I bought this Fuji Sagres recently from a fellow in New Hampshire. It appeared to have been stored for a long time with few miles on it. The main draw was the frame size: 27 inches (68.5cm). I discovered this perfect fit (but now-rare size) after overhauling and converting a '79 Schwinn Traveler as a fixed gear. (It's big, blue, decorated with antique postage stamps from all over the world, and was stolen in the Boston suburbs sometime in the last year-and-a-half while I was abroad... Perhaps you've seen it?) I miss that Schwinn dearly, but the more time I spend with this Fuji, the more I fall in love. He already has a name: "The Commodore."

This bike's already established command over my fleet, AWOLs notwithstanding.



Frame: 1985 Fuji Sagres, 27 inch (68.5cm), VALite 178 tubing (house rebranding of Ishiwata EX-V)
Rear wheel: Mavic Open Sport 700c, 36H, Origin8 hub
Front wheel: Weinmann RM19 700c, Tiagra hub, 36H, QR, (borrowed from Bianchi Volpe)
Tires: Continental Gatorskin 700c/23c
Brake: Tektro 539 dual pivot (front only)
Brake lever: Origin8 TT reverse brake lever (alloy)
Handlebars: Nashbar Road Bike Aerobar, 44cm, with Velo Orange elkhide sewn-on bar covers, wine cork bar ends (dremeled to fit)
Stem: Nitto Young 3-Quill (OEM)
Crankset: Sugino GP 170mm cranks, 42T CP chainring, sealed rubber in BB (OEM)
Rear Cog: Surly 18T, 3/32”
Chain: SRAM PC-1
Pedals: MKS Smash alloy (OEM); Power Grips
Saddle: Brooks B17 Special, honey
Seatpost: Sugino SP-2AC alloy (OEM)

I plan to install Honjo fenders and a pannier rack when time and funds allow.

No urgency for a BB overhaul yet, though I can appreciate the wisdom of installing a cartridge BB within the next year, after having an old, rubber-sealed one fail at the worst time.

For a few weeks I ran a 15T rear cog (42/15, or 73.5 gear inches), but soon realized that after four years overseas and off the saddle, I’ve totally detrained; I have some work to do before I’ll yet be able to rock my previous gear ratio on the purloined Schwinn of 40/16 (66.5 gear inches).



I spraypainted the visible portion of the handlebars, near the stem, silver/chrome from the original black, shot-peened finish. I love the Nashbar TT's geometry, but they're only available in a color that wouldn't work for me. I used Rustoleum Chrome ("Bright Coat/Metallic Finish" version), which I applied carefully after installing the handlebars. I tried several times to paint the bars first, then install them, but even a thin layer of paint was too thick — and would scratch. Prep work entailed extensive use of painter’s tape and plastic sheeting.

So far, I’m finding my Fuji Sagres frame’s geometry comfortably unremarkable, which is a very good thing. It's identical in size and similar in handling to my stolen Schwinn Traveler, if perhaps a bit smoother ride thanks to the Ishiwata chrome-vanadium alloy tubing. The paint job is a very understated “Slate,” a color whose value, depending on the light, falls somewhere between dark eggplant and an official-looking Navy blue, which I suppose will find itself well-suited to life in Washington, DC.

This is my first Fuji, and I’m still coming to appreciate this bicycle for what it is, rather than the one I’ve lost. But so far, I think this bike and I are going to be very happy together.