dddd

I guess you understood that "socks" is the chroming of the lower legs of the fork and seatstays.

Fenders are also called mud-guards in some places.

Be aware that front fenders need to be rigid to be safe, and need generous clearance with the tire.
The struts that stabilize the lower end of the front fender need to be of the quick-release type if the fender isn't particularly sturdy, so that objects that might get pulled up by the tire cannot collapse the fender and cause pitch-over if the struts pull tight against the tire.
I've only had a rear fender collapse in this fashion, but it did indeed lock up the tire. It was a chunk of tree bark that somehow adhered to the rear tire, buckled the fender then locked up the rear wheel as I rode through downtown at 10-15mph.

88prelude

Cool find! Welcome to the forums.

LeicaLad 

A very lovely frame. And such a fabulous stem. Presuming this fits you, you will really love it.

Do inspect the wheels carefully. And I do recommend visiting Randy's web sit, noted above, too. It is a fantastic resource.

Welcome!

Velocivixen

@chocgrl - Welcome to the Classic & Vintage forum! You've come to the right place. Your Nishiki is an outstanding representation of vintage. Very interesting "time capsule". I recently bought a Schwinn Le Tour II, which was also a time capsule. It can be tempting to start replacing components....pedals, handlebars, etc. I did that a lot in the beginning, and if I were to do it again, I wouldn't have been so quick to jump to "modernize". What kind of work or cleanup will you do yourself? Fixing up old bikes is a fantastic hobby and can render wonderful outcomes. I hope you enjoy the process, learn a lot and mostly have fun riding your new bike! Always feel free to ask any questions. There is the "Bicycle Mechanics" sub forum, which is great for mechanical questions. Sometimes, though, since it's a vintage bike I will post it in this forum.

Cheers.

lord_athlon

I was bidding on that, but I fell asleep. Good score =)

John E

Having bought an American Eagle Semi Pro (yellow, men's frame) in March 1971 and then having worked at a Peugeot-Nishiki dealership from 1972 to 1974, I remember those well. The Semi Pro was groundbreaking -- the first decent mass-produced Japanese bicycle to hit American shores, with a Campag. clone aluminum crank, road quill pedals, a butted CrMo main triangle, Weinmann clone brakes, Raleigh-style wraparound seat stays, Campag. clone hubset, aluminum rims, skinwall 90PSI tires, and that superb SunTour slant plano rear derailleur (not to mention the quirky normal high front shift).

During my Earth Action Council activist days I had a "This Vehicle Is Smog-Free" sign hanging from the saddle, prompting more than one person to say, "That's a pretty fancy-looking way to fight smog." It was indeed a sharp-looking bike when it was new, although the yellow enamel probably did not hold up as well as the green or coffee lacquer would have.

My Semi Pro, which bit the dust almost 25 years ago with a bottom bracket shell failure after 40k hard miles in 20 years, remains the only new bicycle I have ever bought for myself -- my only other new bicycle, the 1962 Bianchi, was a Christmas present from my father.

chocgrl

Yes it is a Soubitez lighting system. The wire is broken near the generator though. T

jyl

Should be easy to splice the wire. Ideal would be strip a bit of insulation, slide some heat shrink tube over the wire, twist the exposed wires together, solder, then slide the heat shrink tube to cover the soldered wire and heat it. But you can probably get away skipping the soldering.

The need for breakaway fender struts is less if you have plenty of clearance between tire and fender, and less if the fenders are steel and "shortys" like yours. I wouldn't worry about it, but I also would try to avoid riding through piles of debris, over branches, etc. That is a general safety precaution for all bikes.

chocgrl

I just plan to clean off the dirt and grease but take it into a bike shop for a tuneup. I will leave this bike in it's original condition.
I'm just starting to learn a little bit about bike maintenance. I have a beater bike in the garage that I plan to use to learn the basics.

akcapbikeforums

Howie Cohen told the interesting story of how American Eagle became Nishiki... when customers found out that American Eagle bikes were made in Japan, they felt duped. Cohen overheard a customer making some disparaging remark about the "Jap" bike, and Cohen realized he had to address the problem head on. He knew the bikes were of excellent quality, and decided his company, West Coast Cycles, would be better off to just embrace the bikes origins. And thus Nishiki​ was born.