About Ebykr
Ebykr celebrates classic and vintage lightweight bicycles through provocative imagery and opinion. Ride along with us.
A practical guide to dating a vintage Fuji — finding and reading the serial number that carries its build month and year, telling the build year from the model year and confirming it all against the model, the decals, the components and the catalogs.
Founded in 1899 as a Tokyo import house trading under a name that meant Japan-America, Fuji is one of the oldest bicycle names still in use anywhere. This timeline follows it from Meiji-era importing through domestic manufacture, a wartime renaming, three Olympic Games, the S10-S that changed the American market, Valite tubing and an early titanium frame, to two bankruptcies and the brand's latest change of hands.
Founded in 1899 as a Tokyo trading house importing American goods, Fuji was Japan's most popular bicycle by the late 1920s and, with the S10-S of 1971, ended the assumption that a serious lightweight had to be European. This is the longer story: the wartime renaming, three Olympic teams designed by a former Asian Games winner, Valite tubing, an early production titanium frame, serial numbers that actually date a frame, two bankruptcies and a brand changing hands again in 2026.
A 1970s Team Fuji track frame in Fuji 331 double butted chrome molybdenum, built out of the Japanese track parts bin: Nitto, Sugino, Suzue, Araya and HKK.
2002 Nagasawa Special NJS Keirin Pista Frame: Yoshiaki Nagasawa Fork: Yoshiaki Nagasawa Handlebar: Nitto B125, Steel Track, 40cm CC Width Stem: Nitto NJ Pro, Steel Track, 115mm Length Headset: Hatta Super Deluxe, NJS, 1″ Diameter Crank: Specialites TA, Pista, Five…
Every now and then, we are reminded of something long forgotten that remains so special it needs to be remembered again. Like the deeply meaningful reasons behind national holidays or their religious counterparts, these things tend to be timeless in…
The Ebykr Digest
New articles, timelines, catalog finds and registry activity — assembled from the archive once a month. Your address is never shared.
Double opt-in. One email per month. Unsubscribe at any time with one click.
