Originally Posted by
gearheadgeek
I stumbled across a great deal on my '89 Fuji Saratoga a couple of years ago. Seems to be an underappreciated model.
I find it to be a great all-around bike, and very comfortable. I use it mostly for commuting, but it handles full loads just fine. Ishiwata triple butted tubing, front and rear rack braze-ons, cantilevers, Accushift bar end shifters, spare spokes on the chainstay, and three bottle mounts. My only concern is that there doesn't seem to be much room for a front fender, at least with the 27x1-1/4 Pasela I've been running. I like the Touring Series paint better, but my Saratoga is a keeper.
I agree that the Saratoga is either underappreciated or unknown. I've seen two of them for sale in the last five years or so. Very nice bike, but pretty uncommon. I've also seen a few old Novara touring bikes that looked like they'd do the trick. Novara has been around since the early 80's also, but the bikes are rarely seen in my area (probably due to the lack of REI stores.)