Originally Posted by
2bfree
Nice stuff, indeed! I'm
still riding my '72 Fuji Finest (white: the "other" color)--double-butted chrome-moly.
Recently, I found a vintage Fuji Roubaix on eBay, and I don't know where it fits in the Fuji hierarchy. It has:
- lugged, quad-butted Ishiwata SI-45 "Feather" tubing,
- mostly 105 components (FD, RD, down-tube indexed shifters, crankset, pedals, headset, side-pulls with SLR aero levers, 1050 hubs, 6-cog 13-24 indexed cassette),
- Nitto stem and bars
- Sakae seat post
- Selle San Marco Lazer saddle
- Ukai 700Cx25 rims with bladed spokes
- internally-routed rear brake housing
- rounded, one-piece "Italian style" fork crown, not the older lugged crown.
I suspect it's from the late '80s: it's not listed in the 1986 Fuji catalog; it says "Made in Japan" under the seat-tube Ishiwata label, and about that time Fuji production was shifting to Taiwan. I don't know the time-line of the 105 group or Shimano 6-cog indexing, and since Fuji has changed hands several times, the serial number trail is cold. Can anyone help date this? I've read that "triple-" and "quad-butted" in that era were mostly marketing hype, but the Ishiwata tubing is the real steel deal:
very sweet ride!
Sounds like my second-hand 59c Roubaix which has Shimano 105 components dating from june to december 1987, making the bike a likely 1988 model. This is a great bike. Took it out today for a bumpy 38 miles along country streams. My project bike this past winter when I stripped it to the frame then built up with a seven speed Sora STI brifter setup.
The fork crown is internally lugged, which gives the fork a very smooth look. My bike is black with a clear coat, (and a chromed chainstay under the chain). Back in the day this model was one step below their top of the line bike.
The only thing I don't like is that top tube internal cable routing. The brake cable comes out on the side where it hits my leg. Got it held down with a tie-wrap.