seres

I have a Fuji Special Road Racer (S 10 S) that I purchased new in March 1975, s/n F9F12836.

Rear der is a Suntour V-GT with the number 4532 stamped on the hanger, date code QB (Feb 74)
Front der is Suntour Compe-V with date code QF (June 74)
Rear hub is a 36 spoke Sunshine 5345 A (no date code located)
Front hub is a 36 spoke Sunshine 5345 B (no date code located)
Crank is a Sugino Maxy with date code 49-7 (July 74)
Freewheel Suntour 5 gear date code QG (July 74)
Handlebar is a Nitto 115
Stem is a Nitto forged stem
Shifters are down tube Suntour clamp on.

Thanks, T-Mar, for working on this.

roccobike

I purchased this Fuji Team from a family friend. It's a near perfect fit for me. This Team has the entire Suntour Sprint groupo. The brakes, cranks, derailers and brake levers are all labeled "Suntour Sprint". (The Suntour friction shifters do not say "Sprint"). The rims are Araya aero 700C. It's a 12 speed. The frame is chro-moly, quad butted with a Fuji green wreath label that says its 9658 steel, not sure what that means. The 1" head is a Tange Falcon.
The date codes are as follows:
Cranks BD
Front derailer BF
Rear derailer BI
Frame Serial # JL504028
The original owner said she purchased it in 1986. The bike is well used as it was ridden several days per week and occaisionally in events. She may have raced it, I'm not sure.
Based on the rear DR, I estimate this is a 1986 model that was assembled at the end of 1985.
The bike originated from J&R cycles in Lambard Il. It was subsequently serviced at Oak Park cycles in Chicago.

Danddd

How do the serial numbers work to tell you what year/month?

T-Mar

In the case of bicycles with your serial number format, this is a generic format used by many Asian brands/manufacturers (Centurion, Raleigh/Merida, Yamagura, etc.).

The 1st letter/character is typically the manufacturer, in this case, presumibly F = Fuji.

The 1st number (2nd character) is typically the year indicator. However, in the case of Fuji, it is not based on the calendar year, but the Japanese Imperial Calendar (notice that the number is the same as the last last digit for the year of your cranks). To date, I have only three cases with this format but they all appear to use the Japanese Imperial Calendar (see post #21, 22 and 26).

The 2nd letter (3rd character) is usually a year stratifier, indicating either the month or fortnight. In your case it is a C, indicating either the 3rd month (March ) or 5-6th week (February). I don't have enough data yet to determine which, but either way it is early in the year.

The remaining number string is typically a sequential frame manufacting number for the month or fortnight.

I had not wanted to go public yet with this finding as the sample (3) is very small and I really would like more samples to increase my confidence level. But you did ask and it is a simple variation on a known format. The format does however appear restricted to 1970s boom era models. The 1980s uses a different format entirely.

BDS

T-Mar --

This is exceptional - thanks for all of the hard work.

I have what appears to be an 85/86 Fuji Design Series road bike:

Serial # = J505 (stamped under the bb shell - also there are two diamond shaped insignias that I can't quite make out. I'll try to get a couple of pictures of them).
Dropouts = Suntour PRO
Fork = Ishiwata 5 1

When I received the frame, all of the original components, to the best of my knowledge, had been stripped off as well as the paint and decals. This isn't much, but I hope it helps.

I have a bunch of photos on flickr here.
Thanks & let me know if I can provide more or better information to help.

BDS

spacedman

-Fuji Espree mixte: ~50cm center to top seat tube
-12 speed
-visually the frame looks almost identical to this photo. It has the same metallic gray paint, same decal colors etc. The downtube decal however has a smaller "FUJI" ... ie: FUJIESPREE

-Frame serial on bb: SC335940
-Frame material: "Fuji Valite Butted Tubing 414"
-Fork steerer tube stamped "Tange 2L"
-Front Derailleur: Suntour AR - date code "YJ" (Oct 1982?)
-Rear Derailleur: Suntour AR - date code "ZD" (Apr 1983?)
-Crank: Sugino something - double 52/42- right arm marked "S 170 GC 5" (March 1982?)
-left arm marked "S 170 GC 3" (March 1982)
-circular mold code on inside of chainring marked "324"
-Rear sprockets: Suntour Perfect - marked "YD" (April 1982?)
-Rear Hub: Sunshine - marked 5345 A
-Front Hub: Sunshine - marked 5345 R
-Sunshine front quick release skewer
-Suntour stem shifters
-Dia Compe Deluxe sidepull brakes
-not sure if stem is original...markings worn.... possibly "JiH or JiN" "22.2"
-handlebars and brake levers are not original - some sort of steel 3 speed cruiser bars
-Bottom Bracket spindle is marked "3T" and "L303"
-headset unmarked as far as i can see

I completely stripped the frame except for the fork crown bearing race and top headset bearing race and attempted to weigh it:
frame: ~2902 grams or ~6.4lbs
fork: ~882 grams or ~1.9lbs

I'm not new to bikes but I am new to reconditioning old bikes so I have some upgrade path questions but I'll save those for a different thread. Hope this helps.

T-Mar

Ladies and gentlemen, it looks like we have have a workable solution for the early 1980 codes, format LLNNNNNN, where L = letter and N= number.

The 1st letter/character appears to represent the manufacturer's identity. To date, I have logged four different codes - F, I, J & K. I do not know if these represent different Fuji manufacturing sites or contractors.

The 2nd letter/character is a year stratifier. In this case it appears to be a month rather than a fortnight. In 18 data sets I have nine different letters represented, but none is higher than L, the 12th letter.

The 1st number (3rd character) represents the last digit of the calendar year, (i.e. 0= 1980, 1= 1981, 2 = 1982, etc.). In all 18 cases the component codes were from the previous or same year, providing excellent correlation. To date, I have serial numbers that span 1980-1985 inclusive. Presumibly the span extends further, but I have no data to prove it.

The remaining numbers/characters are a sequential frame manufacturing number for the month.


As an example, lets look at spacedman's Espree in the above post:

Serial number is SC335940 where,

S = facility or contractor

C = 3rd month (March)

3 = last digit of year of manufacture (1983)

35940 = 35,940th frame for March 1983


The one thing that I have yet to determine is where the cut-off occurs for the new model year. It should be very safe to assume that frames manufactured in the first 6 months represent that model year. Likewise, frames from the last 3 months almost surely represent the upcoming model year. But the months 7-9 could go either way and the cutover may even change from year to year.

Cripes2

I have been looking for info on the old Fugi Team that I recently aquired, so thankyou T-Mar for doing this thread. Its a muddy brown color with gold wheels, dia compe brakes, suntour ders, sugino cranks, and nitto bars and stem. The serial number is FI213469.

T-Mar

I'm glad I could help. That August (edit: it's September, not Augurst) build date is a gray area, so it could be either a 1982 or 1983 model. I'd appreciate your posting the model names and date codes of the components. Even though we have the serial number code figured out, the more data, the better.

kramnnim

Sounds similar to mine... Did you by any chance get it on ebay? I saw a couple there in the completed items, but it was a while back...

reverborama

T-Mar,

Great work! To bad this is fall and not spring -- because I'm all excited about taking notes on the Fujis I see around town! I wonder what that first letter means. My two Supremes were built within a couple of months of each other but have very different components. Again, there were a lot of Fujis sold around here and I'll be keeping an eye out for them. I'll have to start bringing my reading glasses when I head out on rides now!

Cripes2

No, I paid $75 for it off of Craigslist.

goodgraceous

I have a Fuji 450 SE. It's green and appears to have decals. It's a VALite tubing, Sugino RT, Suntour LePree and Dia Compe brakes. Serial number is FB602875. It's a very small frame. Interestingly, it has a 27 inch tire on the rear and a small fork with a 24 inch tire in the front. The bike leans forward because of the different size tires. The bike appears to have been set up that way. All the components and the frame/fork appear original.It's in nearly perfect condition and appears not to have been ridden much, if at all. Was this a special bike made this way? I have done searches and cannot find anything on the model.

Deshi

Hello, I have no idea what my bike is other than it says Fuji Special Road Racer. The bike came complete but all the components were rusty and rotten from sitting who knows how many Colorado winters outside. All I have to offer is a pic and serial number. The SN is F6I03920 A question for this group if I may. I picked up this bike to do a fixie conversion but the more I get into it, I ask myself if this frame is worth the time and money in all parts needed for the conversion and it is also in need of a paint job. My question is what do you guys think of using this frame for a fixie? Thank you.

Deshi

T-Mar

Many women are too small in statue to fit a bicycle with 27"/700c front wheels. The breakkthrough was made by a company called Terry Precision who replaced the 27" front wheel with a 24". This allowed a shorter top tube, permitting a smaller frame. Critically, it also permitted a shorter top tube without causing toeclip overlap.

In the mid-1980s, other companies followed suit. Usually it was limited to a single model in the lineup. Usually it was towards the entry level end, but not at the bottom of the line. Fuji's entry, the 450SE, was based on a Del Ray. The top tube should be horizotal and not slope downwards. In addition, the bicycle featured other downsized components to suit a small, female rider, namely 165mm cranks, narrower handlebars and short reach brake levers. FYI, the 1986 price was 420 US.

I would appreciate it if you could supply the compoent date date codes.

T-Mar

The Special Road race is also known as the S-10-S. Your model is from 1971 but is in that grey area where it may be a 1972 model. It was Fuji's entry level model at the time and features a hi-tensile frame. It's nothing special, despite the name. Only you can decide if it worth the time and money.

goodgraceous

Thanks T-Mar! You're right, It actually does not slope forward. The horizontal part of the frame at the crank slopes, and it made me think it did. I'm fairly short 5'2" Asian female and thought this was a good fit, so I bought it. It does feel like it was scaled down for a small person, but not a youth. How ingenous. So is this the low end bike of it's time? It feels sturdy and a very nice ride. I read on a FUJI history page https://www.bicycleman.com/fuji/fuji_history.htm where they credit themselves first to develop the idea of 22/27 combination of tires.

This is the first time I have ever read component names or numbers, so bear with me..

Nitto Stem at handlebars o22(0.875)
Nitto Olympiade Handlebars no nbr loos like aluminum
Brake grips Diacompe Junior
Diacompe Brake G N500 (front)
1185 M (rear)
Sugino Seat Stem (meter increments run along it to adjust)
Fujita "Feather saddle 7379
Shimano pedals SY 1 (Black parts= MKS RR5)
SUGINO (cranks?) 165 1 GC & 165 3 GC
Suntour LePree ( I don't see a nbr, I think this is the derailer)
SUGINO RT 52
Rims: UKAI 24 x 1 1/4 WO Japan

Apologies for my sorry reporting. If there is another number you need, tell me where to find it!

T-Mar

Well, it is lower end, but not but not bottom of the line. I'm not sure of the exact placing. The VALite tubing and 27" wheels were typical of entry models at the time. though the other components and price put it closer to the border of being a mid-range model. The bicycle is pretty much a 1985 Del Ray that has been re-engineered to fit a smaller female.

During this era, Georgena Terry was considered the "mother" of the 24"/27" concept. I'm sure if we searched back further, we could find earlier examples of the concept (Bill Boston to name but one) but Terry Precision was considered to be the company that popularized the concept and initiated the trend of women specific designs. By 1987 you could buy women specific designs with 24" inch front wheels and 27"/700C rear wheels from Bianchi, Bridgestone, Centurion, Fuji, KHS, Miyata, Nishiki, Panasonic, Raleigh and Shogun, no name but a few.

As to Fuji's claim, they were definitely not the first. However, they do appear to have been the first of the mass production manufacturers to offer a model using the concept. In comparison, Terry Precision was a very small manufacturer and the models relatively high priced, though they were the first to make a concentrated effort to tap this market segment.

Regarding the components, what I really need are the component date codes, to know when they were manufactured. This allows me to establish a correlation with the serial number. Even though we have a good working theory for the serial numbers, the confidence can be increased with more samples. For information on the date codes, please refer to https://www.vintage-trek.com/component_dates.htm which will tell you the location, format and how to decode them. TIA.

roccobike

I have another Fuji in my current group of bikes. This 1985 Fuji Espree is the larger version of the first bike I posted (post #3). It's a 56cm (c-t) frame. This bike and the green Espree in my earlier post were originally purchased together as a his and hers set of bikes. While I will eventually part with the green bike, due to its size, I plan on keeping this metallic tan version. It's a little larger than my ideal 52-54cm size, but I can deal with if for short rides. After reviewing the other posts, this bike fits well into T-Mar's earlier explanation about how to read the serial number. I once believed this was a late 1984 model, but now I'm convinced its an 85. All the numbers line up.
The paint and over-all condition is excellent-plus except the large decal on the seat tube that was damaged somewhere along the way before I purchased it.
It's a 12 speed, with Suntour ARX derailers, Sugino VP cranks, Olympiade alloy bars, Nitto stem, Dia-Compe brakes with release lever, and 27X1 alloy rims. The seat post is a Sugino SP XL with metric graduations on the side. Like it's little sister, it has inexpensive, turkey-wing, non-hooded brake levers.
The frame is made from quad-butted Valite steel. It's a nice enough bike, except IMHO those brake levers just don't seem to fit with the rest of the bike.
The date codes are:
Front Derailer: AE
Rear Derailer: AH
Frame: FC514175
I know the derailers were made in 84, but the rear is a late (August) derailer. From the manufacturing dates on these derailers and the earlier, green Espree I posted, I'm guessing Fuji wasn't too concerned about consuming their derailers according to FIFO.

This has been an outstanding thread. There is one more item I am hoping to learn from it, the pecking order of each model.

Bearonabike

This is my restored Fuji S-10S "Special Road Racer" from 1975. I am the second owner, I bought this bike for $25 at a garage sale and, since it was like the one I rode in college, decided to breathe some new life into the old gal. Frame was powder coated, new stem set, new brakes top to bottom, new 6 speed freewheel, new chain. The original owner still had the receipt!. I now have all that and the LBS that sold it new 32 years ago is still there (father passed it to son) and helped with the work. It rides like a dream.

balindamood

The following is a mountain bike whihc may or may not provide some perspective:

Fuji, re-sprayed so I do not know the model or if it was originally the dark greenish-blue (it is a very good paint job, not rattle can).

S/N is FB606055
Suntour XC derailures with an AK and AF date coades (late 1984)
Suntour XC hubs and roller-cam brakes (rear is under the chain stays), dia-comp levers
Sugino cranks.

I am struggling with the recently given 3rd number representing the date, as If I have decoaded this correctly, this would be an early 1986 bike with late '84 components. Is this possible??

T-Mar

Belindamood, as you can seem by roccobike's post, we have two similar situations and he has been kind enought to supply a plausible answer. When a manufacturer receives a new supply of components, they shoud ideally rotate the components on the shelf so that the new components are placed at the back, with the new at front, so that the old stock gets used up first, This is called a FIFO system (First In, First Out). However, employees often get lazy, and simply place the new product on the front of the shelves, pushing the old product further back and delaying it's use. If this happened several times, it is conceivable that the components could be more than one year old relative to the frame.

Also, your frame was built after the re-evaluation of the yen, when most manufacturers shipped off production to Taiwan. We have no concrete evidence of whether the Fuji used Taiwanese contsctors at this time, but there are about five different letters that have appeared for the manufacturer identifer in the serial numbers, so it is a possibility. Many new Taiwanese manufacturers were starting up about this time and they would proably not have well established FIFO systems.

ATBs were relatively new in 1986. I doubt the Fuji line-up was very big. I have specs on some of the models. If you post a pic, I may be able to identify it.

Roccobike, I have a lot of Fuji data, but few catalogs. However, give me a few days and , I will try to compile yearly lists of known models and their relative postions. It won't be complete, but it will be a start.

balindamood

T-Mar

Belindamood, it appears to be a Fuji Sundance. As a sanity check on the year, one can rationalize it as not being 1984 via the presence of the chainstay mounted, rollercam brake. The chainstay mounted brake was not used in 1984 but was the industry rage in 1986.

balindamood

Thanks, T-Mar. It's not great (I paid $5), but it's almost identical to an '86 Peugeot Canyon Express I owned once. I have no idea what I'm going to do with it yet.