Sports & Outdoors


After that, pick up a 6 speed freewheel(I am guessing yours is a freewheel) from Sunrace or Shimano as these will work with the Shimano shifters. Then pick up a new rear derailleur that is a long cage and indexed. You can keep your front derailleur if you want, or change it out for a Shimano triple if you want to keep it all Shimano on the bike.



That's what is needed for indexing.
Or, just pick up some friction shifters for under $15 https://smile.amazon.com/Sunrace-SLM1...CB7MH5XRVYQADY
and attach them with your new handlebars, grips, brakes, and stem.






...sell the bike to me and get an actual upright commuter...


Either way, good luck- itll be a very good learning experience if you are willing and wanting to put in the time.

yuoil 

Ha! I was first... dibs! ;P

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one to think it's beautiful as is.

rmfnla

Yeah, but he won't need downtube shifter stop mounts since that bike has clamp-on shifters...

yuoil 

Well I can't give him ALL the answers! Good catch I didn't even notice.

zoo mob

The bike is not comfortable for me to ride, that's why I want to set it up differently. I get that it is a classic and should not be butchered. I was figuring that as with anything else with historic value, any updates should be able to be undone.

After reading all of the replies, this sounds like a giant pain in the ass. Feel free to message me if you are interested in buying.

PennyTheDog

One thing you could consider is just getting a taller quill stem, and leaving everything else the same. At most that requires new cables and housings, and it might not even require that. That would get the bars higher and closer to you.

noglider 

I disagree with many folks here. I think putting upright bars on it would be fine, but forget about putting indexed shifting on. If indexed shifting is important, get a new bike.

icepick_trotsky 

Nitto albatross + friction bar end shifters + whatever brake levers tickle your fancy. Like this:

jade408

Looks like a perfect revamp to me!

Junkdad

I have done this on 3 old road bikes and it's magic for upright city riding. Downright civilized.

fietsbob

Bring it over & Bring Beer.

Lascauxcaveman 

It kind of is, unless you look at tinkering on old bikes as a form of recreation (as do many of us vintage bike nerds).

And yes, your Fuji is a nice enough and is a sought after touring bike that it does have good resale value, depending on your local market. Packing and shipping a huge bike like that is also a giant pain in the ass, so keep that in mind if you do sell it.

bikemig 

If you had the know how and some of the equipment, I'd say go for it if you want to convert it to a city bike. As it is, though, it will be expensive. The bike has a value. You should be able to sell it easily on craigslist (not so easily perhaps if you live in a small town) and then buy a hybrid or a vintage mountain bike (one with a rigid fork). You should be able to buy a hybrid or vintage mtb for less than you can sell your fuji touring so you'll come out ahead financially.

Gresp15C

Just a note, that I was recently able to find a pair of these for very cheap, on eBay. Installation was foolproof. Just for moral support, here's mine:

In my case, the bike was a wall hanger because I can no longer reach drop bars, so I converted it to upright. This one has a Origin8 Citi Classic bar, and my commuter has a Velo Orange Tourist bar. Both seem to be of good quality. Make sure the straight section of each bar is long enough to mount all of your planned goodies: Shifters, brake levers, and grips.

Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about updating an old bike. Steel road bikes were pretty common in their day, and people didn't hesitate to adapt them to their needs. It's not a shame to build a bike that you will enjoy riding. My impression of the newer bikes that we're "supposed" to ride, i.e., hybrids and cruisers, is that they tend to be heavy and ungainly.

oddjob2

I'm guessing the OP must be over 6'5" given the 64cm frame size and the amount of post showing. As such I can see why he wants a more upright position.

If he is ok with downtube shifters, than a handlebar, stem, grips, and new levers, cables/housing will be needed at a minimum, roughly $75. Velo-orange.com has all he needs. He can use the stem he's got or buy a new one. VO also sells Falcon thumb shifters for $12 to mount on the handlebar and a clamp on cable guide. He'd likely switch his saddle to a sprung model as well.