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Fuji Finest CL Score: Damaged Frame, Unsafe At Any Speed?

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Fuji Finest CL Score: Damaged Frame, Unsafe At Any Speed?

Old 09-21-08, 12:30 PM
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Fuji Finest CL Score: Damaged Frame, Unsafe At Any Speed?

I pickup this Fuji Finest of philly cl today. It was cheap and the frame is tweaked. (See pics) It came with 36 hole Campagnolo low flange hubs, laced to 700c Mavic MA40's, Sugino Mighty Double Crank, Suntour Superbe FD, Suntour Cyclone 7000 RD, Suntour Down tube shifters, Dia compe brakes & levers. I feel it was worth the low price for the components.

My question is regarding the safety of the frame. As you can see by the geometry and the bulge on the top & down tubes, there was an impact in it's past. I know the frame could never be sold, but is there any way to tell how unsafe it is to ride? There are no cracks and some minor paint chipping under the bulges. Anyone ridden a frame witht his kind of damage? If so how long and was it safe? I took a short ride on it and it tracks fine and seems to handle ok. Thanks for the input.

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Old 09-21-08, 12:56 PM
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Hey, I was wondering where you'd been!

I'd be really careful with that. That looks like it's right where the butted tubes change thickness. Plus it totally f's with the geometry. I'd contact a local frame builder and see if he could replace those two tubes. If that was horrifically expensive I would find a new frame and transfer the parts over. If the frame is not salvagable, I'd clean it up and hang it on the wall as an example of the beautiful work that came out of Japan during that era.
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Old 09-21-08, 03:11 PM
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Seeing how bad that is makes me just think about how bad the rider felt after landing that.
Ow...
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Old 09-21-08, 03:25 PM
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Beautiful classic bike, but sadly the frame must be regarded as untrustworthy at best. It might last for ever, but IMHO it's equally likely to snap at the bulges at any time. Losing the front end completely on a fast descent, pounding up a hill or in traffic wouldn't be a whole lot of fun. It's a real shame but if the top tube and down tube can't be replaced I'd look for another frame in the right size and swap the parts over. I really wouldn't take the risk of riding it.
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Old 09-21-08, 03:41 PM
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+ 1 on the wall art - assumign the frame cant be salvaged. I have 2 of my nicest bikes on a 2 bike stand in my LR - and I love looking at it (I do ride them as well )! But I'm single (divorced actually ) and I live alone so I dont need to consult any one else!
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Old 09-21-08, 03:48 PM
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That looks nasty. I don't think I would trust it, and that's a real shame.
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Old 09-22-08, 12:11 AM
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+1, it's too bad cause it would be such a nice bike...IF the frame wasn't horribly compromised. Since you got a deal, just transfer those NICE parts to another frame and retire this one to the "pasture" of wall-art. It probably wouldn't fail without warning, but it probably will fail and you might be many miles from home...I'd say don't ride it.
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Old 09-22-08, 06:14 AM
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+1. The steel has been stressed past its plastic limit and its properties compromised. Personally, I would not be riding this. It's not worth the risk. Too bad, because that beaty is full chrome underneath the paint. Still, it can serve one final purpose as a frame, by your submitting the serial number for my Fuji Serial Number Database.
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Old 09-22-08, 07:08 PM
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That is a beautiful bike, but sadly the frame is in dangerous shape. As stated, there must have been a tremendous front-end impact to cause some bulges in the tubing. I would not ride it in that condition-you are playing with fire. The frame is severly weakened at those bulges.
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Old 09-22-08, 07:13 PM
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Ouchies. Hopefully the deal was good enough to make it worthwhile without the frame.

It could make wall art, or you could chop off the rear triangle and make a stool out of it.
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Old 09-22-08, 07:26 PM
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Originally Posted by USAZorro
Ouchies. Hopefully the deal was good enough to make it worthwhile without the frame.

It could make wall art, or you could chop off the rear triangle and make a stool out of it.
It was $65 so the I did well (IMHO) considering the the list of components (see above) and the yellow Silca Imperio pump I forgot to mention previously. Well the frame is stripped and I also removed the headset and bottom bracket. The headset is a nice Campy copy.

How does one go about making a stool? I had also thought about giving it to Bilenky Cycle Works (local frame builder) so they may resuse/salvage some of the frame/fork for who knows what in the future. Maybe that way something of it could continue to be of use. It is a sad end to fine machine.

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Old 09-22-08, 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by T-Mar
+1. The steel has been stressed past its plastic limit and its properties compromised. Personally, I would not be riding this. It's not worth the risk. Too bad, because that beaty is full chrome underneath the paint. Still, it can serve one final purpose as a frame, by your submitting the serial number for my Fuji Serial Number Database.
T-Mar Serial number is: 75C50002. Glad to help out.
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Old 09-23-08, 07:27 AM
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T-Mar I have a '78 Fuji S10S serial # 78A90915. Hope this helps your database. Also, it has a tubing decal that says FUJI
DOUBLE
BUTTED
HI-TENSION
TUBING
881 I've never seen this. Any thoughts?
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Old 09-24-08, 11:46 AM
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Originally Posted by fender1
T-Mar Serial number is: 75C50002. Glad to help out.
Originally Posted by Seasnarf
T-Mar I have a '78 Fuji S10S serial # 78A90915. Hope this helps your database. Also, it has a tubing decal that says FUJI
DOUBLE
BUTTED
HI-TENSION
TUBING
881 I've never seen this. Any thoughts?
Thank-you for the contributions.

The bicycles are 1975 and 1978 models respectively. In the late 1970s, double butted hi-tensile was often found on upper, entry level models. Tange had two such sets and Ishiwata had a least one. It appears to have been used primarily in Japanese brands. In addition to Fuji, I've seen similar tubesets on Miyata and Sekai. It faded from use in the very early 1980s and, at least in Fuji's case, appears to have been replaced by VaLite.

Being made of hi-tensile steel,these tubesets were obviously thicker and heavier than butted CrMo or MnMo tubesets. They were also heavier than plain gauge CrMo of the era but bridged the gap between plain gauge hi-tensile steel and plain gauge CrMo in weight and apparently, cost.
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Old 09-24-08, 02:48 PM
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Thanks T-Mar for the explanation. The bike is a bit heavy for a double butted frame. It also has a surprisingly harsh ride considering the geometry isn't very tight.
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Old 09-25-08, 10:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Seasnarf
Thanks T-Mar for the explanation. The bike is a bit heavy for a double butted frame. It also has a surprisingly harsh ride considering the geometry isn't very tight.
That's probably due to the Hi-Ten steel. Stiffness is pretty close between the various steels used for bicycle tubing. Since stiffness is related to the thickness of the steel and hi-ten frames use thicker walled tubing...
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Old 09-25-08, 11:22 AM
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I guess... Though even straight tube hi-tensile frames seem more forgiving. This seems more like aluminum. I lowered the tire pressure which helped a bit but that's just begging pinch flats. The bike is all original but it may get converted to an upright cruiser with a sprung saddle. I have plenty of other bikes that are nice for go-fast.
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Old 09-25-08, 03:19 PM
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I just took this bike for a longer test. After about 5 miles it seemed to improve quite a bit. It has old Specialized Touring 1 1/8" tires ( which I have always liked ) and I'm beginning to think they just needed some exercise. Definitely a more supple feel.
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