eboard17

OK, I am really frustrated right now. I went into my local thrift shop and started taking to them about bikes they sell. They have a fuji bike there. Way overpriced. I know fuji had their high end bikes but this one is no where near it, They are selling a Grand Tourer Se for $150. Why does the community think its a great bike because is a Fuji. I don't understand! Can you tell me why the average person thinks any 80's boom bike is worth collecting?

mojopt

Because someone just as misinformed will buy it for $150.00.

4Rings6Stars

Price is certainly high for a thrift shop...but in decent condition that is a $150 - $200 bike in Boston during the riding season. Chromoly frame, nice Fuji branded Suntour derailleurs, nice alloy cranks...

I know what you are saying though for some reason the Fuji name commands a premium. I just sold my 84 del Rey for $180 (with a waiting list) and it was 10 degrees today...could have gotten close to 3 bills for that one in the spring I'm sure.

Bikedued

Because they are hands down more fun to ride than an average 3k CF bike, and look cooler besides?,,,,BD

I find this one pretty amazing, btw. Not sure about a high ten stamped drop 35 pounder...



This one isn't so bad either.....

noglider 

They were a well regarded brand. There was a bit of hype, but it wasn't over the top. It was rather like Honda and Toyota these days. They're darned good, but that doesn't mean you'll die and go to heaven if you get one.

I worked as a bike shop mechanic in the 70's and 80's, and I loved working on Fujis. They really were very well designed and made. Customer satisfaction was extremely high.

USAZorro

Collectable for the sake of collecting? Probably not. To have an inexpensive, reliable, nice-riding bike - hard to do better for the price.

cudak888 

No offense, but this sounds like a troll.

-Kurt

CACycling

I went to our local thrift store today and they had a late model Fuji hybrid in pretty bad shape for $200.

EjustE

I don't know about y'all, but if a thrift store has something priced more than $20-30, it is not a "thrift" store, IMHO...

noglider 

True, but that doesn't make the bike not worth buying.

beech333

Edit: Sorry, but I guess I got myself confused. I thought the OP was from Boston. Oops.

Catalog says the frame is chromoly.

https://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.

https://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.

EjustE

Buying for using, or buying for flipping?

noglider 

For using.

wrk101

+10 Often, it has nothing to do with collecting, and everything to do with riding. For the recreational rider, they can have a blah Walmart bike, or a neat vintage bike for the same money.

As far as thrift store pricing, it often does not make sense. I have seen crappy Xmart bikes with $100 price tags and great vintage bikes at $20 in the same store. My favorite bike, my Lotus Classique, was a $16 thrift store find. But I rarely find anything decent at thrift stores anymore. Anything even junk for less than $40 will not last a day.

EjustE

Not around here... I picked a Raleigh Record and a Ross Professional in pretty much "ready to ride" condition (plus tires/tubes/cables and bar tape and servicing) for $5 a piece. I think that it is all about expectations from a thrift store. Mine are that the prices should be about twice as much (max) as those in a garage sale and about half as much as those of a clueless CL seller...

Bikedued

I should have known better... I HAVE one of them, as of a few weeks ago.,,,,BD

JunkYardBike

Probably for the same reason this person thinks a Schwinn Super Le Tour 12.2 is worth $200: https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/bik/1574406731.html



And a crappy old Weinmann wheelset is worth $100: https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/bik/1574404761.html



And this gaspipe Peugeot fixed gear is worth $625: https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/bik/1574405418.html



Or this one is worth $550: https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/bik/1574406066.html



Pot calling the kettle black?

Monkey Face

What's the current reputation of Fuji?

I was looking at a Connoisseur... nice looking thing, but almost impossible to get one in the UK.

Grim

Actually thats a fair starting price. The 12.2 was pretty high up the ladder and had 600 Derailleur nice drops and for late 70's it was a pretty light bike at 26lb.
https://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1...0/1977_07.html
The rest is designed to relieve hipsters of their cash and grossly overpriced

JunkYardBike

Not saying it's not worth it, or any of the bikes are not worth the asking price. Just sniffing out some hypocrisy.

JunkYardBike

And that bike is not in a thrift shop, it's on his local CL: https://grandrapids.craigslist.org/bik/1577302460.html

Not that I blame him from trying to throw the scent off.

cb400bill

Fuji's current rep is fine. Fuji still have a lower profile than many other big brand names.

The Connoisseur seems to be a fine $700 bike, with the wrong style of fork, that retailed for $1300 when it came out. I see it is now listed at $1000.

tmh657

What about the Fuji S12-S? It has Fuji 441 tubing. I know it's cro-mo but does it make for a good riding bike? The fork is hi-ten. Fuji branded Suntour RD I believe as well as Fuji branded crank, Sugino I guess. Dia Compe brakes, 27" alloy wheels, Sunshine hubs.

noglider 

The S12-S was nice and very well put together. Some love the way these bikes ride. For all my love for them, the ride is the thing I love the least. They're stable and predictable but not particularly nimble or quick. I liked how the S12-S and other models didn't have a single Shimano thing on them. Stick it to the man, if you know what I mean.

We were discussing Fuji history in another thread recently. There's little or no relation to the company from the 70's and 80's.

BigPolishJimmy

I don't think it's just fuji, but I think most old road bikes are over-hyped by those who can't tell a good bike from a run-of-the-mill bike boom bike. I've almost been able to train myself to stop wincing every time someone at a garage sale shows me an old huffy with drop-bars and says "It's a Racing Bike".

Still I really like my Fuji's they're good bikes.