beng1

I thought I was just going to do some superficial things to this 1976 Fuji then have fun riding it. But I decided to take the rear derailleur off and clean it so it would not be dragging, and while that was off I noticed that the bottom-bracket was not turning well at all. I thought all the seeds that fell on the floor when I sat the bike upside-down had fallen out of the seat upholstery, but it turns out some rodent had dropped a bunch down the seat-tube into the bottom-bracket, and they may have helped dry up and harden the old grease in the bearings. After taking the derailleur and BB apart and cleaning them very well, I did the same to the old chain, put new shifter and brake inner-cables on the bike, and new brake pads. Next will be some tape on the bars, and someday of course the wheel bearings will have to be cleaned and greased. If you want a fast, safe bike then there are no shortcuts.

Narhay

I'd do your hubs and headset now. They probably look similar.

Chuck M 

When I buy a bike and it is as complete as that Fuji, I bring it home, air up the tires to max pressure, and ride it around the block just to say I did. Then it is a total tear down and overhaul. I like this bike, take the time to do it right and you will be glad you did.

branko_76 

Very true

repechage

sometimes just direct to the workstand.

Pompiere

When I bring home a newly acquired bike as nice as this, I'll air up the tires and take a quick test ride. For bikes that aren't ready to ride, I'll do the least amount to make it functional so I can do the test. After that, they get a complete overhaul.

I passed up a Gran Tourer in 2019. I had a Royale in the early 1980s and I was looking for something similar. My local shop had an S12-S LTD and the Gran Tourer. The Gran Tourer was in better condition, but the S12-S had a better frame and some nice add-ons. I was looking for a project anyhow, so I went with the S12-S. The rattle can repaint meant I could make it my own. Any older Fuji will reward you for the effort you put in.


Fuji Gran Tourer

smd4

Does that backward seatpost clamp get you in a weird riding position?

beng1

On touring and older 10-speed bikes, the seat-tube is usually tilted back more than on a more modern performance road-bike or racing bike, so moving the seat forward simply changes the effective seat-tube angle towards performance.

I took the bike for test rides today to adjust seat height, bar position and brake lever positions and got them dialed in. Then I took it for a little longer ride and it felt really good with the seat forward like this. I like to be over the pedals and I like the bars low so I can get out of the wind easier if I want. I mostly ride this type of bike as fast as I can on nice roads for a good workout, so I set them up for speed.

There is an old route by my house that had a well-known time-trial run on it for years that I like to ride to then ride around and go as fast as I can around it as if I am racing. If I am not interested in going fast then I will ride something without drops and fat tires.

Yes, next on the list is the head-set and wheel bearings, but it is riding season now so that will wait until next winter or a day when I am inspired. The wheels spin really well, and the headset feels good. The brakes work well with the new pads and cables, the chain runs silently and it shifts great. Thanks all for the input !!!

beng1

Another Fuji which is way too small for me, so is going to live with a shorter friend later this week. This was also purchased from the original owner who bought it new in the early 70s. A "Dynamic 10" I think....

sovende

My thoughts exactly. OP’s follow up in post #8 sort of explains things but with that saddle position, large frame and lots of exposed seat post, I’m thinking long legs and (proportionally) short arms and/or torso. I don’t know if it’s an issue these days but I think that forward saddle position puts the rider’s knees way too far ahead of the pedal spindle. OP seems to do well with it tho so, I guess that makes it OK.

smd4

Just seems that the more relaxed frame is what you would want in this style bike, therefore negating any perceived benefits of putting the seat clamp on backwards (especially since the seat is all the way back on the seat rails, anyway, essentially nullifying the effect of the backwards, too-far-forward seat clamp).

randyjawa 

The OP found rodent seeds in the bottom bracket. I found the rodent...

ThermionicScott 

If that seatpost is open at the top, find a cork that fits and jam it in so no more bugs or water can get in.

beng1

What style bike is it to you ??? If you read you might have seen I said I like to ride them fast as if I were racing, and that kind of riding likes an aggressive seat to pedal position.

Sliding the seat gives about 3/4" adjustment forwards and back, turning the clamp around moves the seat almost twice that, so nice try but no gold star. If you want an aggressive seat position on an old relaxed ten-speed, then spinning the clamp 180-degrees gets the seats adjustment range were you want it.

Also I like my shoulders more over the bars when racing and trying to get low on the drops, so again this helps.

DMC707

I always turn my seatpost clamp around when its it time to dial it up to 400 and drope the hamer


Similar to when i was a sniper. Whenever i would turn my ball cap around backwards and put on the sunglasses, - my opposition knew they were in trouble (and about to get whapped with 20 full auto Nerf darts ! )

smd4

A sport tourer.

Then why don't you push the seat forward on the rails and get an even more aggressive effective seat tube angle?

dddd

Bigger, old bikes that I want to do serious riding on, if the geometry is slack, I'll either buy a zero-offset post for it or flip the post if it's a decent alloy one.

balindamood

I have never found a rodent, but I did find a june bug once.

beng1

Why would you assume what would be the optimum seating position for someone on an internet forum ???

beng1

I tried flipping the post around on a bike with an alloy post and the angle the top of the offset post was set at did not work when turned 180-degrees, I could not level the seat. The old steel posts with the separate seat-bracket as this Fuji has might be the most versatile seat mounts there are. I like that it is steel too as being a over 200 pound rider I kind of worry about old aluminum parts breaking and causing me to crash. Probably an unfounded worry, I have heard about alloy parts breaking, but have never had it happen despite using some of the same alloy parts for decades. I usually have to put seat-posts way up though, and that puts a lot of strain on a seat-post. A steel post will bend, but I don't think it would every break like aluminum can break, suddenly and completely. When you are in the clydesdale weight class, the bicycle is a small percentage of the total bike/rider weight compared to someone who weighs forty or seventy pounds less, so heavy bikes or parts are not a problem. It is interesting that steel can be used to make parts just as light as aluminum, but it is not done often because it is harder and more expensive to make light steel parts than it is to make light alloy parts for a few different reasons. But I think steel is the ultimate bicycle material.

Kabuki12

Nice bike and it is tall enough to ride. Some of us call that normal. I would do a full maintenance on all cables and bearing sooner than later by the look of things.

dddd

The steel style of seatpost top, referred to as seatpost "guts" by Ebay sellers, is versatile and usually reliable.
I say "usually" because it's not too uncommon for the toothed hardware clamping one or both saddle rails to end up with one toothed piece not centered or concentric with it's mate, in which cases the post top may show a tendency to slip unpredictably in use.
The good thing is that the proper centering of these pieces can be confirmed by careful visual inspection before being torqued down.

Among alloy posts having an integral clamping/adjustment mechanism, only a few have the ability to be reversed, with the tell being that there be a a laterally-positioned central bolt just as on the old steel clamps.
SR made one like this, found on lower price-point bikes such as the SR Grand Course. Other brands included Taihei and the more upmarket and micro-adjustable Nitor, each having a forged sort of "hoop" attached to the post top (or integral with the post casting).
Again, these posts were usually a price-point concession being a step or two below posts having a true micro-adjust tilt adjustment.

beng1

I put new inner cables on it, and new brake pads. I got the bar-ends back on it too. The wheel bearings will probably be next at some point in the future, but they seem to spin very freely and to be adjusted well, so with all of life keeping me busy they will wait until I get a break, or need an escape from the daily routine. Bike feels very good and fast and "racy" on the road though.

beng1

That is all valuable information, thank you for taking the time to share it. I am fine with steel on these old bikes, but you can not have too much information on bikes and the parts that make them up. Knowledge is power, and you seem to be all set in that respect.

beng1

I am cheated out of death again..... A day after taking this bike at high-speed downhill on a fast curve to the right, so if you wipe-out you can slide across the centerline into oncoming cars, I noticed this when the bike was sitting in the garage;