Classic & Vintage - Any info on this early 1980:s Nishiki bicycle?

Hello,

This is my first post here, Im from Scandinavia, Europe.
I ride bicycles all year round also daily during winter season with temperatures somtimes reaching below - 20 degrees Celsius :)

I just won an internet auction for an old Nishiki bike, hopefully this one will be my new summerseason bike.

To be honest I mostly bid on the bike because it was in my favourite colour, burgundy red :) I do like the looks of 1970 and early eighties bikes because they have that special "vintage feeling"...
The seller however have stated the bike to be in very good condition with very few hours of use. He told me he bought the bike new in 1982. I dont even know any model name or number for the bike. Seller told me the "frame" (dont know the proper word for it in english) is a TOSHIBA 150, is that good or bad ? :o

Hoping to receive, the bike in a week or so, maybe I post some better pics when its here.
These enclosed pics are from sellers ad.

Maybe someone can identify the bike/model from the pics ?? I would really like to know something more about the bike and also Nishiki bikes in general of this vintage. I dont expect this bike to be anything special though... I guess its just an ordinary "touring bike" (?)

Kind regards
Grosvenor


http://img77.imageshack.us/img77/8569/nis10qc.jpg

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/5052/nis22wa.jpg

Welcome to the forums! I know a fair bit about early 1970s Nishikis, but yours is out of my area of expertise and exprience. It looks like a suberb choice for the sort of general transportation you describe. Please post more pictures when you receive it.

Sounds like a case for T-Mar. :)

looks similar to a Nishiki Rally I just picked up with 27inch alloy araya wheels (back is missing), Yours is better though, has a better drivetrain which I can't identify in those pictures. the frame is probabily hi tensile but they are put together nice. should serve you well.

I'm thinking that this bicycle is around 1979-1980, on a basis on elimination. The center-pull brakes were gone on the entry models by 1981. The 1978 entry level models did use Toshiba 150 and had center-pull brakes, but they still had head badges as opposed to the decal on this bicycle. So it would appear that this bicycle fits somewhere in between. The fly in the ointment is that my reference material is all North American and the European models may have differed.

Toshiba 150 was a carbon steel used on entry level models. I'm not sure of the composition, but it's likely a hi-tensile steel. It could be Rally, but the quick release hubs have me leaning towards an Olympic. Then again, the European models names may have been entirely different.

Thank you all for replys, especially the one made by T-Mar. I guess its possible the bike could be a 70:s model, he said he bought it in 1982 but who knows...

As with most things I purchase I like to ad a bit of "personal touch" to them....(I am a creactive kind of person)

I plan to remove the fenders to make the bike a little more light weight, new tires, new saddle and probably paint the rims....

Regards
Grosvenor :)

See if anything in this 1983 Nishiki catalogue looks close.
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=179477&highlight=1983+nishiki

I'm thinking Rally.

Thanks oldyellr, very interesting scans... according to the seller my bike is a 21-speed model, most of the bikes in the catalogue (inclduing Rally) seem to be 12 speed models.

:)

Yes, in '83 5 and 6-cog freewheels were the norm, so your 21 speed was either later or converted. I also notice that you have downtube shifters, while the Rally I show has stem shifters.

Hi
I was able to pick up the bike today, sooner than expected. My ride home from the postoffice was very positive, the bike felt very good: Been riding around with thick winter tires on my old one for almost 6 months now so when you get on this type of bike its like flying :)

Its an Nishiki ARROW MASTER (finally I know the modelname) and got some SunTour seven components and its an 12 speed model NOT 21 like seller stated (not that I mind I really do prefer 12 speeds) bike arriwed in good condition, only sad thing was that the original water bottle with Nishiki logo on it had dissapeared during transportation, The bike looks very clean and pretty much unused, paintjob is almost perfect with very little wear on it.

I will post some pics in a couple of days.

regards
Grosvenor :)

Ok here are some pics I promised to post...

Usually I just ride my bikes and dont know or care much about different components, what "good or bad" etc. but if someone based on these new pics can tell me something more about my bike and its components it would be great...for example when was it manufactured? is the SunTour Seven "entry level" components?

Thanks
/Grosvenor

http://img161.imageshack.us/img161/8605/nis70bs.th.jpg (http://img161.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis70bs.jpg)http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/8973/nis82dr.th.jpg (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis82dr.jpg)http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/5379/nis97ud.th.jpg (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis97ud.jpg)http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4204/nis66hz.th.jpg (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis66hz.jpg)http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/6671/nis51hz.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis51hz.jpg)
http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/5164/nis23ld.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis23ld.jpg)http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/30/nis33hi.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis33hi.jpg)http://img110.imageshack.us/img110/4839/nis149jf.th.jpg (http://img110.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis149jf.jpg)http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/8940/nis123gu.th.jpg (http://img238.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nis123gu.jpg)http://img158.imageshack.us/img158/5649/nisex8ue.th.jpg (http://img158.imageshack.us/my.php?image=nisex8ue.jpg)

The bicycle appears to be a 1980 model, based on the serial number, though it could be 1981 if manufactured late in the year. The "designed by Nishiki" decal implies that manufacturing was suib-contracted to another company, probably in Taiwan. The SunTour Seven derailleurs were middle of the Suntour range but were found on many upper, entry level bicycles, as SunTour underpriced their derailleurs, relative to the competition. As I suspected, your model appears the equivalent the Olympic found in USA. The Olympic was 2nd from the bottom of the line.

The bicycle appears to be a 1980 model, based on the serial number, though it could be 1981 if manufactured late in the year. The "Designed by Nishiki" decal implies that manufacturing was suib-contracted to another company, probably in Taiwan. The SunTour Seven derailleurs were middle of the Suntour range but were found on many upper, entry level bicycles, as SunTour underpriced their derailleurs, relative to the competition. As I suspected, your model appears the equivalent the Olympic found in USA. The Olympic was 2nd from the bottom of the line.


Thanks for the info T-Mar :) Im really satisfied with the bike so far and was happy that I was able to buy it from the original/first owner. One day soon I will take it on a longer ride to really test it. As you all can see I have made some small changes/add ons to the bike so it will more fit my personal needs.

Besides the "Designed by Nishiki" decal there is another same styled decal that says "Japan"...