Fuji Olympic 12

So, the Fuji in the post prior to this was turned out to be pretty popular. So popular that I was asked to replicate the project. I was a little hesitant at first because well… its the exact same look, but the gentleman who contacted me regarding it wanted the bike as a surprise gift for his girlfriend who was coming from California. She has an interest in bikes and after he saw the Fuji Absolute he was sure that she would love something rebuilt in the same manner.

Even though I had two Fuji Absolute frames that I had powdercoated prior, I was fresh out. Luckily I had a Fuji Olympic 12 in the appropriate size for the build.

The weight and lug work are pretty much the same as the Absolute which I found to be kind funny. I just never expected to replicate a project so easily. Im usually at the mercy of what I have in the garage or storage so its a little funny that Ive had a surplus of Fuji frames that have all been pushed to the powdercoating oven.

Mark of Fresh Start had some leftovers from the last Fuji that came through this garage so replicating that one wasnt difficult on his end.

The only differences in the this Olympic 12 project was the lack of vintage Brooks and the use of new Weinmann 27 inch flip flops that Mike sold my dad. Fixed option wasnt a requirement so I didnt install a cog but at least the rider will have the option later down the line after seeing Premium Rush or something….

Obviously just as nice and clean as the Absolute but with its on subtle differences. Used Strada K’s once again, Dicta freewheel, polished alloy components, and even some MKS pedals that I threw in the parts bag for this project at the last minute.

I havent heard from the buyer with his girlfriend’s response just yet but Im sure she will love it. Hard not to love the features this little ride has.

Fuji Monterrey

Yes, this is another Fuji Monterrey and yes, the original paint job (with some subtle differences) was the same as the Monterrey in the post prior to this one. We some how ended up with two Monterreys at the same time.

The wheels were stripped and the hubs were salvaged to be laced with new spokes and rims by George. The rest of the componenets were either saved or toss into the scrap bin. For it being a high tension steel frame, it cleaned up pretty nicely.

The guy I rebuilt this frame for wanted a charcoal or grey color given to the frame, which was really easy for Mark to execute at Fresh Start. Ended up going with him for this project because Im kind of done experimenting with other powdercoaters, despite how cheap they can be. There continues to be some minor issues here and there that Fresh Start has absolutely no problem avoiding. So yeah, no real reason for me to get work done else where.

Ended up turning out gorgeous. Very clean, minimal, and respectable look.

I personally would have liked to have used a color walled tire like a mocha brown or even a gum wall but the black Strada Ks were fine and were requested.

Im so impressed with how this color turned out I am thinking of rebuilding a sports touring frame for myself in a similar shade.

The buyer was very happy with the turn out. At the last minuted we ended up going with a vintage Brooks I had which I was kind of excited to use, kind of a cherry on top.

Fuji Monterrey

I had rebuilt a Puegeot Record Du Monde for a friend of a friend (who is now a friend!) back in June prior to my Portland vacation. She wanted a cool vintage single speed that she could cruise around the city with and keep up with her friends on. She was riding a slow and heavy mountain bike and wanted something swifter. I ended up building her this:

Unfortunately, after my vacation I got an email from her stating that she had a friend test ride the bike one evening and that test ride turned into an accident involving a motorist. Apparently her friend T-boned a car so hard that it shattered the cars window. The incident didnt substantiate to the point where the law needed to be involved but her bike was mangled. The fork was bent along with the front rim. The rear had a hop but I didnt trust it. She explained to me that her friend was offering to pay for the bike so she wanted to commission me for another build. I felt bad so quickly showed her this bike that I had picked up.

At the time, a friend of my dad’s had a guy who could get frames powdercoated for $50. He offered to hook us up and since that was such a good price I figured Id get the Fuji powdercoated for my friend, giving her a fresh look. The powdercoating job ended up taking FOREVER and costing $70. On top of that, there was some over spray issue. You get what you pay for so needless to say, I wont be going back with that guy. Fortunately, the bike turned out very nice.

(forgive me for these unbalanced photos, was standing on a curb two feet from automotive death)

I have a number of vintage grocery/wine crates that I have been dying to incorporate with these builds, wanting to play with the Porteur style bikes.

I really loved how it came together.

The great thing is, I was able to salvage some components from the Peugeot like the calipers, stem, handlebars, levers, hubs, freewheel, and chain.

Found some very nice faux leather wrap, nicely reupholstered saddle, solid Continental tires.

I went with orange just because the last frame was orange but it ended up being appropriate for this fall season.

I ended up not giving her the crate only because it was a bit over sized. When I delivered the bike to her I told her that she could have it though. She was extremely pleased with the finished product.

Fuji Monterrey

A woman by the name of Doris had contacted me after seeing my blog and wanted me to help her replace her sons Schwinn Tempo that was stolen from campus. Through conversation, I suggested building him a functional commuter bike that will look on the less appealing side in hopes that it will be overlooked by thieves. He wanted a single speed set up for his commuter and I was able to whip together a single speed converted AMF road bike for him while I situated his second bike.

We decided on this frame:

It didnt have significant rust ware, mostly surface. A very good candidate for a powdercoating.

I quickly dropped the frame off at the Contagious Customs, same powdercoater I went with when I had the Schwinn World Sport powdercoated.

Like the Schwinn, the frame came out beautifully with the same exception…the threading inside the bottom bracket shell was again over sprayed. I again had to have the shell rethreaded, costing me $20 at The Bicycle Garage in Dundee, Il.

Contagious Custom’s explanation for the over spray was because of the fact that the color I selected was a multistage color, which compromised whatever protective measures they used to cover the threading. The owner at The Bicycle Garage told me that they could have used vasoline or something similar and that could have solved the issue but I didnt look into that method so who knows.

Aside from the flub, the frame’s coat turned out wonderful. Definitely a gorgeous color. My father and I put our finishing touches on the bike and brought it to mike for cabling, wrap, and pads.

It turned out stunning.

Before meeting with Doris and her son I was able to find a few murals on the far west side of Chicago.

Doris and her son loved the bike. It was set up as a single speed with a flip flop rear.

Nitto bars & stem, Origin 8 Chainring, Tange bottom bracket, Wienmann Single Wall 700cs, and Shimano calipers & 105 Levers.

Definitely clean and fresh ride for the kid.

Pretty excited to powdercoat more frames this summer.

Fuji S10 S

Hey, Everyone

After leisurely sifting through ads on Craigslist for potential projects, and coming up mostly short, this beautiful grape of a bike appeared.

My dad scheduled a time for me to meet the seller the following day. Upon arrival, the bike was fairly clean. We had only replaced the routine components like cables, housing, brake pads, chain, tires, and tubes.

I dont like the idea of selling 30 year old brake pads and tubes to someone as if they were new. Plus, people seem to appreciate our minimal effort to revive these bikes.

Anyway, the bike had a Super Maxy crank which was a cool feature, as well as the original leather saddle made by Bell. Japanese Brooks. It was a bit flared out and lightly broken in so we tightly wrapped the saddle with a cloth in an attempt to mold it back to its original shape. I think it worked.

Oddly enough, despite it being a 23 inch frame I was able to ride it around the block a couple times, semi comfortably. Rode smooth and shifted with ease. I ended up selling the bike to a friend who fell for the aesthetics. Cute bike.