Nishiki catalogs request

[jeremyb]

Hey guys, Im starting an informational website to include scans of as many Nishiki catalogs as I can find.

I saw the 1983 catalog posted on here, and am curious if anyone else has some other 1970-1990ish Nishiki catalogs they can scan and email to me?

I think accumulating that information would be an invaluable asset.

my email is plusonelap @ gmail dot com

thanks
jeremy

btw heres my converted Nishiki road bike into a singlespeed cyclocross bike. more pics on my website in the sig.

[raverson]

A 1978 catalog in VGC sold this week on ebay for $22. You might get ahold of the winning bidder through ebay and see if he wouldn't be willing to scan you some pages. Who knows, he might even be a BF member and can post them here for all of us to see.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=013&item=230032563573&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

[roccobike]

I have the 1991 catalog. It will be very difficult to scan because it is 11 X 14. I'll look into it and keep you posted.

[pinnah]

Jeremy,

I couldn't find any of the scanned catalogs on your site. Are they not up there yet?

Please holler when you get them up. I'm very interested in pulling the frame specs for my frame geometry project.
See the spreadsheet here:
http://home.comcast.net/~pinnah/dirtbag-bikes/bikes.html

Would love to get some of the Nishiki frames documented

[jeremyb]

Yeah good idea on the ebay guy, 2 more are for sale there too.

I am going to create a new site just for the Nishiki scans and fans, so its not there yet, but as of now I really dont have much to post there. Except for the 83 catalog.

yeah I feel ya on the 11x14---thats "legal size" I guess. I wonder what the going rate for scans are at Kinkos?

[cyclotoine]

Jeremy, I like your bike. Is that original paint and do you have any idea what year it is? Is it an international? I have thought about converting mine to a cross bike as well, but it is pretty bruised and battered frame. I had the drops spread and then looking down the seatstays you can clearly see the drive side as a bow and the non-drive is not.. That worries me though I have done some loaded touring on it and she is still fine. Anyway I will email you a couple pages I managed to get some time ago for a 1990ish catalogue.

[BobHufford]

I have the 1991 catalog. It will be very difficult to scan because it is 11 X 14.I don't know what photo editing software you have, but what I use (Ulead Photo Impact) has a stitching function that puts two scans together rather nicely. You can get this software (that is a few versions old) NIB for under $30 on the 'Bay (for Windows). I use it for large publications all the time. They may not look perfect, but they're good enough for a novice like me and someone with a little knowledge and more patience could surely do a better job.

[yamamori]

How were the Nishiki models ranked? I've heard of Olympic, International, Competition, Prestige, Superbe. Some have the letter "N" with a diamond background, others have a crest with a crown. At some point production was moved from Japan to Taiwan.

[cc700]

i hear the sport series was the entry level, and the prestige looks to have had downtube shifters...

[John E]

How were the Nishiki models ranked? I've heard of Olympic, International, Competition, Prestige, Superbe. Some have the letter "N" with a diamond background, others have a crest with a crown. At some point production was moved from Japan to Taiwan.

1969-71: Custom Sport, $80; Semi-Pro, $150
1972-73: Custom Sport, Olympic, Kokusai/International, Semi-Pro/Competition, Road Compe

[jeremyb]

Also, if you scan them just as a jpeg, I can reattach the "photos" or scans back together in a standard drawing program like Paint or Photoshop.

[jeremyb]

okay, I've got the site up, and I load the pictures to my public Picasa photo folder. You can zoom in on the pics by clicking on the little magnifying glass icon in the upper right hand area above the photo (once on the picasa web album)

www.classicnishiki.blogspot.com

[jgedwa]

I have an old International that is the bike I would choose to have after the apocalypse. It is a tough old bird. j

[USAZorro]

In the early 80's there were Mariner, and Sub Mariner models as well.

[East Hill]

I see that those catalogues went for a fairly good sum. Same seller is now offering another 1985, a 1990, and a 1983 (with cover, lads).

I do hope that whomever is purchasing these catalogues will share them with us. I was most distraught to have been outbid on the 1987, but it went for more than I paid for the bike! I know I would have been more than happy to have shared...

East Hill

[jeremyb]

Hey there, sorry I didnt respond to your post before, but there was a Nishiki on ebay I had my eye on and didnt want to pay more than I had to. Now that that auction is over, and I "won" it (I hate saying that I won an ebay auction, sounds like I accomplished something), anyway...

its a Nishiki Sport. mid to early 80's. not the original paint, I had it powdercoated 2 yrs ago or so. And now I'm going to have 2 of them, so thats pretty cool. The fork isnt original, its a Surly cross fork, I had canti's brazed onto the rear triangle.

Thanks for the catalog scans cyclotoine, hopefully I get more. I found some old nishiki ads in some 80's Bicycling mags that I will take some copies of and post them up on www.classicnishiki.blogspot.com

[cyclotoine]

In the early 80's there were Mariner, and Sub Mariner models as well.

I believe you are thinking of bridgestone.

[vendorz]

I have a Nishiki Seral. It is a touring frame that is "Handcrafted by Kawamura" and the serial #KC 23753. Also on the bottom bracket is a symbol that looks like a fancy "W". I'd certainly appreciate any info on the Seral. The paint is a gorgeous burgundy and the fork is chrome under the paint with Tange TL enscribed in the fork dropout.

It is a great frameset and everytime I look at it, I want to rebuild it... but it is just too large for me to justify rebuilding it.

[East Hill]

vendorz--do you have pictures?

East Hill

[vendorz]

Thanks for the response. I can take some pics (been meaning to actually), but it may take me a couple of days.

[vendorz]

Here are a coupla few pics (and thx for the motivation to get them snapped):

http://babuddha.com/pics/crw_0923_nishiki_75.jpg

http://babuddha.com/pics/crw_0926_nishiki_75.jpg

http://babuddha.com/pics/crw_0929_nishiki_75.jpg

http://babuddha.com/pics/crw_0931_nishiki_75.jpg

http://babuddha.com/pics/crw_0938_nishiki_75.jpg

http://babuddha.com/pics/crw_0944_nishiki_75.jpg

[cyclotoine]

Nice bike vendorz, I have never encountered this model. Do you know what the original componentry was and what type of tubing it is built from?

P.S. (edit), it it is a 25" frame and you are interested in letting it go, please let me know. I would like to retire my international.

[vendorz]

It is a 25"... with a wheelbase exceeding 109 cm... a chainstay of 44 cm... a standover height of about 34.4... seat stem of 26.6 and the cranks are 172.5. There is nothing IDing the tubing -- it's one of the questions I'd like answered... though the fork dropout has Tange TL stamped in it and the rear dropout has Suntour stamped in it.

The original drivetrain appears to have been Suntour... GL comes to mind, but I don't recall now whether that is the original model I replaced or the replacement. It has 27" tires with steel rims, but at this point I am not sure which set is original. Prolly one of the no-name sets, cause I believe the Arayas in the closet came with the 70s Motobecane frame. By the end, I just had bike box derailleurs held together with gum and tape.

And yes... guess I gotta wrap my mind around parting with it... but I'd like to know what I've got first. It's been a good steed and with that long wheelbase, it was like riding a luxury liner...

[cyclotoine]

The specs are exactly the same as an International. There is no way that bike is supposed to have 27" steel rims. Originally it would have been 700c alloy. If not I'd be very suprised. If those araya's are laced to Suzue hubs I bet they are originally from the Nishiki... My guess it that it is similar tubing to the international and that is Tange 900 which is similar to Tange 2, both are a 4130 chromoly but they had hi-tensile stays...

[lard]

anyone know anything about a nikishi TR1-A?

[cyclotoine]

anyone know anything about a nikishi TR1-A?

I think it was a mid range roadie might have come equipped with something like suntour edge, chromoly main triangle and fork and hi-tensile stays I think.

[vendorz]

Lost a fair amount of baggage along with the ex... got an odd collection of 27"x1 1/4" wheels now.

Indeed, the Araya front is built around a Suntour hub, but there is no matching rear... so I'll buy your call that the Araya came with the Nishiki. I've got a Rigida rear built around a Maillard hub so I'd guess that came with the Motobecane. I also have a pair of Kin Lin's with no name on the hubs. All are 27"x1 1/4". All are alloy.

I've never destroyed a rim myself. I had a pair of aluminum rims rescued from somewhere (and prolly others), but whatever else I had is long gone.

[jeremyb]

are you looking at that one on ebay right now? Looks like it has internal cable routing also. Thats my only input :D

[audioel]

Probably one of the most complete collections of Nishiki info, pics, etc. online:

http://www.yojimg.net/bike/nishiki/

[vendorz]

With a bit of assistance on the serial # and such (thx), I am thinking the Seral was the U.S. version of the Continental in the 1983 catalog on Jeremy's site (http://picasaweb.google.com/plusonelap/1983NishikiCatalog/photo#4982914504945827858). The rear derailleur would have been the Suntour Cyclone GT (not GL, as I mistyped above). By the time I bought it in 1990 or '91, it had bar end shifters, canti brakes and an aftermarket Avocet saddle (the beat one fiber-taped together in the pic).

And herein lies my personal affliction... common sense says sell it... but looking at those darn pics with a sense of pride and the recollection of the many great rides, at this moment I just can't see a viable alternative to repainting and rebuilding that big beast and riding it some more. I do so love my toys with an air of venerability... toys that are high performance, time-tested and built to last.

BTW, thx to Jeremy for that site and Cyclotoine for the info (and interest)... if I do overcome my desire to rebuild it, I'll keep your interest in it in mind. And yes, Jeremy, I do have an eBay search for Nishikis so I'm sure I saw the bike you mention, but didn't notice the internal cable routing (which this Seral does not have).

[cyclotoine]

Vendorz, I would have to say that I think the SERAl is 1984 or later. I have never seen an identified 1984 but since it has cantilevers it can't be an 83. It could also be the US version of the continental but I am not sure I have ever seen a continental with cantilevers. I think they did away with the continental and just had one touring bike (the international). It may be that they kept the international name because it sold better due to being slightly cheeper but an excellent value and people probably had name recognition. MY 84-85 international is black and silver and it the exact same as my girlfriends 1985 Norco magnum GT, since norco distributed Nishiki in Canada and I believe had many of their bikes built by Kawamura it makes sense (they are exactly the same afterall my international and my girlfriends magnum). I am guessing the Seral is an 86/87.

PS send a PM to T-mar he has the most comprehensive database of Nishiki serial numbers. If you give him yours he can probably give you the date within a year or two. If you have any of the original components that are datable you should try that too.