CaptainMoeswae

I have a Fuji Royale (1979?) in great condition and I want to know what mods/builds people have done to this bike. Would love to try to make the bike a bit more modern to take on tours, though it runs great as is.

Please post your builds and parts used!

Velo Mule

It is your bike, change what ever you want. Comfort first, so find a saddle that you like. On my traveler, I have those 'safety lever' brake levers. When I took the lever off, the reach is longer, so I am thinking about switching the brake levers. You might have a similar situation. New derailleurs are nice, however, changing a derailleur is going down a wormhole. You will be tempted to change to a six speed freewheel, then think, maybe I should get freehub, then I can get index shifting. Then things are changing a lot.

What ever you change, save the original stuff.

That is my option. It is your bike. Whatever you do get and post pictures. While there is a lot of high end stuff here many of us like the production bikes.

CaptainMoeswae

Yeah it's crazy how many are options are available with the bike if I dig deep enough, but that's exactly why I wanna see what others have done. Will likely change up the brakes and brake levers first since that seems like the simplest upgrade.

Velo Mule

Most here would recommend the Cool Stop Salmon brake pads for vintage brakes. It is a good upgrade.

One more note, I have a motor that I bought and spindle that will fit a wire wheel because I was removing rust from steel. I went to Harbor Freight after seeing what several BikeForum members were doing and I bought a cotton buffing wheel and polishing compound for aluminum. This and some work will make your old parts look new or even better than new.

Yyour old brake calipers may look pretty good after some attention with the buffer and the Cool Stop pads will get your stopping power to better than new or as good as modern brakes.

Again, my opinion.

SurferRosa

Kool-Stop

J.Higgins 

I like the older, all-original drop bar bikes, but some are just begging for modern components, especially if the OG components are beat. A lot of the lugged steel frames with stamped drop-outs are perfect candidates for a Nexus upgrade. Recently, I've been rebuilding a lot of older Japanese-made mixte frames this way, and the ladies love 'em.

@CaptainMoeswae - I'd like to tell you that you can definitely build a beautiful retro-modern bike simply by replacing all of the components, but as someone else has mentioned before, the rabbit hole is very deep. You can easily out-spend what the value of the bike is worth. Oh, certainly you will end up with a tasty, personalized bike to call your own, but all of those individual parts cost big cash in the end. Just something to remember.

cycleheimer

I put SunTour bar cons and a Blackburn rack on my '81. I also changed the pedals. Most importantly, I regreased all the bearings and put new tires, tubes, and rim liners on it. I also double wrapped the bars for comfort. You could upgrade the seat post and binder bolt if you like, but these bikes are alright as they are. Very dependable and solid riders. If you want more, look for a Fuji America from the same era. I have come close to driving 200+ miles for one on several occassions, mostly in the $200 range, but have to answer go a higher authority on these matters... and she can be pretty tough!

greg3rd48 

This is an '81 Royale that I cleaned up for my brother a while back. There have since been other minor changes made to the bike (better saddle, new bar tape, other pedals) but this was its initial iteration. He loves this bike.


IMG_0568 by irishbx4th, on Flickr

simmonsgc

Here's one that passed through my hands a while back. I liked the centerpulls and the chrome socks, and it had a really smooth ride. It was a touch small for me, so it moved along to a happy new owner.

CaptainMoeswae

Those are some beautiful bikes! Just got TRP RRL brake levers fitted to my own bike. Also replaced brakes with side pull Tektro's, got new pedals, a Bontrager saddle, new tires and tubes. Wish I could post pics but I am still pretty new to these forums! Anywho, the bike rides great!

I also have in my possession a Dura-Ace RD-6800 10spd and corresponding 11-23T cassette. Any chance I'd be able to put those on? I suspect I'd need new shifters, wheels, and front derailleur.

Wonder what else other people have done with their Fuji bikes!

Cougrrcj

Over the past 40+ years, my old '75 S-10S (pretty much the predecessor to the Royale) has been 'upgraded' a bunch.

First (just a dew weeks after purchase) came the SunTour barcons - that are STILL on the bike today. Same for the oft-maligned Pletscher rear rack, tire savers, and Zefal Hp frame pump.

Later changes were a SunTour Winner Ultra 6-speed freewheel and Sakae 48-38-28 triple crank. The original SunTour V-GT Luxe rear derailleur gave up after 'only' 40k miles, and was replaced by a newer ARX, and the original Compe V front still shifts the triple crank quite well...

Not sure what pedals are on there since the originals fell apart on a Century ride in '78, and still they wear old-school toe cages and straps...

The handlebar and stem are still original, and so are the brake levers and DiaCompe centerpulls with more modern brake pads but I do have a set of Tektro dual-pivot sidepulls and newer aero levers waiting...

Surprisingly, I'm still using the almost 45-year-old original Fujita Belt saddle on a '80s(?) Nashbar 'suspension' seatpost. The post has a 'knee joint' with an 1" diameter x 1" long elastomer 'puck' in the middle that helps take the 'buzz' out of rough pavement.

Wheelsets? a bunch over the years... The originals were ditched in favor of a custom hand-built (by yours truly!) set within a few months of buying the bike. That set lasted for well over 30k miles. Next came a set of generic cheapies after my custom rear wheel was tacoed while on tour. It currently wears a set of newer (probably mid-80s?) Araya 27x1 hoops on Sunshine Gyromaster sealed bearing hubs.

Anyway, pics:

seatpost:



driveside shot of bike:



Your old Royale should serve you for YEARS to come!

ramzilla

Bullet proof I'm tellin ya. Freakin BOMB PROOF. When the planet splodes, that old Fuji will be floatin around in space for infinity!!!!!!!

ryansu

One suggestion, from experience, is to ride the bike a fair bit before upgrading it the hilt to be sure it fits, you like the ride etc and to get a better idea of what you like and don't about the specific bike. Its one thing to spend $$ on a keeper that you are building up to suit you but if you decide that its not quite right your stuck with upgrades others may not be interested in paying for if you decide to sell, ask me how I know. . As others have said keep all the original stuff you replace.

So ride it allot, over varied terrain and get a feel for whether its a love it or like it bike. If you do decide to upgrade then the options are vast, I like upgrading the brakes to aero tektro's both to gain a quick release and because I find the more chunky hoods are comfortable for my hands. A good set of tires, replacing steel wheels with alloy, finding a saddle you like and using Kool stop brake pads are all good places to start.