Let’s see…my old Fujiyama had been sitting for several months while I’ve been concentrating on my Riv and my Bike Friday. It’s really too bad because it’s a nifty little knockabout bike. I’d gotten started with this little project a long, long time ago when I bought the bike, rode it for a bit, then stored it until late 2009. That’s when I started playing, documented right here. You can find more with a search for Fujiyama if you are really interested, including this bit on Mr. Fujiyama. As it turns out, he’s still around the shop from time to time.
So, back in the present, Rivendell had a sale recently (actually it’s still on at the moment). It’s was their first ever sale and while they weren’t happy to have to have one, it turned into fairly good fortune for me.
The upshot is that one of the things I bought was an FSA Vero crankset which I figured I could use on my Fujiyama.
It arrived several days ago but I didn’t have time to put it on till this afternoon after work. It turned out to be a pain to get the old cranks off. They were original to the bike with the original welded-on chainrings. I got it off eventually with a little elbow grease (and some of the other kind as well).
The new FSA set went right on and I used the MKS Touring Pedals I had laying around, having removed them from my Quickbeam eons ago.
The only hitch was because my new chainring is a few teeth bigger my chain was now too short. I’m using a 1/8th inch chain on this beast (which helps with the chainline a bit having a bit more play) but that meant I had no links around as I do from the various 3/32’s I have around. Luckily a trip back to McCully Bicycle fixed that.
Ben, the (one of?) son of the original owner always seems happy to see this old beater, given that his dad used to import them as a house brand (name after his buddy, Mr. Fujiyama). Another fellow who’s worked there darn near forever looked at my bike again, laughed, and said I should donate the bike to the Bishop Museum.
In any case Ben put a new link in my chain saving me the trouble of buying a new one. All is well again.
Here’s a photo of the whole bike with its new drivetrain and one of the drivetrain a bit closer up. What next, 2 speed kickshift? Hmm….
A bit of glare but…
Aloha!
Slower, cheaper, less useful…