starz2088

Hi, in '78 my mom purchased this bicycle for her own uses. I'm currently a college student in Indiana and inherited the bike this past fall. Sadly, last night it was stolen from the bike stand that it was locked to. I've filed a police report, but I am unsure of the worth of the bike. It is in rather good condition for being 29 years old. How much do you think the bike is currently worth?

GCRyder

Last comparable on ebay = $35.99 + shipping. Only one bidder.

Blue Order

It would depend on the frame. The last Fuji mixte I tried to bid on (my computer froze) went for $162.50 in a last minute bidding frenzy. Would have been mine for even more money if my computer hadn't frozen.

OP, what was the frame material? Was it butted? That will give a better idea of the value. Sorry to hear about your loss, btw...

starz2088

umm. I'm not sure what "butted" means, so you'll have to elaborate on that one. And about the frame, I'm not too sure on that either, but I'll investigate. Thanks so much for the reply!

cudak888 

Sold a green '78 Grand Touring (was it a Grand Touring or Grand Tourer?) locally for $125 - had been completely refurbished. Sold an '82 just like it in silver, no wheels, saddle or handlebar for $40.

Take care,

-Kurt

Blue Order

First, check the link I provided, you'll have evidence of what a nicer older Fuji goes for.

Second, tubing comes in different grades and gauges of metal.

Grades: A frame made of chrome-molybdenum steel (commonly called cromo, or cromoly) will be better than a frame made of high tensile or high tension steel. Frames made of Valite (a vanadium steel alloy) are also very highly regarded.

Guage: A frame can be straight gauge (the tube is the same thickness throughout the tube), single butted (thicker at one end, thinner at the other), double butted (thicker at the two ends, thinner in the middle), triple butted (three different thicknesses), and quad butted (four different thicknesses). The more butting, the lighter and stronger the tube, and therefore, the better the bike frame.

Fuji made a range of frames, from straight gauge hi-ten to some very high quality quad butted Valite frames. The value of your Fuji will depend on the frame quality.

Blue Order

One more thing, OP: College campuses are notorious for attracting bike thieves. You should never leave your bike locked outside overnight, if you have any way at all to bring it in to your room. Even in your room, you should lock it up to something immoveable that can't be disassembled or cut when you're away. Also, DO NOT use a cable lock, bike thieves can clip those in less than a second. Use a high quality u-lock. The best u-lock out there is the Kryptonite New York Fahgettaboudit. It's pricey-- $90-- but worth it if you want to convince a campus bike thief to steal somebody else's bike.

reverborama

I've bought 3 Fuji's in the last year, although they were all regular frames and not mixte's. One was crashed so I got that for $45, the other two were about $75 each. I still had to replace the tubes, tires, and brake pads on each (and true the wheels on the crashed one) so let's call it $100 American for replacement value. I think that's probaby a fair value for a rideable bike of that type.