ehcoplex 

Like I need (another) hole in the head, but y'know..... An '84 (I'm pretty sure) Team Fuji is FS locally for pretty cheap, tall frame, my size, etc, etc. Never ridden one, don't know a heck of a lot about vintage Fujis. I'm debating- on the one hand I've got a PX-10 project already 'in the queue', plenty of little maintenance things & mods to keep me busy, etc, but on the other hand, at the very least I'd end up with some bits for the parts bin, including Cyclone MKII derailleur set...and of course, N+1...! Anyway, any folks riding Team Fujis from this era care to comment? Thx

AdventureManCO 

I'm breaking your input design by commenting without having owned a Team Fuji, but I have only heard good things about them. I did used to own a Fuji - fantastic bike, and not at the level of a TF. If it is your size, I'm here to help enable. Get it!

ehcoplex 

Trick may end up being how to sneak it into the laboratory without the working-from-home significant other seeing it......

79pmooney

I raced a '76 Fuji Pro. Great frame. Yes, my later Pro Miyata is a lot better. And probably better than the Team Fuji. But - Fuji knew how to make an excellent race bike back in '76. Their '77 bikes were simply better. (First year of Superbe. The Superbe Pros we got at the Fuji shop I worked at were flagship bikes.)

I don't know where the Team fits on the Fuji lineup. Was it an extension of the Professional? Step above? Either way, it would be a sweet ride! Fuji prided itself on very good frames (and a close relationship with tubing manufacturers) and excellent drivetrains. Worked closely with SunTour, Diacompe, Nitto, MKS and Sugino. (I have long wondered it those names after SunTour made the early Superbe parts rather than SunTour. They and Fuji seemed to be part of a close alliance.)

A caution - the seat and post may be cheap. Fuji often saved money there. My Pro had a Hupel Rider post. Heavy and not strong. One of my first races I hit a big frost heave at insane speed coming down a Vermont hill. Bent the post! That Team post is probably a Japanese standard 26.8mm. Very common in MTBs of the day. I bought a very reasonably priced SunTour 2-bolt MTB post in 26.8 around 1995. I think Fuji figured that 1) all racers go with their favorite seat. Spending money there was a waste of everybody's dough and 2) seatpost don't do more than just hold that seat stationary. Spend the bucks on derailleurs, cranksets, brakes ... Stuff that actually does things.

ehcoplex 

From what I can gather it was 3rd down the lineup after the Pro and the Opus. Seems the higher-ups had cro-mo stays/fork, the Team is 'Va-lite'. I read somewhere that the '84 & '85 Team Fuji's were all chrome plated under the paint...Doesn't entirely make sense to me, as the fork crown is the only visible chrome on the '84, but does anyone know if this is true? I sure do like chrome, and if the paint ain't great on the one for sale, it would be kinda neat to strip it to all-chrome!

juvela

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...maybe you could stow it in a neighbour's crawl space...

recalled from an episode of Dilbert where Dogbert orders Dilbert to "keep out of the crawl space"

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alternately. you could consider to grow your N

member non-fixie reports that his "forest" is now of sufficient size that one more "tree" goes unnoticed


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ehcoplex 

Fresh perspective on the whole "Can't see the forest for the trees....." Or is this 'can't see the trees for the forest'......? I do already have a bit of a forest 'growing' in the basement laboratory..

Mr. 66

Thats pretty nice, I don't think it rides as nice as the Miyata 912. I think those two were in the same pricing.

BradH

I've got an '85 Team Fuji, the pink one with the black headtube. The Valite tubes are most likely a manganese alloy from Ishiwata, not at all a bad thing. That bare frame was right at 2200 grams in a 58cm. As a point of reference, I threw a 56cm, Tange 1, 1988 Ironman on the scale last night. It was 2170 grams. Same goes for a Specialized Allez SE, right around 2200 grams.

I can confirm that for 1985, it's all chrome under the paint.

MrGastrognome

After a quick glance at the catalogs it seems they tweaked the line up and tubing between my '82 and '84. '82 being "Fuji 331" (which are likely rebranded Ishiwata tubes) and '84 being a quad butted Vallite frame (likely Ishiwata Molybedium) The Team was generally the value option for the Fuji racers; Fuji Professional, Finest and then Team which all shared the same tubing. In 84 that was Pro, Opus then Team with the later two sharing geometry but different tubing. T-Mar has a great thread on Ishiwata tubing that probably speaks to the differences in ride quality. I think the Mangy tubes were a little heavier hence the quad butted profile.

You get shifter bosses as opposed to my clamp on shifters... which would be a nice upgrade so I could use the Diacompe power reproductions I bought for this bike but have been unable to find a clamp for.

Regardless, they're bikes that over deliver for the pricepoint they are often acquired at these days... I see a +1 in your future!

Mad Honk 

I had one of the blue and yellow ones, 84? Fuji Valite quad tubing, and it had some paint damage so I stripped it and yes it was full chrome under the paint. A good ride but sadly too tall for me so it went out to the west coast to a Fuji lover. Smiles, MH

79pmooney

The Fuji Pro over delivered in 1976. I bought mine a year later (granted, at shop discount as an employee who raced). Paid little or no penalty to my competitors' much more expensive Italian bikes (and I got to shift the sweet Cyclone system, not the much trickier NR).

Oh, I saw that Fuji went far better on seatposts on the bike you are looking at than they did in my time. Betting that Sugino post is a solid keeper.

MrGastrognome

My Team came with Arx mechs but I went to a long cage Ultegra in the rear to run a 11-32 9 speed. I have the Cyclone on my '81 America and love it. I've been on a couple rides where guys pulled up along side me on the Team and commented, "I worked at (insert local shop) that sold those bikes in the 80's. They were really nice bikes."

ehcoplex 

I've got 1st gen Cyclones on one bike, and MKII on another- sooo nice to use (esp on the bike where they're mated to Simplex Retrofriction shifters)! They definitely factor in to my 'oh heck, just get this Fuji' leanings.

repechage

My notes-

use bigger bike, 60 cm or more?
era of the PX-10, they got steeper up front later. Year Unknown.
make assumption the Fuji is reasonably steep in a larger frame.
taste?
that is why only one bike is such a challenge.

ehcoplex 

Well, the seller may have saved me from myself! Made an offer and they responded saying they now want quite a bit more than what they were originally asking. Apparently they 'googled it'....

repechage

‘yes, unprofessional sellers or latent greedy owners… reconsider often.
‘I have watched a few deals where even funds were transferred go south.
‘one, where the seller decided after the contested auction that the bike now had too much sentimental value, but if I kicked in another $1,000 they might reconsider.
‘the price of sentiment.
‘another where the deal was agreed but the Salt Lake City resident obviously shopped it around locally and declared he found a better offer.

‘the way of things.

shoota 

I had an '84. Great looking bike, rode well, but I had to move it on because the tire clearance was super tight, like 23mm tight.

MrGastrognome

Bummer, but it'll be fun to watch their ad languish for months. A classic "I saw one for $500." Yes, the reason you saw that ad is because no one is buying it at that price. I've seen a handful of Team Fujis pop up in the last year or so. Most of them have been around $150 like this one that's either a 52 or 55cm.

A co-worker of mine in the wine industry years ago had a saying "Wines are like busses. If you missed one, there's always another one coming."

ehcoplex 

I was cordial, even informed them of the year and actual model. Maybe I'm relieved..... in order for it to be useful for me I'd need to convert to 650B, and, well.... I mean, I do have the brakes to do that in the parts bin... and one of my other 650B bikes doesn't get used much, so I could use the wheels from that..... Anyway, out of my hands, unless they come back later and accept the offer. In the meantime, plenty of other projects to focus on!

Piff 

That may be true, but luckily I'm able to steel my resolve and buy bikes I don't need by telling myself 'what a great deal this is, I gotta buy it, it's just too good to pass up and miss my chance'.

ehcoplex 

I tell myself I'm 'rescuing' them from an uncertain, and probably horrible fate.... Well, OK, often they've already suffered said horrible fate and require completely un-economic efforts to resuscitate.

Wileyrat

I have an 83 with cro-mo quad butted tubing. I taco’d the front wheel in 85, and replaced the wheelset with Rigida rims on Specialized sealed bearing hubs. A couple of years later, I pulled the Arx derailleurs off and went with Cyclone MkII’s.

I figure I’ve had the bike since it was new, so I’m going to let my wife or daughter figure out what to do with it after I’m gone.

79pmooney

Those derailleurs and the el cheapo Power Ratchets weren't too shabby either!