Fat Tires Come of Age – Vintage “Fat Tire” Mountain Bikes – Bicycling Magazine May 1983

Fat Tires Come of Age

In the May, 1983 edition of Bicycling magazine there is a test of the now vintage Mt. Fuji mountain bike (see page 139 of actual magazine or pg. 22 in the linked article below). The test is part of a long “Workshop” article all pertaining to Fat Tire bikes- yes, before they were referred to as (Vintage) Mountain bikes. The article also features the Japanese made Specialized StumpJumper Sport, Diamondback Ridge Runner (Prototype), Trek 850 (Prototype). Ritchey MountainBikes Annapurna and the MountainBikes Montari. For any vintage mountain bike enthusiast, this is an awesome early article! It breaks down every component, fitting etc.

Frame geometry of Fat Tire- vintage mountain bikes

Click image to link to full article.

 

Vintage Fuji HAO

fuji-hao-vintage-bicyclefuji-hao-vintage-2Fuji HAO

 

 

 

This vintage Fuji HAO recently popped up over on an auction website in Japan. Check out some of the extra details that make these vintage bicycles so interesting to look at.

First, look at the decorated rivets for the fender support bars. While you’re at it look at those awesome brakes and quite interesting quad-divided pedals.

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This one even comes with perhaps an original top-tube cover. How cool is that?! You might also be wondering what is that device with the “FUJI” mountain engraving and bar protruding from the side (bottom left picture). This is a vintage Nichibei Fuji lock. See the next photo for better detail of one.

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 Vintage Fuji Locks

Here’s some greater detail of the vintage Nichibei Fuji locks. On the bottom right hand picture, the silver piece sticking out is actually the key. You release the lock by inserting and pushing this key in; it doesn’t turn. Unfortunately, I didn’t take a picture of the key before sending these off. The bar sticking out is what prevents theft by not allow the spoke to pass by it.

locks-combined

Now for some additional photos the HAO. I always enjoy the top-mounted fender emblems on these vintage bicycles. And the cut-out “FUJI” on the reflector mount is a nice touch.

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You can occasionally find these bells for sale new-old-stock online, but they can be pricey!

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Lastly, it seems the chain guards were plastic! This I do find surprising and makes me wonder what year this bicycle actually his. I should note that even some of the currently produced Japanese bicycles retain a very vintage and classic look. However, I’m quite certain this one dates back at least half a century.

fuji-hao-vintage-5

 

СУПЕР Rider seat pillar

СУПЕР (Hupel, Super) Rider seat pillar

СУПЕР (Hupel, Super) Rider seat pillar

As a collector of vintage Fuji bicycles you sometimes run into a few less common model names on parts. One of the most challenging to search for is the СУПЕР Rider seat pillar (post). More appropriately named Hupel Rider, this seat pillar was standard on the high-end Fuji bicycles ( Newest, Finest etc.) in the 1970’s.

A fellow over on Flicker has a nice little write up on the Hupel rider. He states that the “СУПЕР” stands for super in Russian. Type that into the Google translator and sure enough, that’s what it comes up with.

hupel-rider4

Hupel Rider Y.F.C Seat Pillar

Scott Ryder, the most famous of vintage Fuji collectors mentions in an older BikeForums.net thread that the Hupel (Super) Rider was made by Y.F.C. What exactly Y.F.C stands for is still a mystery, but they are well known for bicycle saddles.

Try searching for СУПЕР on ebay; yeah, good luck with that… Better yet, find one in 26.8mm contact me right away!

Vintage Fuji Track TF Sprint bicycle sells BIN on eBay

Picture of Vintage Fuji Track BicycleSome lucky cyclist scored themselves a super cool, super rare, and quite nice 1975 vintage Fuji Track TF Sprint bicycle on eBay. And no, this blog isn’t just about vintage Fuji TF Sprints, I swear.

vintage-fuji-track-sprint-75-82bLiterally the same day I wrote the post about my TF Sprint, this beauty shows up on eBay! As I mentioned previously, there had only  been one found; so now we can make that two. One of my friends; the same in fact who scored my TF Sprint in New York, inquired about the serial number of this one. It was stated to be 75C50082, mine is ……87, just five digits apart.

vintage-fuji-track-sprint-75-82cYou will notice in the eBay auction the seller mentions only 10 made per month. This isn’t the first time I have heard such claims, however, I am unable to provide any hard evidence to support it.

The custom (reportedly added many years prior) paint around the lugs really helps to show the real beauty of these mid 70’s frames. For example, compare the photos here as opposed to a later, yet still vintage Fuji Track, where this type of labor intensive detail begins to disappear. These lugs are simply beautiful to my eyes!

I sure hope we see a few more of these pop up!

1975 Fuji Track Racer Model TF Sprint

Fuji Track Racer Model TF Sprint Vintage cut-sheet photo

Track Racer Model TF Sprint, vintage cut-sheet photo

I recently had the opportunity to acquire a 1975 Fuji Track Racer Model TF Sprint. It was one of my most anticipated acquisitions! How it was acquired is a fairly unique story in its self.

I’m lucky to be part of a private group of collectors who collaborate to acquire, share knowledge, trade etc, all relating specifically to vintage Fuji bicycles. Some time ago one of our members in New York happened across this Fuji bicycle being ridden by its now former owner. He stopped the rider to inquire about the bicycle and to let the owner know just what he was riding.

Spotted on the streets of NYC

Spotted on the streets of NYC

Fast-forward 1 year, the owner said he was moving back to Sweden?, and wanted to sell the bike. He had somehow tracked down my friend. Needless to say, the group was not going to let this one go. And given its tall stature (it’s a 25″) I was given first dibs. Of course, I didn’t say no; as a bicycle collector you simply do not say no to a find like this. Our vintage Fuji group has been around a while and none of us have had the opportunity to acquire a 70’s vintage Fuji TF Sprint Track Racer… To the right is a a photo of the bicycle upon its discovery more than a year ago.

Since its birth it has been stripped of its paint, most parts, and grown a few scars in addition to a lot of peppering on the chrome. But, none-the-less this is a great and rare find. This is worthy of a restoration and to only preserve at this point won’t stop the deterioration of its steel.

1980 Feather Professional BMX Part 3

The decision is made. I am going with the black Ukai rims and black Sunshine hubs.

Black Ukai BMX rims and black Sunshine hubs

Hajime Kato Suntour Postcards

I’ve recently discovered that Suntour distributed a 5 pack of postcards displaying reproductions of Hajime Kato original oil paintings. These paintings were abstract renditions of bicycle racing. I have been quite taken by Kato’s ability to capture movement in all his works.

Hajime Kato artwork on Suntour Postcards

Kato was a professional keirin cyclist in Japan in the 1940’s and 50’s. He is said to be instrumental in bringing keirin cycling to the world. He later moved to Paris where he focused entirely on his art.

1980 Feather Professional BMX Part 2

I’ve got the majority of the parts laid out with a few decisions to make along the way.

1980 Fuji Feather BMX Parts

One of the very distinct parts on the Fuji Feather Professional BMX bikes is the Tange Meriter headset. These are semi-sealed and were a very high-end part in the mid and late 1970’s.

Tange Meriter MX Pro headset

When acquiring a Tange Meriter headset one of the most often damaged parts is the top-nut. I must have 10 headsets and probably 5 good top-nuts, 2 bad top-nuts, and 1 unusable. If you ever find these top-nuts at a swap, buy them!

Tange Meriter MX Pro headset top-nut

Another very distinct part to the Feather Professional BMX is the curved Ishiwata fork.

Fuji - Ishiwata BMX fork

1980 Feather Professional Black

Today I begin bringing life back into this 1980 Feather Professional BMX. I will only be cleaning; there will be no resurfacing, repainting or even removing stickers on any parts.

80-feather-black

Coming soon Fuji Design Series B5142

The Fuji Design Series is the pinnacle of classic Fuji bicycles. I was able to acquire this DS in my size; which to my understanding is quite rare. More photos and story to come soon.

Classic Fuji Design Series