TweedleDee

Nice. Was that listed on the Salem craigslist? I was going to go take a look at it but you got there first. It's obviously in good hands. I was just looking for a commuting bike mostly.

RPK79

Not sure if this qualifies as "classic & vintage", but it is a decade old and it is a Fuji. I picked up the bare frameset off CL in what appears to be a never ridden state. There are a few scratches in the decals, but none of the wear one might expect from a used bike. This was right after building it all up and I have since cut the steerer down and leveled the seat off.

Velocivixen

Hi TweedleDee! Neighbor! It showed up on Portland CL. I contacted the woman and she had considered selling it to BackPedal Cycles for them to fix up & sell. She bought it new in Reno, NV in 1986 after her Sekai got stolen. She stored it indoors (you could tell) but she finally bought her first indexed bike - a Trek Allant, recently so wanted to sell her Fuji. BUT she wanted to sell it to someone who wasn't gonna just tear it apart for parts. I told her I'd take good care of it, keep it garaged, and it would be in good hands. The frame is 21" seat tube C-C so for a mountain bike its too big for me, but for a townie commuter it's fine. So....I'm thinking to put some Velo Orange Left Bank bars on it so my wrists will be more neutral and more back sweet to compensate for slightly long top tube. Thoughts? I'd appreciate an opinion on this. The current bars are great, but they're more straight across so my wrists feel like they're in an unnatural state.

Anyway, nice to connect with a neighbor.

TweedleDee

Hmm, must have been a different bike then or I'm confused. I ended up with a not-quite-so-vintage Specialized Rockhopper (no suspension) which I really like for commuting but I'm in the same boat. It's got a straight, flat bar and I'm thinking of getting a riser bar. I have an old 3-speed that has bars like the VO Left Bank and I find that it's hard to get good leverage when trying to go marginally fast or uphill. I'd recommend something in between the two - more of the shape like the VO Postino or similar but with more rise. Just my opinion that is not backed up by a lot of experience. I'd be interested to hear what you end up with and your opinion of it. I'll do the same if I upgrade.

BTW, I commute in Hillsboro.

Velocivixen

@ TweedleDee- I didn't explain well. I bought that Fuji in Salem. It's the same one you likely saw, but I found it listed in the Portland CL. Yep I had to drive in the cold and fog EARLY on a Saturday morning to Salem to test ride. I just looked at Postino Bars at Universal Cycles in Portland - my second home. Bought a new in box bottom bracket cup set at City Bikes Coop for $10! I am very familiar with Hillsboro.

bear_a_bug 

My recently acquired Fuji S12-S LTD (Serial number puts it at May, 1980), purchased from original owner. Comes in at 25 pounds.
Original owner upgraded rims to Mavic Module E2, and derailleurs to Shimano 600 sometime in the early 80's.

Old Fujita Belt saddle could use some softening up, though. Tried neatsfoot oil, proofide, and even sno-seal, but I don't seem to be getting anywhere but making the leather darker.

auchencrow

Nice. And the ModE2 rims are are a big plus!
I don't know what it is about Belt saddles... IME, they seem pretty stiff - but it could be worse. (Way better than a sway-backed saddle).

the_tool_man

I'm glad I found this thread! My 1983 TS-IV, I've had since new, now used for commuting. I just finished cleaning it up and swapping out a few worn parts:



I've swapped front gearing to 28-40-50. I also upgraded to a 7-speed freewheel years ago, so the decal is wrong. The aluminum crank dust covers are from Ebay.



I trimmed down the dork disc at one point, but reasoned it was worth keeping.



I still like Grab-ons. This is probably the tenth set on this bike. Only problem with them is they won't withstand the bar end shifter cables without the help of a cable tie on each side. Not very elegant. But it works. I found the NOS Suntour bar ends on Ebay about 5 years ago, and love them. I just added a pair of new, black, Cane Creek hoods, as the original ones had rotted pretty badly.



The spare spokes required unconventional mounting of the cadence sensor. But it works.



It still has the original bike shop sticker on it. You can see where I pinstriped the lugs back when I got it. That was in vogue at the time.

rekmeyata

Wow, that's a great find, congrats, I love the chrome fork and stays look not to mention lugs.

As far as the saddle goes you just need to ride it, it might take 500 to 800 miles to break in but remember this saddle was broken in for the previous riders butt and your butt is different so it needs to conform to your now. If you want to try softening it a bit after you've ridden it about 500 miles with no results then try some Proofide and put it on the underside of the saddle and the top, you may have to repeat the application 3 months afterwards if you don't get the result you want. Don't use oil, oil will damage a saddle over time by allowing it over soften and stretch. Even with Proofide you don't want to overuse it or the same thing will happen as it would with oil.

Cougrrcj

ME LIKEY!!! My size, too! I call dibs if you ever want to get rid of it!!! I'm in the process of outfitting my old '75 S-10S with fenders to make it my designated tourer/rainy rider. It has been upgraded to a triple 48-38-28 crankset and six-speed freewheel. I put SunTour bar end shifters on it when it was only a month old.

leicanthrope

Stumbled across one of my grail bikes being sold as a frameset on Craigslist for a song the other night. Blurry cellphone grade photographs and no reference to the model of the bike worked in my favor. Skeletonized my Fuji Team to get it out on the road. Some modifications will come in time, once I have disposable income again.

ScottRyder 

Nice score Leicanthrope!

Scott

Dimlit

Hey guys, I'm new here and this is my fist ever forum post.

So anyway I was recently given a 1985 Fuji Regis by an Ex's dad. The bike is in great condition only miner scratches and dry rot tires. I have replaced the tires and the hand grips for about $50 total but otherwise everything on it seems to be original. My question is SHOULD I try and fully restore the bike or just stop when ahead, it rides great and I love it. I also plan on learning how and doing all maintenance myself. What do you guys think? I will post Pics later.

Dimlit

Here are some pics of it, please tell me what you think.

-=(8)=-

[QUOTE=the_tool_man;16721536]I'm glad I found this thread! My 1983 TS-IV, I've had since new, now used for commuting. I just finished cleaning it up and swapping out a few worn parts:




I have a Fuji exactly like this
I inherited it from my Father, who in his 80's, can no longer ride.
We all got got together and chipped in for it, for him, in what my Mom says was 1986. But, this IS the bike I have, and you say yours is 1983. Hmmmmm . . .
I thought it was '83 that we got my Dad's, but my Mom said it was definitely '86. So, maybe an '83 leftover bought in '85 for the '86 New Year? Who knows? My recollection of the 80's is minimal, but I will always remember my Dad flipping out when he got it, Christmas morning. It's now is a commuter getting a new lease on life in Kentucky. Rides like a Cadillac

rekmeyata

It's a heavy bike at around 29 pounds, but not as bad as some bikes of that era. If you have the original deraiieurs the AR was low mid level stuff and not really all that great. The bike, at least from what I can tell looking at the pics, seems to be in really nice condition, if this is a bike you are considering purchasing...well I'm bit weird about this but here it goes, I wouldn't pay more then $125, to be really blunt IF I was looking at this bike I wouldn't buy for my own personal collection because it would be the lowest level bike in my stable and I don't want that, BUT, if your looking for a first time bike and it fits your body and you like it then if the price is right I would get it.

If that derailleur ever fails there are plenty of new, or new old stock Suntour derailleurs on the market you can get on E-Bay for not a whole lot of money, meaning under $50, that would be a lot better than that model, so don't let the fear of getting a so so derailleur scare you. If that bike was taken care the AR should last a long time anyways, it was shifting performance that wasn't up to par of their other mid level units. You can always come here and post another question if that derailleurs starts to have issues and we can lead you to a good mid level unit like the XC model that can be found right near $50 to $40.

Dimlit

Thanks

rekmeyata

If you already own the bike and you got it for free...free is GREAT! That's the price I would have paid!! LOL

It appears from the photos and from you that the bike was well cared for, I wouldn't upgrade anything till something broke then I would upgrade it with something period correct so you don't get into a financial sinkhole by trying to go with STI or some such nonsense, nor would I convert to 700c wheels because it's possible that you would have to replace the brake calipers and spread the rear stays, and since there are really nice 27" tires on the market there's no reason to that (and 700c tubes fit in 27" tires so no worries there).

So by restore I'm not sure what you mean since you didn't list anything that needed restoring. Shimano, and others, still make gear clusters for these old bikes as well as chains, cables, brake pads, etc. Perhaps if you can tell us what needs to be restored we can tell you if it's worth it. Most minor restores is usually worth it, once you get into stripping paint and repaint forget it especially on a bike like that...I wouldn't even do that to any of my bikes except maybe one, and only because it was my last racing bike so it has sentimental value to me. Most bikes are worth more if they have the original paint on it anyways! Anyways, elaborate more about what you have in mind concerning restoring.

VintageRide

A small update on the 1981 S12S 650b conversion - I sanded the paint from the Shimano XT front and rear derailleurs, as well as the XT hubs ( centers anyway )and polished them since I always seem to gravitate towards parts in natural and/or shiny aluminum, not that you can see much of it in these shots.

dailycommute

1984 club fuji special edition. This one was languishing on ebay as motivated seller went from 450 ask to 250, to make offer which I did. What was of interest is the "special edition". Ebay seller was original owner and bike sat in dallas area for last 30 years, so I figured it would be dry but hopefully rust free. Grainy pics made it look like a 61cm a size not terribly sought after but my preferred size in old steel. I have a 84 team and 85 club in 58cm for reference.

The bike showed up packed poorly, sad to say. Box was ripped open, one skewer poking through, etc. Bike appeared to have suffered a few fresh scratches during the trip, but as mentioned sometimes original sellers have no clue and take with a grain of salt. I can say the bike has other scratches of much older vintage but seems to be stock original. 30 years of dry sitting meant a heavy layer of dusty grease was imbedded on everything.

Serviced hubs, bb, headset, scrubbed everything with degreaser, new hoods, new wrap, rotated on rubino pro3 from 85 club which will get a fresh set next week. Adjusted everything as needed, still need to slightly true rear wheel. For picture sake I put on oem saddle and pedals though may rotate out for spd and existing saddle as desired.

Notes on the "special edition" Color is obviously different, headbadge is decal vs rivets on 84 team and 85 club but not sure how other 84 clubs were re headbadge. Special seems to have a gold theme, on cable tubing, freewheel, skewers, etc all have gold paint. Everything looks stock as per catalog otherwise, suntour arx, sugino, diacompe brakes/levers, fuji bb/headset, suntour shifters, etc

hankodank

I have a Fuji America Touring Series V that is almost the exact same color palette as your Touring IV. It has a few dings and scratches that I'd like to touch up. Any chance you know where I can get some touch up paints? Or tell me if you've found paints that match the main greenish/blue color pretty closely?

Thanks and beautiful bike.

smunderdog

So I picked this up today - and am a bit confused.

Color, graphics etc appear to match up with the 1974 S-3: https://www.classicfuji.com/1974_09_S-3_PageB.htm

When I saw the CL listing that said it was a 5 speed, I figured that someone had upgraded it at some point along the way. But the braze ons on the downtube appear to be factory. Other slight differences are the black handlegrips, no chain guard etc.

I've tried to take photos of the markings on the components, tires, rack etc to help with authenticity ID. I read this entire thread and also searched elsewhere on the 'net for another image of the S-3 and couldn't find any...

The serial number stamp is on the seat tube just above the bottom bracket and appears to be F8B1 1000 which would make it February of '74 manufactured if I'm interpreting it correctly.

Any insight on what I have here? It caught my eye because I had never seen a Fuji with the logo on the downtube (had only ever seen it on the seat tube). The only thing I've done to it at this point is bring it home - it was this clean when I picked it up from the (at least) 2nd owner. He put the new seat on it - said the original was all torn up...so I need to figure out what to throw on there.

reverborama

reverborama

bloud 

This is probably an S-5. You can't trust everything in the catalogs, and given there was an S-5L (ladies), I'm sure they made a mens version.

I love these old cruisers, sadly they never made them very large. I've seen a few nearly mint at very reasonable prices. An excellent utilitarian bicycle for the collection and for turning heads as you pick up some groceries.