TriBiker19 

Picked up this Fuji and I'm going to be building it as a gravel bike so I can ride with the kids. Took it out yesterday. Only 5 of the 12 gears work currently, there's a little rust on the bottom bracket, the chrome is really pitted in places, and I'm going to do something with the brakes, not sure if I'll keep the suicide levers or not. I have an idea to revamp the paint and make it red and blue instead of just blue, keeping what paint is intact the same but not worrying about matching the touchup. So, disassemble, paint, and reassemble, or is there something that I could swap that would make it more gravel-friendly? I have a couple of trail races that I could do, one is 50 miles in Vermont in June. I don't want to take a Centurion with good paint and good wheels out on gravel. What should I keep and what's going to get me the most bang for my buck?

I sent the picture to my aunt (who I inherited my Fuji from) and she replied, "You found our old bike!" Not exactly, but close enough.

Spaghetti Legs 

I am of the opinion that you don’t need a special bike to ride on gravel, but there are things you can do to make your bike ride better and safer on gravel.

#1 - fit as big a tire as you can get on the frame and make the tire a durable one. Panaracer Gravel King is a very nice, durable tire.

#2 - lower gearing. You need a little easier gear to handle gravel climbs. It looks like your small chain ring might be a 42 or 39. If you’re riding gravel in Vermont, my guess is there will be a lot of up and down.

#3 - ability to shift without taking your hands off the bars. This means using brifters or bar end shifters

clubman 

Most folks here would probably leave the paint alone, it's original and in OK condition. Sure, stop the rust and touch up but there's not a lot to be gained by changing colours. Put your efforts into component upgrades and you're off and riding

seypat

I would agree with Spaghetti Legs opinion. All of my bikes, even the racing ones have a triple, Big A cassette/freewheel and barcons. I throw on a set of big tires and Presto Chango, got myself a gravel bike! Throw on a rack and some lighting, got myself a touring bike.

seypat

+1. If you are riding gravel, the paint will get nicked. If you must do something, dab on some rust stopping primer with a Q-tip then brush on a clear sealer like nail polish.

tyrion

Recapping mostly what's already been said:

* biggest tires that will fit
* new cables + bar end shifters + brake levers (I'd get 9 speed bar end shifters that have a friction mode, which you can use with current drivetrain. Maybe at some point in the future migrate to a 9 speed drivetrain.)

mstateglfr 

This was posted in the gravel forum last week, i think.
Anyways- to me this is a square peg in a round hole. The frame and components are not what I would want to fix up/replace to a purpose specific bicycle. If you want to have a project to work on, this bike could make sense. But repurposing it for something different than what it is just doesnt make much sense in this instance.

For me to want to use that bike as a dedicated gravel bike to the extent that it will be raced(as mentioned), I would want different-
- handlebars
- brake levers
- shifters
- brake calipers
- derailleurs
- wheelset
- cassette gearing
- chain
- crank
- tires
- cables and housing
- bar tape.


I am not suggesting gravel can only be ridden on modern gravel bikes or that a lot of money must be spent to turn a bike into a gravel bike. I am suggesting that this isnt the best canvas to do the project on a budget and that if it isnt a budget build, then why use this specific bike?
My first gravel bike was a drop bar conversion done on an early 90s hybrid. New bars, levers, tires, stem, (used)pedals, and tape. In total I spent $295. The platform started out better because it could fit 40+mm tires, had 3x7 wide range gearing already, and had wheels that were good enough.





At a minimum to train and race, I would want modern bars, modern brake levers, a 700c wheelset, new tires, new cables and housing, new bar tape, and wider range gearing. Even being thrifty, that will all cost probably $170 at least.

squirtdad

Nice, cute bike

+1 on the above

Rims appear to be steel, if so, finding a set in good shape with aluminum rims would be big upgrade better braking and lighter weight (don't remember your bike co-op situation, but the ones in my areas have lots of 27 wheels)

imho get rid of the turkey levers, false security in that they don't provide good braking power (as i recall from BITD and my azuki)

new kool stop brake pads in any case.

Crazy thought: how hard are you going to be riding this? if you are not going hard and fast, you might consider making it a more upright city bike, swap out bars for city bars, new brake levers and (not required but cheap and work well) friction thumb shifters would be good for riding with kids and just jump on and ride

the bike also look like it has lots of eyelets, so if you wanted you could easily do fenders and a rack if you really want to go city


pic of idea

seypat

I think that is a 30T big sprocket and a GT RD. Those are probably 27" x 1 /4" tires which are around 32mm. I would clean it up, get it running and go for some gravel rides. See if you like gravel riding first, then change as you go. If you need more gearing then change the chainrings/cranks. Need bigger tires, then get some. Same for shifters. It doesn't have to be that complicated starting out. Find out if you actually like riding gravel before you spend any real coin.

Phil_gretz

^This exactly. I would stop and re-think the end product before embarking with this frame. It may not be what you'll have wanted in the end.

You asked where to begin? Not with bike. Definitely not. But with the set of things that you expect the bike to be able to do:
- accommodate 32-35 mm tires
- handlebar controls
- cyclocross or lower gearing (drives crankset bolt circle diameter among other things)
- durable wheelset
- weight less than, say, 28 pounds

That's how I'd advise that you start this project. Lay that bike aside for now...

TriBiker19 

I took my Shogun 200 out on the trails and didn't mind it. But it only had touring tires on it, so it slid a bit and I couldn't get the traction that I wanted. I rode my husband's Giant MTB a couple weeks ago and it just wasn't what I'm used to. I basically want a road bike I can use off-road. I'm not going to be rock hopping with it, just riding gravel trails and country roads.

And, yeah, seeing if I even like it is the main thing. I don't want another bike that I ride occasionally, I'd like something that's more useful. Even if I did a gravel race, I know I wouldn't win or place, so that's not really an issue. I just need it to get me from point A to point B over rougher terrain than a bumpy paved street.

USAZorro

I'd vote for wider tires for certain. Unless you're going to be riding in slop or mud or sand a lot, aggressive tread will only serve to annoy you when on a smoother surface. If your brakes work fine, leave them be. I'm also not a fan of "safety levers", but some folks like them. You can get new pads and change to aluminum wheels if needed. If you're uncomfortable with using stem shifters on unsteady terrain, consider thumbies or bar ends or something you can operate without taking your hands off the bars. You definitely need to get your derailleur settings dialed in. I suspect new cabling will be needed, but don't do it before you decide about your shifters and gearing, as you would have to do it over again if you change parts at either end of the cables.

HTupolev

"Gravel" is a broad spectrum, basically covering all of the possibilities of what paved and unpaved roads can be and then some. The choices you'll want to make depend on what your gravel riding will be like, which depends on both you and your regional gravel.

The gravel roads in many areas get steeper and twistier than that area's paved roads.
This can require lower gearing. And unlike on pavement, maintaining rear wheel traction while pedaling can become a problem on steep gravel, especially if your gearing is forcing you to ride out of the saddle. If you're doing much stuff in the 10% gradient neighborhood or above, I'd recommend having some very very low gears available.
The gravel in my area is fairly mountainous, with some climbs averaging 12% for a mile at a time. My friends all use gears below 1:1 for this, and they're not weak cyclists: one of them just popped an 11-40 on his bike this last weekend. That will give him a 34-40 low gear, and he's a cat3 road racer.
If the uphills are steep and twisty, you'll probably also want good braking on the downhills. In these situations you want the brakes to not only modulate well, since you're trying to maintain control on rough loose surfaces, but also be powerful, so that your hands don't stiffen when you're having to brake a lot. The Dia-Compe single-pivots on that old Fuji are some of the worst rim brakes ever made in both of these regards, and you would definitely want to replace them if you're doing lots of interesting descending. There are some decent vintage centerpulls that could mount onto your frame and give better results, or you could look for new dual-pivot sidepull brakes that use non-recessed-bolt mounting; a few of them exist. Good brake pads are important. Good cable housing is also important: if not a fancy compressionless housing, at least use a decent low-compression housing like Jagwire CGX.

Tire choice is critical. If you'll be riding in a lot of slop, you'll need knobs, and knobs can also be handy on soft loamy stuff. For harder rockier gravel, patterned tread has much less benefit. Tire width is good for dealing with roughness, as wider tires can be pumped squishier than narrower tires before they start behaving badly or becoming prone to pinching and whatnot. You can "get away with" narrow tires on super-rough stuff by using beefy tires and pumping them stiff so that they don't get pinched and hacked to pieces, but it's slow and uncomfortable and offers worse control. How wide you'll want depends on how rough the gravel is. There are silky-smooth groomed hardpack gravel roads out there that are perfectly comfortable on 23s at 120PSI. But the situation is different if you'll be coming across stuff like this:

wrk101

+10 Rigid frame MTB or an early touring bike. Both will have cantilever brakes, alloy rims, accept wide tires. The rigid frame MTBs I like the best will have generous/easy gearing and thumb shifters that are nearly bomb proof.

Its basically what I have built my 1988 Cimarron for, do anything, trail, road, gravel, whatever. Weight wise you can put a rigid frame MTB on a diet and get it down to 26 pounds or less.

What you have right now is an entry level road bike from the 1980s. It will take quite a bit of money to upgrade it, and it will always have limitations. Meanwhile, I have had tires as wide as 60mm on my MTB.

Fixing up a free bike could cost you more than fixing up a purchased bike that was better suited for the task.

ryansu

+1 for the @Spaghetti Legs suggestions. I am not usually one to encourage a swap from 27" to 700c wheels but in this case moving to 700c should give you more clearance for fatter tires. I personally would lose the stem shifters for bar cons, build up the fuji see how it works what you like and don't like in theory it should be a low cost way to get into gravel.

jlaw

As others have said, you could spend $$$ trying to turn that particular bike into something you will really enjoy riding on 'gravel'. Enough $$$ that you could be 1/2 way or more to a brand new aluminum or steel-framed gravel bike with good, modern components - 9 or 10 speed, disk brakes, big tires, etc.

If you want to convert a vintage bike I say +1 to the idea of converting a vintage MTB. With an MTB you're getting a drivetrain, brakes, wheels, etc. that will work for a drop bar conversion. New stem, bars, brake levers, and shifters would create a reasonably affordable gravel bike.

If you go the conversion route, consider Gevenalle Audax shifters. They come with a Dia Compe friction shifters which will work with vintage 6/7/8/9 speed drivetrains. And if you want to switch to indexed shifting you can re-use them by switching out the friction RD lever with an indexed RD lever.

You need to decide what your budget is and then price all the parts you will need plus the cost of the vintage bike - you might be surprised. You can spend 4 to $500 pretty quickly - versus around $1000 for a new bike.




Beezer Radar Expert (steel) $969

rosefarts

I have a late 90s cyclocross bike I've reincarnated as a gravel bike. I've raced on it and I've taken it on plenty of epic rides (spoiler alert, it's slower).

Anyway, I'm not afraid of an older bike.

Given an absolutely unlimited budget, replacing everything but the frame, I still wouldn't want yours. It just can't handle it. Mine is probably the minimum you could get away with.

Let me know if you want details of the build.

RobbieTunes

I'm done here.

thook

i'd make it a casual gravel bike, but not to race.

if the rims are alloy and there's sufficient chainstay clearance (dimples), kenda makes an okay gravel tread in 27x1 3/8. put some tektro short reach road levers on it since your caliper don't have quick releases. salmon kool stop "vintage" pads. (weinmann X i believe they're called.) find a vintage triple crank on ebay at a reasonable price. i've seen'em. get some barcons or cheap falcon thumbies installed on the bar tops. yer set

for a little more money, there are some reasonably priced (imo) vintage 700c wheelsets on ebay right now. plenty of 35-38c tire options for that

and, for a little more money, some tektro dual pivots....with salmon pads...and, dang...gravel crusher

i'm for the original paint, myself. maybe doll it up with some quirkiness...like pin stripes or polka dots? or have yer kids paint it! fun stuff

ps. another brake option are some centerpulls for wider opening/tire clearance. also, you'll need a longer BB spindle for a triple