At that time the Newest was handmade by one "master" builder. They were finished better, had the drilled lugs etc. The builder selected the tubing etc. This info comes from my bosses factory visit. Neither the Newest or the Finest were especially heavy. Kind of like a Frejus. The rims were a bit heavy because they were plastic filled and the tires, particularily the Soyo 90 tires (like 400g) added to the weight. The "Hupelrider" seatpost added a few ounces. The Newest rapidly added more upscale parts as they became available. Drilled cutaway rings, all alloy derailleurs.
By the way, the Newest builder was canned due to frame breakages. Chrome plating is high risk unless you bake the frames or otherwise handle the initial hydrogen embrittlement. Same problem for Schwinn.
As to light Fujis, the later Fuji Pro is unquestionably made from a lighter guage tubing and small frames were easily 21 lbs as built up. These are cool collectable bikes but very few show up for sale and the finishes are complex and fragile.
Joe Bender-Zanoni
Whitneyville, CT
Other than a minor difference between a suede or smooth leather saddle, the only difference between the Fuji Finest and the Fuji Newest models seem to be :
finest newest ==================================== frame angles 73 x 73 74 x 74 lugs short point long point crown O-shape sideview C-shaped sideview paint blue over chrome white over chrome tires no. 75 no. 90
Was there a major difference in tubing gauge ?? I notice that both framesets have eyelets, which suggests 8/5/8 tubing. The parts lists and photos are otherwise IDENTICAL. Was this a strategy on Fuji's part, to sell 2 bikes with almost exactly the same parts, to get a better price on a volume parts order??
- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA, USA