dougb

I've come up empty-handed searching the web for data from the late 70s - early 80s Fuji catalogs.
I'm curious about the hierarchy of Fuji models then (particularly touring bikes) and what tubing was used in them. I have my eye on a Del Rey and heard that it was in the middle to upper range of Fuji touring bikes 25 years ago. I'm grateful for any insight into these questions. Thanks.

zonatandem

Mid-70s, in descending order of quality/price of some of the top Fuji's is as follows, to my recollection:
Top of the line: Fuji Professional Double Butted ChromeMolly Steel (have a '75 model for sale); Fuji Ace (first-ever Dura Ace gruppo); Fuji Newest; Fuji Finest; Fuji America (with triple chainrings for touring); STS (male version) & S10SL (Ladies mixte model).
The Del Rey, is to my recollection a later and lower line model.

USAZorro

I'm not sure where the Del Rey fits in, but I've recently seen catalogs that the proprietor of my LBS has kept. The order is as you've stated, but at some point in the 80's some of the top models became quad butted framesets.

USAZorro

Actually - it is the Fuji Team that I recall being quad butted. That model sneaks in near the top of the lineup in the early '80's.

T-Mar

I concur with ZONATANDEM. The Del Ray was a 1980s model. I have specs for 1984-1986 and it cost $300-350 US. It's a bit arbitrary on where to draw the line between different levels, but I'd call this upper, entry level. At best, it's lower mid-range. All these version used Fuji's own Valite, quad-butted tubing and various SunTour/Sugino/Dia-Compe component mixes. The 1986 version did have a triple chainring, which would explain your touring description.

The Del Ray was in Fuji line-up in 1990, but by then was a hybrid. I guess that is consistent with it's traditional place in the line-up. It seems that the old entry level recreational bicycles became the hybrids.

Louis

I have a 1983 Del Rey, and I'm pretty sure it was the first year that model was made. It got a good write up in "Bicycling" that spring, so I bought one. Price was $300. It came with Sun Tour Vx derailleurs, Sugino 52/42 crankset, Dia Comp brakes and levers, Ukui (sp) rims and I can't remember the name of the hubs. Nitto bars and stem. The weight was advertised as 24lbs. although I never weighed it. The frame is quad butted Valite steel tubing as T-Mar mentioned. And yes, the Del Rey model became a hybrid around 1986 ~.


I've put over 50k miles on it over the years. I still ride it occasionally; although I've graduated to lighter and faster bikes, I never forget the sweet ride.

USAZorro

Ukai rims. Sansin? hubs. Good quality stuff and an excellent value.

zonatandem

Funny, Fuji is 'resurecting' many of the old model names from 70s and 80s in the latest line-up.
Ukai rims and Sansin hubs were nice. The Fuji Professional came with foam filled Ukai sewup rims and drilled out derailleurs and chainrings and was quite nicely lugged.
Weighed in at 21 lbs in 1975.
Yup, things have changed!

USAZorro

Yeah - Raleigh's gone back to a lot of those old model names as well. Dang near cried when I saw what passes for a Super Course now.

I should have a report on how those old plastic-filled Ukai tubular rims with Sansin hubs ride in another week or two. They aren't the lightest, but I've heard they are as sturdy as rims came.

Louis

I upgraded the wheels to 700c MA40/Shimano 600 after a few years. I've still got the old wheels around here somewhere, probably out in the barn...all spider webby.

Yeah, when Fuji started using the Del Rey name for a hybrid it really bummed me out, too.

To try to answer the question of the original poster; I beleive the Del Rey was Fuji's top of the line sport touring bike when it was first introduced.

dougb

Thanks for everyone's response.
I found a 1987 del rey on oldroads.com. It has Fuji branded fork crown, cranks, front and rear derailleurs. Nitto stem. UKAI alloy rims. This one is made of double-butted Valite 212.
From the photos it appears similar to the one I'm looking at.

silversmith

I have a 1983 Del Rey, and I'm pretty sure it was the first year that model was made. It got a good write up in "Bicycling" that spring, so I bought one. Price was $300. It came with Sun Tour Vx derailleurs, Sugino 52/42 crankset, Dia Comp brakes and levers, Ukui (sp) rims and I can't remember the name of the hubs. Nitto bars and stem. The weight was advertised as 24lbs. although I never weighed it. The frame is quad butted Valite steel tubing as T-Mar mentioned. And yes, the Del Rey model became a hybrid around 1986 ~.


I've put over 50k miles on it over the years. I still ride it occasionally; although I've graduated to lighter and faster bikes, I never forget the sweet ride.[/QUOTE]

I've been swept away by an old Fujis "sweet" ride. I needed a ride while My commuter was waiting on a new wheel so I stopped at the Salvation Army. I was moving an ugly rattle-can painted 12 speed to get to a newer aluminum hybrid when I realized how light the 12 speed was.

I asked the clerk how much and she said 10 bucks.

Talk about sweet -- I haven't wanted to ride anything else since.

No decals. No stampings other than Fuji on the forks and Suntour on the droppouts.

Nitto stem and Nitto Olympiade bars, Suntour Ar deraileur. Sugino 2 ring crank. Dia Compe 500 brakes. Ukai rims with Miche hubs.

With it having been stripped of factory paint I doubt I'll ever figure out what model it is.

I still can't believe that this nearly free old "junker" can ride and perform so well compared to the bike I paid good money for.

DynamicD74

I have a '74-ish Fuji Dynamic 10, with a mixte frame, that is somewhere near the bottom of that line up, I think. I say 74-ish, because I am dating based on Suntour components, and my components were manufactured in '74, but who knows when they actually made it on the bike? It was the bike boom of the 70's, so I feel confident that it is a '74 or '75 model. Anyway, it's a great bike!

flatlander_48

SHouldn't the Supreme be in that listing somewhere?

oldcrank

I had a Fuji men's S-10-S. It was a great ride. I began upgrading components to DuraAce at the time, but I had it locked to a sign-post . . . I guess you can finish the story from there. I don't see many of the S10S models around, such as Ebay or Craigslist.

bigbossman 

From my 1982 Fuji Team:

USAZorro

I'm pretty sure that they went to quad butted a couple years later. I saw one on e-bay several months ago that definitely was quad butted - but I think it was an '86 or '87.

T-Mar

The team Fuji was quad butted as far back as 1983. While the name implied a high end model, but most years it was really a mid range model. The tubing was decent, but the a lot of the components were just good, entry level stuff.

USAZorro

I guess the one I saw on e-bay must have been one of the better years - it had Superbe Pro componentry. Didn't realize it was an "ordinary" model for much of it's life. Once again, I had to learn something here.

T-Mar

You're one up on me. I don't believe that I've ever seen one with Superbe Pro, though I know they did use Sprint for a year or so in the late 1980s, and there was one year where only the rear derailleur was Superbe.

The mid range models from circa 1983/1984 really stick in my mind because our LBS had several samples with really atrocious brazing. There were huge gaps between the lugs and tubes. I can always accept the odd "lemon", but this was too many. The equipment on them were SunTour ARx derailleurs, Dia-Compe 500 brakesets and Sugino Aero cranksets. The rear triangles were lesser VaLite tubing. I believe the price was under $400 US. Until that time, I had very high respect for Fuji and remember wondering how they sell such a poorly manufactured and relatively inexpensively equipped bicycle as a "Team" model. I guess the marketing guys were going after the entry level racers and burgeoning triathlon market.

USAZorro

Might have been replacements parts.

zonatandem

Flatlander:
To my knowledge in the mid-70s there was no such Fuji model as the Supreme.
Fuji did do a great job on those upper level bikes; nicely lugged frames, drilled out components and with the Ace model, the first fully equipped Dura Ace bike (came in orange only).
Rode a Fuji Finest for several years; fully chromed frame with a very thin dark blue paintjob (other color choice was white) makng it look almost translucent and the lugs were full chrome. Nice stuff!

flatlander_48

Well, according to my wife's memory she bought the bike new in '75. It has Valite tubing (double butted I think if I read the decal correctly) and is a 12 speed (also a 12 Speed decal on the chain stay).

T-Mar

I don't recall a Supreme in the mid-1970s either, but I do recall them from the early 1980s. I believe VALite came out in 1978 or 1979. The brazed-on cable tunnels and side pull brakes are also more indicative of a later time frame. However, a quick check of the component date codes would settle things, provided the components are original.

flatlander_48

I asked my wife again about her Fuji Supreme and it's beginning to look more like early '80's. Actually, although hers is a bit beat up, it is all original except for the seat, R/D and handlebar tape.