Anyone know anything about old fuji bikes?
 

Hello all,
I was browsing Craigslist and came across this.
FUJI-(10)-ANNIVERSARY EDITION
What is it? Is it a good deal?
It looks sort of like this:
http://classicfuji.com/1984_11_TouringSeriesV_Page.htm
But with different brakes and downtube shifters.

Not even close.

Same manufacturer, but thats it.

Notice the first bike has 26 inch wheels and a double crank versus 27 inch and a triple crank.

The first bike is worth what they are asking, if you are short and can fix it yourself.

The second would be a great touring bike.

Oh, oops. It's late-ish. I didn't look at the specs. And I didn't notice the triple. That's one heck of a jump from the middle to bottom chain ring.
I'm 5'7", and I can fix it myself.
Thanks!

The two are very similar. The bike you are thinking about, the 10th Anniversary is a '81 bike (I guessed '80 looking at it, but Fuji America started in 1971), the Touring Series V is virtually the same bike 3 years later. Differences that I can see: the V has a triple crankset and the Anniversary a double. The V has a 6 speed freewheel, 14-28 and the Anniversary a 5 speed, probably also 14-28. (The seller says "12-speed, ie 6 cogs but I only can see 5. I am sure these are not the original wheels. The original wheels would have had SunTour's then fairly new narrow Winner 6-speed freewheel.) The Anniversary almost certainly had 27" wheels (but could take 700c no sweat if you wish. I have done it many times on similar bikes.) Shifters on the V are bar-cons, not down tube. The seat on the Anniversary in not original nor is the post (and both are a BIG step down from the originals. The derailleurs are different probably in part because of the double to triple change. Also SunTour's Mountech derailleurs didn't exist yet in 1981. (A plus for you. I think the V series are better.)

The Anniversary is sized at close to 22" (56 cm) c-t, or maybe just under. The V pictured is close to a 23 1/2" (59 cm), also maybe just under. This is by eye, but I have eyeballed quite a few.

The seller of the Anniversary does not have a clue. (Well, he saw the "12-speed" on the chainstay and I hope he got the serial number and his phone number right.) There is nothing on that bike that measures or is spec'ed at 26". Nothing.

Ben - just a guy who assembled and raced Fujis in the late '70s, loved them and always looked when I was in a shop that sold them. (And rode and still ride Sugino and SunTour equipment. Sugino and SunTour were both Fuji partners in the '70s and '80s. Fuji had the newest and latest from those two manufacturers a year before anyone else. We were selling full Superbe Fuji Pros in 1977.)

Thanks for a very informative post. Good observation about the freewheel being a 5 speed.

I would say the bikes aren't even close also. The one on CL is a mid level sports model but still a nice bike would be pretty good deal if you happen to have a decent 27" alloy wheel set laying around, the current steel wheels aren't correct and are junk. If you don't have a wheel set it wouldn't make sense you would have to spend over $100 on wheels and tires to basically make it usable.

I'm really surprised that bike is still available after 8 days. That's a steal at $45. It would be in my garage by the end of today if I was up there.

I don't have a set of nice wheels sitting around. Maybe I could get these for it:
Vintage 27" Alloy Wheel Set for 12 speed
And I have a nice new Connex chain just sitting around.
I'm up for a restoration project. I'm getting tempted.
Maybe I could talk him down even further if I point out that it's been downgraded to a 10 speed.
I can't seem to find this bike in the Fuji catalog. What is it?
Fuji catalogs:
Catalog_Covers

I never saw a Fuji with a side pull brake on the front and a center pull on the back. It looks nice for the price, but it appears to be cobbled together from a parts box.

I missed the centerpull rear brake. I also see that the seatstays do not have the nice fluted caps of the V so I will guess that they are plain steel (and the chainstays) instead of Cr-Mo like the V. But I will bet the main diamond is Cr-Mo on the bike Anniversary.

At $45 I'd grab it. Fuji made good bikes. Those 12 speed wheels you are looking at are probably spaced 126, not 120 which the Anniversary might be. I'd still do both. You can cut 6 mm off the axle, remove a few spacers and have a 120 and the Anniversary might be a 126 anyway. (This was a time of change in the industry, 120-126 standard. Fuji was a little slow in general and liked the SunTour narrow spacing, so it is not given which way this bike is setup. But it is also old-fashioned steel. It can be cold-set to whatever spacing you want.

That's a frame you can do a lot with. It will all be standard Japanese English tube diameters, headset, BB, etc. Common metric for threads. Parts from almost anywhere will drop on it. There's a chance I am wrong about the 27" wheels but if you find that is the case, well getting back the $40 for those alloy wheels would not be too hard and they would be very welcome at any bike donation center. If it is the 27" standers, that's cool because it allows you to go 700c with some longer brakes (Mafacs will fit easily), then run big fat tires and fenders for a super winter bike. SS or fix gear will be easy with the horizontal dropouts. (I have done the 27" to 700c switch on at least 4 different bikes over the years, most of which I then set up fixed.)

Ben

I'd grab it in a heartbeat just for the parts.

I would agree with others that this a mashup of all kinds of parts. The head tube could be a repaint, too, since Fuji would have probably matched it with the gold/champagne of the seat tube.

I tried to find some info on this "10th Anniversary" model, but there isn't a whole lot out there (there's nothing similar in the catalogs at classicfuji.com).

I did find a decent set of photos of one here.

I'm not sure what the "Lifecycle 1972-1982" is all about, but I take it that's what the model commemorates. The CL bike appears to have that same decal between the shifters.

If the CL bike is the same frame, it's made with Fuji's DB 331 tubing. In 1982 that tubing was used on models from S12-S LTD to the top of the line Professional Super. I'm not sure what the fork on the CL bike is, but I would guess that it's hi-ten, just like the S12-S. But, it could be CrMo, who knows.

I agree with @79pmooney and @ramzilla; if the frame fits and is free of dents (and is straight), at $45 it would be worth getting.

I think the anniversary bike was a Royale and isn't worth too much, but would make a great rider at that price if you can do the work yourself.

http://www.classicfuji.com/RoyaleII&..._1983_Page.htm

I believe that bike was sold out of LifeCycle in Boston. The location of the LBS sticker is a pretty good giveaway.

EditL I see that it was posted that the decal does indeed say LifeCycle. The shop was a major player in Fuji distribution. These bikes were obviously made to commemorate their anniversary.

The 1983 Fuji Royale II has a different rear derailleur than the Craigslist bike. The 1982 Royale 2 has a VX, just like the Craigslist bike.
I sent the seller an email expressing interest and asking him to measure the frame size. I have not yet heard back.

Its got a nutted axle on the back. Likely a steel rim. 1981 was Fuji's tenth Anniversay selling bikes in the USA.

Yes, and as others have pointed out, it has a 5 speed freewheel when it's supposed to have a 6 speed. They are clearly not the original wheels.
I'm still waiting on a reply about what size it is.

I had him double check is measurements and he says that it is 26" from the outside of the tire to the outside of the tire. Is it possible that he's right?

Wow, if it's actually got 26" tires that would make it a pretty cool junior size road bike. Very chick friendly. I'd really like to have that one in my collection.

I bought the bike. I don't have much time now but I'll post pictures and more information soon. I'm not sure but I think it may have originally come with 27" wheels. We know the wheels and freewheel were replaced, and the brakes don't really line up with the rims.

They almost look like 26" wheels in the pictures. But whatever size they are, they appear to be the correct size for the frame. The brakes don't line up because they look like a mangled mess.

What is the actual size of the wheels?

It looks like 27" wheels to me- I've got an 82 Fuji Del Rey that looks exactly like this including the derailer specs. SHould be a Valite Frame - should ride well but not be terribly light or fast. I'd probably pay 45 for it were I looking for a budget rider, but not for an investment, or if you're looking for anything particularly valuable.

They are definitely 26". They measure 26". The tires say 26" x 1 3/8.
According to the decal, the frame is Fuji 331 Double Butted Chrome Molybdenum. That's not Valite, is it?

And I am pretty certain the bike is meant for 27" wheels. The front sidepull brake caliper (Dia Compe 500g which I believe to be original) could not possibly work with these (cheap, chromed steel) 26" rims. The rear, center pull caliper (which I believe was replaced to make the wheels work) lines up.
Also of note: A Suntour NSL High Normal front derailleur!

No, Valite is not the same thing as 331. 331 was actually decent tubing at one point and was used on the top of the line 70's bikes, until the switch to 9658 in the early-mid 80's, which was a huge improvement. 331 was then used on mid-range models for a while.

Valite came along a bit later and appeared solely on mid-range models, as 9658 was for the top models. I had a valite 1984 Fuji Team that rode very nicely, but sold it after I picked up my first Fuji Design Series.

The original rims would have been gold and I think the derailleurs and crankset would have been Fuji branded Suntour/Sugino units.

I finally figured out what's going on with the wheels. It has a 27" wheel in the back and 26" wheel in the front.
I'll post the full specs of the bike as it is now in a new thread.
Also, not sure how I didn't notice this before: the Suntour NSL High Normal front derailleur is broken and held together by a zip tie. Also, the bottom bracket shaft seems to be bent as both chainrings wobble together.
I measured the rear dropout spacing, and it's 126mm. Looks like I can use a regular 6 speed freewheel.