Edit: Sorry, but I guess I got myself confused. I thought the OP was from Boston. Oops.
Originally Posted by
Bikedued
Not sure about a high ten stamped drop 35 pounder
...
Catalog says the frame is chromoly.
http://classicfuji.com/GranTourerSE&..._1980_Page.htm
I've never owned a Gran Tourer SE, but I've heard good things about them. Robatsu, for those of you who remember him, had one that he had been working on just before he disappeared. He even took his 5 year old son in tow to a bike show, for a round trip of about 100 miles. Check out his old blog if you want to read about it. He sounded very happy with it.
http://nihonmaru.blogspot.com/
As for their hi-ten frames, I have a Special Road Racer and it is fantastic to ride around on. It is like pedaling an old La-Z-Boy, albeit in weight as well as the comfort. While I won't win any races on it, I am not going to be entering any either. Short of a wreck, that will be the last bike I will let go of.
Regarding the Fuji name, I consider myself fortunate that it has not caught on around here. It is well known in Boston though. There were many shops in the 70's and 80's in that area that sold them. Many higher end models were also supplied to racers in that area. I happened to get one of those racing frames recently.
I'm betting that the name recently started gaining a good reputation because they are great values. Even here, when I have seen people asking advice on getting their first road bike, most people mention Japanese bikes and the Fuji by name.
While it will never be up to the value of a Trek or foreign bike(Italian, French, etc.), they are very solid and dependable. It certainly doesn't help you that ScottRyder is picking up all of the higher quality Fuji's over there. If you want to go pester him, I can help you out with that.
If I were to see that bike in my size, I would certainly consider it if it were in fantastic shape. For a thrift shop find, it does seem pretty expensive.
The bike on the left is the one I just picked up from near you. The guy holding it was a fairly well known racer in that area.
