Fixing up my FUSO!

kazam said:

OK, so I'm getting ready to do a double century in June after a few years dedicated to other sports. Very flat, just a few hundred feet of climbing.

My bike is a 1986 dave moulton FUSO (serial 782) frame fitted with all Dura-Ace components. It's 7sp and the cassette says MF7400 if that rings any bells.

The frame is still in excellent condition but needs a new paint job.

All components are in good working condition except for:
Needs new chain
Maybe new cassette or at least some cogs
Hub overhaul needed

Probably a lot of you guys will laugh at this setup but the fact is that I've never ridden a smoother yet so strong and powerful frame. It sings on the road! I'm 200 lbs so one extra pound on the frame matters not at all.

Questions:
Where can I get a new chain? Does it need to be Dura-Ace from the same model year?

Can I get new balls for the bearings? Where?

Where can I find a new cassette or some cogs?

I really want to get this ride up to speed again. 🙂

As a side note for NoCal guys/gals I did the 2001 Death Ride on this machine and my PB up Montebello Rd was 40 minutes flat. Not so bad for a 200# guy on a 20 year old bike. 🙄

Any suggestions?

TIA,
kazam

You won't likely find anyone here who will laugh at this decision! Fuso is a great bike.

I believe MF7400 is a 7-speed freewheel, not cassette. Should be easy to get ball bearings from a bike shop and repack the hub. Should be able to put any 7-speed freewheel on there but it might not index very well with your shifters - use friction mode and you'll be fine. Might have to hunt around for a 7-speed freewheel though, they're getting rare. Any chain for 7/8-speed should be fine as well, 9-speed chain might tend to fall off (people will deny this but I have experience!)

This bike will be easy to modernize when you're ready, but no rush.

Davis Double?

DiabloScott said:

You won't likely find anyone here who will laugh at this decision! Fuso is a great bike.

Davis Double?

Cool, I feel a lot better about the whole project now. 😎

I forgot to mention that the rear hub is a Phil Wood. Checked their website and they offer overhaul so that might be an option.

I'll give Dave himself a shout as I found his webpage and he mentions that he likes to keep track of the frames he made.

The race I'm doing is Vattern Rundan. Strictly speaking it's a 300k not a double. I've moved to Sweden since my California days. 🙂

Is it possible to modernize the whole bike to 10sp? I thought they used a different rear axle length nowadays.

/kazam

Nice choice for a rebuild...😉
Keep it period correct...Fantastic!

I decided that reality still exists and not every answer is most conveniently found on the internet. Hence, I measured my frame:

Rear axle spacing: 126mm
Bottom bracket width: 68mm

Hmm, if I can, I probably would rather stick with the old gear.

I remember when I went up Mt. Diablo one particular time. Used to ride it back to back. Anyway, when I came back down and filled up my water bottle at that little place I overheard some other cyclists talking about "that guy on the old bike". I just stomped right past them on the ascent. Hehe. Trek CFs were the only thing to be seen on those days.

/kazam

Here are some pictures of the freewheel:

Pic 1
Pic 2
Pic 3

Perhaps the cogs are all right?

There's no play in the axle and it feels OK smooth. Probably will repack anyway.

/kazam

kazam said:

Is it possible to modernize the whole bike to 10sp? I thought they used a different rear axle length nowadays.

/kazam

Pretty easy to spread a steel frame by 4mm to fit a 10 speed hub in there - though a shop should do it so the alignment stays correct. Other than that the only thing stopping you is money. If you love the bike and don't care about "period correctness" and you have the money - go for it. You'll need pretty much a whole build kit to do it though - everything has changed, but there's nothing obsolete about your frame other than the rear spacing.

kazam said:

Perhaps the cogs are all right?

Worn, but not worn out, and that's def a freewheel, not a cassette.

You can buy bearing balls from Niagara Cycle Works or McMaster.com.

I modernized an old Schwinn/Giant (cromoly frame) to 130mm, mostly because I can't get the 126mm freewheel type axle to last under my 200 lb weight. It works fine now, but if that were my bike I would get a solid cromoly axle. Or ask Phil if he's got a 12mm upgrade kit. Then again, maybe Phil Wood axles are made of something which doesn't bend, but durability was a real problem with that old school freewheel stuff. BTW you will need a freewheel remover to repack the RH side, unless Phil Wood or Dura-Ace is radically different from the humbler stuff.

Re: the chain: it's all about the width. a 9 speed chain might (might might) be too narrow and may stick on the teeth.

garage sale GT said:

Re: the chain: it's all about the width. a 9 speed chain might (might might) be too narrow and may stick on the teeth.

Just started working on the bike today! 🙂

Noticed that my chain says HG which I believe is HyperGlide. So it's already a 9sp chain?

I've decided to do what I can with the stuff I have for now. It's all quality gear so should be allright.

Here's a pic of my newly overhauled brakes:

magnuslundmark.comIMG 6432.jpgOpen ↗

Almost spotless! Took everything apart and cleaned and regreased bearings. Beautiful.

Brake Part No. is BR-7400

DiabloScott said:

Pretty easy to spread a steel frame by 4mm to fit a 10 speed hub in there - though a shop should do it so the alignment stays correct. Other than that the only thing stopping you is money. If you love the bike and don't care about "period correctness" and you have the money - go for it. You'll need pretty much a whole build kit to do it though - everything has changed, but there's nothing obsolete about your frame other than the rear spacing.

This surely opens up new possibilities. Since I'm not too worried about "period correctness" I think this is the path that I will take in the future. I want to use this bike for training and racing so naturally want the best components I can afford.

/kazam

Please keep us updated with photos as you progress. I love the idea of rebuilding an older steel frame - I'm always on the lookout for something nice.

DiabloScott said:

You won't likely find anyone here who will laugh at this decision! Fuso is a great bike.

I believe MF7400 is a 7-speed freewheel, not cassette. Should be easy to get ball bearings from a bike shop and repack the hub. Should be able to put any 7-speed freewheel on there but it might not index very well with your shifters - use friction mode and you'll be fine. Might have to hunt around for a 7-speed freewheel though, they're getting rare. Any chain for 7/8-speed should be fine as well, 9-speed chain might tend to fall off (people will deny this but I have experience!)

This bike will be easy to modernize when you're ready, but no rush.

Davis Double?

I have a 7-speed cassete in my basement for Shimano. if you want I can look at what the ratio is. I dnt need it (Or maybe them) anymore. I am in Ohio though. One might be a Dura-ace too.

Ray

janiejones said:

Please keep us updated with photos as you progress. I love the idea of rebuilding an older steel frame - I'm always on the lookout for something nice.

Sure, I'll keep the pictures coming.

Today I finished the front derailleur. Very nice although you can certainly see that some parts of it are worn on the outside where gravel has hit it. Main two parts are as new though.

Function is perfect though! Smooth and just clicks and snaps between end positions. Every little piece was taken apart and cleaned, lubed and Loc-Tited where appropriate. All threads turned to clean them out and refresh.

/kazam

janiejones said:

Please keep us updated with photos as you progress. I love the idea of rebuilding an older steel frame - I'm always on the lookout for something nice.

Here's a picture of the almost stripped frame. Notice that the stem is frozen solid. Have to drill that out. Fortunately I have a workshop where I do all the work.

Frame

Still need to remove BB and crankset but I'm waiting for the right tools for the job.

Headset has a crack in one of the bearings. The lowermost part that sits on the fork. Hmm, need to get new headset maybe. Dura-Ace only! 😉

/kazam