Fuji History: This post is meant to provide a little insight into the Fuji brand. Way back in the mid 70's, Fuji was the first mainstream bike to use a 6-speed rear end. At the time, the bike industry was rather moribund and stuck in a rut. Fuji bikes became popular. Remember, that at that time, whether you were
a recreational cyclist or an enthusiast, for the most part, you bought a road bike cause' that's what was in the store. With the invention of the mountain bike, the whole market changed. Road bike sales declined. By the mid 80's Specialized, Trek, Cannondale and Univega grabbed significant market share and floor space in the independent bike dealer network. Some companies, Schwinn, Raleigh and Fuji among them were slow to react developing mountain bikes and never again reached the success they had in the 70's. For Fuji, to make matters worse, their bikes were made in Japan and as the yen got stronger, their bikes were less able to compete with frames made in Taiwan. To solve this problem, Fuji started selling their bikes mail-order and established a niche for road bikes for frequent users (guys who put on a lot of miles who may or not be racers). Although they were successful selling bikes mail-order, local bike shops for the most part stopped carrying the brand, because they couldn't compete on price. I remember going by the Fuji bike booth at the big dealer shows and noting how few bike dealers were looking at their product. At this point in time, it's still a niche brand. Fuji, the parent company is a huge conglomerate in Japan, owning much larger companies spread across heavy industry and electonics. So, although they have likely made very little money on their U.S. operations, they still make a fine product and know that in the future, the winds of change may blow again in their favor.

Poser comment: In Europe they tend to take the idea of equipment and apparel on the whole a lot less seriously. In Euro-land, there are lots of "Old men who get fat in the winter" (to paraphrase Patrick O'Grady) that wear the clothing of their favorite team and ride really nice bikes, although they generally ride at cruising speed. This does not mean they are trying to pass themselves as card carrying members of the peloton, it's just their way of expressing their enthusiasm for the sport of cycling whether as a spectator or participant. The dude who wears a Yankee baseball cap and pinstripe flannel shirt will never be mistaken for Derek Jeter but he enjoys the game and identifying himself with his favorite team. For the few, ever so serious cyclists whose zealotry doesn't permit space for others to enjoy the sport due to their narrow view of how others should look and act on a bike, I can only say that when you meet as I have, some of the top cyclists in the world, you will never encounter this elitist view among any one of them.