Fuji touring - why so hard to find?

Ugo51

Retro Guru
Hi guys, a while ago I was looking at the Fuji touring (rim brakes version) but it has since been supplanted by the new disc version.
It's been impossible to find any on the second hand market and I am wondering why. Is it because it's a rare bike here in the UK? Or because it's so good that who owns it tends to keep it?
Any thoughts?
Cheers!
 
I think very few were ever imported to the UK. Evans were the distributor IIRC, think it's Hotlines nowadays.
 
I see.
That might explain it.

It was about a year ago that I was looking at one on wiggle, but I thought about it a bit took long and as it turned out, it was the very last one they had. They only have the disc version now...
 
I know there's now a "Fuji Touring LTD" which is basically the rim version but with a flat bar. Not sure about availability in the UK though. Easy to find in Germany for about 900 EUR new.
 
I had a look for it and apparently it's for sale here in the UK too!
Interesting to see that it costs nearly a grand, when the equivalent rim brake version with the drop handlebar was for sale for £800
 
This year everything is selling, so brands are taking advantage and increasing prices. Shops too. I agree that for what it is, it is a bit expensive.
 
The markets are weird at the moment. Not everyone wants disk brakes, and I noticed there is a real shortage of any rim brake
touring frames on Ebay. I reckon a lot of people (like myself) are holding off selling rim brake tourers and do it all bikes.

I was watching an Ebay listing in Germany for CX canti-brakes where the seller had XX amounts for sale. The rate that they sold was
phenomenal which didn't at all equate to the current disk gravel fashion.
 
I think there's a shortage of all kinds of bikes at the moment, regardless of brake type. Tourers are a niche market and they are probably even harder to find, and also they are now probably quite popular for people trying to get a "socially distanced" way of travelling.

Germany is a very special market. I live there but I'm not German myself, which gives me a great overview of both the local preferences and the international trends (at least on the English speaking world, the ones you read in forums and blogs). Sometimes they can be quite apart. A few examples:
-Vintage mtbs seem to be getting expensive everywhere and the good ones are hard to find, while in Germany most people have one forgotten in the basement, so they are just considered "old bikes" and can be purchased at decent prices
-Gravel bikes are of course also getting popular here, but Germans still prefer as they call them "Trekking" bikes, which are just up to date hybrid bikes, which are quintessential German: practical, affordable, they can go well in asphalt and on forest paths, most come with all the lights and reflectors needed to meet the strict local traffic rules (which is why giants like Trek or Specialized sell nearly zero urban bikes here)... Basically a gravel bike for the everyday rider.
-Touring bikes are extremely popular, even though the English speaking world seems to ignore it. Germans love to travel, and there are dozens of local brands which enjoy great success in their own and nearby countries: Patria, Utopia-Velo, Velotraum, Tout Terrain, Intec, Poison, VSF-Manufaktur... But here most tourers have flat or butterfly bars (instead of the ubiquitous drop bar in US/UK) and often a Rohloff hub, plus of course dynamo hubs and very powerful lights from factory. Many come with rim brakes, not only that, the expensive ones will often come with Magura hydraulic rim brakes.
 
Germany's landscape also makes a difference - lots of long, big rivers and well-surfaced bike paths. Most of Germany is pretty flat by UK standards too. German trekking bikes are ideal for that, although the suspension forks with 40mm of travel (which seem to be almost unavoidable) seem a bit pointless to me.
 
:) Can spot the German or Dutch cycle tourist a mile off just looking at the bike and riding position. Not at all like in France either.

Also had the "pleasure" of lifting a few of these Trekking bikes out of the container at the local tip; two people needed
because they weigh a tonne and an entire afternoon to strip all the shit off and parts. Funny how they claim
low weight aluminium frames then add a 1 kg crappy suspension seat-post, a ½ kg adjustable stem and the aforementioned
very low-tech steel spring suspension forks. I don't quite get the logic about dynamo hubs since LED lights
are so efficient and compact now, plus rechargable batteries are much better - made sense a while back but for casual
recreation purposes they are just extra lard.

On the other hand, found that for CX equipment Germany and Belgium always the best reference and some top choice equipment
at good prices suitable for light touring bikes too.
 
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