# Fuji Espree



## shoe3

I have a fuji espree , clamp on shifter, campy record hubs, suntour equiped, sugino crank.not sure how collectable.


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## bulldog1935

introduced with that setup (DT ratchet shifters) in '84, and offered again in '85
- modest place in the Fuji line, SunTour ARX (under $200 new) - the 2-pc seatpost/clamp gives it away

Should be a great-riding and reliable bike - not particularly light, though certainly not heavy
Your bike has upgraded rims (note the original rims were for Schraeder valves) - yours look like Mavic (are they tubies?) - might check the hubs, as well.

http://www.classicfuji.com/Espree_Model_Years_Thumbs.htm




Rather than collectible, this would make a great rider project for somebody (clean and grease bearings, new cables, tires, brake pads, bar wrap, saddle? - I'd change the seatpost to basic Kalloy).
It's a better bike, more desirable, and in much better condition than the '85 Shogun my buddy's daughter bought at Frankenbike for $100 and built into her college commuter.
Her efforts came out really great, and I need to get a photo...
Though both bikes started about the same price range, the SunTour ARX is better than the Shimano 300 Exage that was on her bike - in fact, the Shimano RD on her bike was cracked right where Shimano RDs crack (replaced with a new Deore RD).  Even with downgraded metallurgy, the SunTour ARX isn't going to crack.

Her same age Shogun Selectric was the introduction of Shimano indexing (SIS), which SunTour did not then offer, and eventually completely lost out to Shimano because they never caught up in indexing.
6-speed rear doesn't need indexing (even new $2000 Rivendells today are friction shifting 9 sp rear using a derivative of your same SunTour shifters, which copied Simplex).
Though low-grade Shimano RDs do tend to crack (all at the exact same stress riser), the consistency in their indexing shows, in that, their very first 1985 indexing shifter works perfectly with a 2015 RD.


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## shoe3

thanks for research and remarks


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## Mr.RED

The wheels look like they were upgraded but I do agree with Bulldog give this bike a good tune up and you will have a solid commuter bike. The collectible Fuji models, are the Professional, Opus, Touring Series, some Team models and the early 80's Fuji Clubs. Also the 1970's Fuji Finest and America are also collectible.


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## bulldog1935

my daughter has an '86 Team Fuji - we bought the bare frame for $150, and she built a much better bike for less than the original SunTour Spirt equipped bike cost. (it was supposed to be Sprint, but they lost it in translation.)
It came with headset, BB, original seatpost, and the Spirt FD, but swapped it for the Ultegra, because clearances were much better.
Ultegra 9sp, Microshift bar ends, Hoops custom BHS/Kinlin wheelset (he was running a closeout sale on all narrow rims), Nitto noodle + Pearl, Campy Chorus brakes set up with cross levers.
No problem spreading the 126mm rear dropouts to 130 w/o cold-set (only 2mm/side).




here's the drivetrain - reused my old Mighty Comp (Super Record clone) crank from '78, Superbe pedals and Ale clips
Miche custom cassette 13-29t, and new 50/41T rings on the 141 bcd crank - here's her gear analysis



and the cockpit



all factory paint including the seatpost flutes



I had pilfered the black Randi Jo bar bag from her other upright bike for one of my bikes (my '57 Lenton), moved the black bag from her Fuji over to that bike, and just replaced it in yellow today.



That's an Abus lock on the front axle - getting her theft-proof for campus day trips this fall.
It has all the flare of the original bike, weighs 19 lbs, and works much better for her than the original '86 Team Fuji - she's rolling on Veloflex Corsa rubber.
Not too many people can keep up with me for a long spirited ride, but she's one of them.
(she's a nationally ranked wrestler, and also fights muay thai - I wouldn't challenge her on the mat)


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## Mr.RED

I had a 1985 Fuji Team blue and yellow that came with all Suntour Superbe Pro components and under the paint was a full chrome frame. I stripped the paint off and polished the frame up and had a full chrome road bike when  I was done. The Fuji stuff is nice its either double, triple or quad butted steel making for a nice feel.


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## bulldog1935

the catalogs show the Professional and Team Fuji were both the same quad-butted frames, and both the same graphics - both said Team Fuji.
Difference was the level of components - Superbe and Superbe Pro on the Professionals, ARX and later Sprint on the Team Fuji bikes.

The Sprint (which was marked Spirt), included the continuous "infinity" band-clamp FD
like I said, we swapped this out because embossing in the cage gave it less clearance on the very low-Q Strada crank than the Ultegra FD, which matched the Ultegra RD we used, and we needed every mm clearance we could get with the 9sp cassette v. the original 6sp freewheel.
I still have the part - Spirt band clamp FD



don't take this the wrong way, but with my daughter's project, we exceeded the Professional specs - everything we added was lighter and more functional than the original - nothing knocking SunTour Superbe Pro, which is still today many people's all-time-favorite RD.

more minutia on the Sugino Mighty Competition 141 bcd crankset.  It so exactly copied Super Record, it had Italian (ISO) tapers rather than JIS.


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## Mr.RED

Bulldog you daughters Fuji is a great example of restoring a classic steel frame into a modern day road bike.


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## Homewood Wheelman

A friend gave me a trash bag with the frame and fork plus components from an 84' Fuji Espree back in about the year 2000.  I had the frame powder coated and built the bike up as a fixed gear.  This was the bike that got me back into cycling.  I chose the fixed gear due to reading Sheldon Brown's web site and I thought it might be a cheaper way to get rolling at the time.  Any way I rode that bike up until about 2 years ago when the crack in the drive side chain stay got to the point I decided to retire the bike.  The fork lives on used with an Azuki frame that I currently ride.  

 

For the last couple of years I have ridden a Fuji Team also from about 84' I believe.  It is a reat bike.  When I got the bike a former owner had put hi-rise handlebars on it.  I put a used Modolo drop bar on it that I had.  I rode it for a while with all the original components.  The bike was really in great shape and looked almost new.  But The gearing was not for me with large crit type big chain ring and more of a corn cob free wheel.  The first gearing changes I made were to replace the nice Suntour crank with a Sugino GT with 42x34 chain rings.  I also put a five speed free wheel on with larger cogs for lower hill climbing gears.  Eventually the spokes kept coming loose in the rear wheel.  So I put a set of Velocity Deep V wheels on with a ten speed 32 cassette, Tiagra rear derailer , and ten spd. indexed down tube shifters.  Also I changed the front mech to a 105 because the Suntour Sprint fd. did not fit with the small chain rings I was using.  It is a fun bike to ride and I am quickest on this one.  Here are two photos. The Top one is the current set up and the bottom is before I did much to the bike.


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## bulldog1935

beauty - and my size.


Homewood Wheelman said:


> ...



those Bontrager bottle cages are a perfect match to the yellow.  If you want to find bar wrap that matches the yellow, Ale made it, and you can find it occasionally on ebay.
I have one wrap spared for my daughter's Team Fuji.




a little more blue jewelry - anodized bottle cage bolts



and blue titanium crank bolt dust covers



She has a pair of Detto touring shoes, and likes them, but she always wants to wear mat shoes, so these Blackspire spiked platforms are the right pedals for the wrong shoes.


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## Clarkk

I have a vintage Fuji bike. My bike year is a bit tricky to figure out, especially for vintage models with catalogs that are nearly impossible to find anywhere in the market. How do I find out the age of my vehicle?


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## Freqman1

Clarkk said:


> I have a vintage Fuji bike. My bike year is a bit tricky to figure out, especially for vintage models with catalogs that are nearly impossible to find anywhere in the market. How do I find out the age of my vehicle?



Start a separate thread in this forum with pics.


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## Clarkk

Clarkk said:


> I have a vintage Fuji bike. My bike year is a bit tricky to figure out, especially for vintage models with catalogs that are nearly impossible to find anywhere in the market. How do I find out the age of my vehicle?



 Vintage Fuji bike models have used different serial number patterns since the 1980s. If the format is anything like the ones mentioned in the table above, identifying the year will be easy peasy.


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