Fuji started importing bicycles to the United States in 1971. A few years ago I acquired a Fuji, The Finest, built in February 1971. I believe it to be a 1972 model. It had been stored upside down in a garage for many years. The Finest was complete and nothing had been changed but the stem and maybe the brake hoods. A shorter 3ttt Italian stem was employed to fit the 1st owner. It took me over a year to restore The Finest to it’s original splendor.
Last year I found another copy of The Finest. It was a Frank-en-Bike owned by a man who needed a much bigger bike. He had brought it into the bike shop for repair. I went all giggly. After I calmed down I tactfully suggested he needed a larger size bicycle and he should sell me The Finest. The next day he accepted my offer and the second Finest came into my possession. It was built in May of 1972 and is a 1973 model.
I have owned other Fuji bicycles in the past. The most memorable was an early ‘80s Fuji S-12-S that tried to kill me. I was riding fast on the trail around Lake Nokomis. I was grinding away in my highest gear when the chain slipped between the frame and the smallest cog on the freewheel. When I woke up I was wearing a Members Only jacket. This was an article of clothing that I would never put on unless I was hurt or forced. I had bruises on tops of both legs from the handle bar, a concussion, and my watch had a broken crystal. All of this from flying over the handle bars when the rest of the bicycle stopped. Onlookers thought I was Superman flying through the air with my arms pinned to my sides. These were pre helmet days.
The Finest from 1973 was mostly a mess when I got it. There was a 27.2 mm seat post jammed into it, where a 26.8 should have been. Rotten brake pads, a hacked, early Dura Ace front derailleur, gooey brake hoods, etc. The wheels were good. The original Sunshine hubs spun smooth and were laced into MA-40 rims. Since I had a stock example of The Finest that was near perfect, The Finest #2 would make a good rider.
120mm rear spacing was my challenge. I don’t like to bend things beyond their intended specifications. OK, 126mm would not keep me up at night but stretching the rear end to 130mm scared me. So no 10 speed freehub rear wheel for me. 126mm spacing would get me a freehub rather than a freewheel, and seven cogs but I already have 2 sets of 700c wheels that fit the frame without any bending. A 6 speed freewheel was employed. It gave me one more gear over the stock 5! A stalwart Suntour rear derailleur branded Fuji Vx and a front Fuji Comp V were installed. Here is where you purists will go mad. I looked at the beautiful Sugino Mighty crankset with his massive 52/44 combination of cogs. He had 20, 1/4 inch high grade ball bearings in his bottom bracket.
Even with a 13-28 freewheel I did not believe I could climb Williston Road with that combination. I whimped out. My buddy Jason had an FSA Omega compact crank going begging. He took it off of his Giant Defy Advanced and installed something better on his bike. I thought this FSA crank with Outboard bearings and 50/34 chainrings would be perfect. The big question was would the vintage Suntour front derailleur work with this modern beast?
A Belt branded all leather saddle that came from another Fuji, now sat on top of a proper seatpost. I found some way cool IRD Drillium brake levers that pay homage to the crazy drilling people did back in the day to lessen the weight of components. These new levers are aero, so we can hide the brake cables in the bar tape. Good/modern side pull brakes were not to be found yet that would attach without modification to the Finest frame, so the original Dia Compe 610’s that were on the bike were cleaned and shod with Cane Creek Grey Matter pads. Mistake number one was thinking that some old Gore coated brake cables that I had in my larder would be slick and help the braking. I had to use two hands on one lever to get any response.They were quickly replaced with Jagwire slick stainless cables and life was good. Slick stainless Jagwire shift cables were also employed and the derailleurs sprang into life via a pair of Suntour blue down tube levers. My fears of front derailleur failure faded after the test ride. Everything was great except the brakes. One has come to expect more from brakes after riding current hardware. Maybe some newly minted 610’s or some ? modern caliper brakes will be made to fit the Finest’s frame without modification.
A pair of my favorite Dura Ace 7401 SPD pedals ended up on the crank arms.
Riding this Fuji bicycle is a really a treat. It is very comfortable. It handles really well. There is no frame flex when I sprint out of the saddle. It is The Finest.
Leave a Reply