jonwvara 

I just picked up a 23" Fuji Special Road Racer for what struck me as a fair price for the nice Belt saddle on it. Not sure of the year--haven't yet looked at the date code on the encrusted VGT Luxe Derailleur, but I'm guessing it's from 1975 or so. Mostly original except for the crankset and front derailleur. I'm away from home now and don't have a camera, but it looks something like this: https://www.classicfuji.com/1976_07_S10-SB.htm. I'm a little vague on the distinction between the S-10-S and the Special Road Racer--they're supposedly the same bike except for the name, as I understand it.

My original plan was to plunder it for the saddle, along with the derailleur and other useful parts, then sell or give away the frame and nice 27" Ukai/Sunshine rims.

The thing is, after looking at the bike a little, I don't think I can stand to do that. It's a solid little bike that deserves better. The paint isn't perfect, but quite nice and would clean up well. The chrome is in great shape and there are only a few tiny flecks of rust anywhere. I also like its humility: a nicely finished hi-ten frame that doesn't pretend to be anything other than what it is--no "1020 Tubing" sticker or equivalent. Nice Dia-Compe center pulls, Nitto handlebars, and a nifty I-beam Nitto stem that I've never seen before. It's dirty and has some miles on it but was obviously always stored out of the weather.

Not really sure what to do with it. I'm not eager to do a thorough cleaning, repacking, recabling, etc., but the bike does deserve it. I'll hang it up and think about it for awhile.

But I'm definitely keeping the saddle.

Cougrrcj 

Preach it, Brother!!

Here's my late '74 ('75 model year) 23" S-10S 'Special Road Racer'



Try riding it! I have yet to find another bike I like better. The longish wheelbase makes for stability, it has the correct classic 'look' with chrome socks front and rear... Relative lightweight for it's time at 26 pounds.

dweenk 

My wife and I bought two S-10-S Fujis back in 1971 or 1972 in Gaithersburg, MD. That was the first year that Fuji was distributed in our area. They were great bikes. High tensile frames, steel rims, and all.

They had Belt leather saddles, turkey levers, and nice cloth bar tape. Mine was a 25", and hers was a 23". I sold mine a couple of years later for about $10 less than I paid originally. We were near San Jose at the time and I needed a bike, so I got a Nishiki Competition. My wife's bike is still hanging from a rack in the garage in great condition. I asked her if I could sell it a year or so ago and she said "No Way".

And yes - "Special Road Racer" and S-10-S are the same thing.

jonwvara 

Although I bought the bike here in Vermont, it looks to have come from Maryland originally--it has a yellow-and-red "Big Wheel Sports" dealer sticker on the seat tube that lists locations in Bethesda, Georgetown, and Springfield.

JohnDThompson 

I remember when I was shopping for my first 10-speed back in the early 70s, Consumer Reports gave the "Special Road Racer" a "Best Buy" tag. There was no Fuji dealer in the area, alas, so I ended up buying a similarly spec'ed Araya bike instead.

auchencrow

And they're BOTH really nice riding bikes. Definitely too nice to plunder!

ScottRyder 

Somewhere I remember hearing that the name "Special Road Racer " didn't settle well with the American consumer so they dropped it in '75 - '76 and went with just S10-S.

My '73"



Scott