I picked up an interesting 1970s (I think) Nishiki at the Cupertino Bike Swap this weekend, and am interested in anyone's comments and opinions about it.
I also have a 1981 Nishiki Professional, and this bike couldn't be styled more differently. A few features of the new (old) bike: . all-chrome frame, exposed head lugs, seat stay caps and fork ends, . translucent forest green paint over the chrome, . twin-plate fork crown, also chromed, . 22mm round fork blades, . large, pointed lugs with triangluar windows, . a metal head badge, "M" shaped eagle (yes, I know the American Eagle backstory), . 120mm rear spacing, five-speed cluster
I don't believe that the brakes are original, but most of the other components look like they could be - Sugino cranks, Suntour derailleurs, older Shimano hubs.
What say you all? Pictures at:
http://www.wooljersey.com/
Dave Ross
Portola Valley, CA
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Dave,
I saw this bike at the swap (concgtas on the purchase) and it brought back
memories of my first "real" bike that I bought as a youngster in SoCal. It
was pretty much identical to this except for the paint color, mine was sort
of a brownish olive green, maybe bronze would be a good "Pottery Barn" nam
e for it, same matte black head tube. I bought mine in 1973 or '74 and it w
as equipted same as this except for some plastic-filled Araya sewup rims, m
odel name I can't recall. They proved to be pretty flimsy though I was a co
mplete novice and didn't learn to glove tires or avoid potholes until many
years later. Mine did come with the DiaCompe centerpulls, same as this one,
but I replaced them with "cooler" Universal centerpulls. Finally, I bought
the thing way too big, it was a 25" frame and I was more of a 23" body, so
it sold to a college student who took it back to Humbolt State in Arcata..
.I think it was too big for him, too. The LBS that this came from was in Va
n Nuys or No. Hollywood...they had Mondias with "wild" Swiss paint, Alan al
uminum bikes, and I saw my first Phil Wood components on a "custom built" N
ishiki, there.
Alan Goldsworthy
San Francisco, CA