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Old 09-19-06, 01:45 PM
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East Hill
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Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Take a deep breath, and ask--What would Sheldon do?
Posts: 21,434

Bikes: Nishiki Nut! International, Pro, Olympic 12, Sport mixte, and others too numerous to mention.

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It's September...

and that means two things at the East Hill household. First, it's time to do the Puyallup! We've already done that. Second, it's time for our holidays. What has that gone to do with this forum, you ask? Well, going on holiday requires visiting the local thrift shops for clothes which may not ever return to the Great Northwest (travel tip!). So, a few days ago I headed over to the local thrift shop, not expecting to see much in the bicycle lineup except the usual Free Spirit/Huffy/Magnas.

But when I gave a cursory glance over the line of bicycles my attention was drawn by this:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...argaret009.jpg
Mind you, it looked nothing like this when I first spotted it!

Hmm. A small bicycle, with drop handlebars. I should take a closer look. So, I found this:
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...argaret011.jpg
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...argaret013.jpg

Oh, this is most intriguing...it's my size, it's cro-moly, it seems to have reasonably good components. Should I or shouldn't I purchase this? The LTS want $59.29! Oh, it seems overpriced...but on the other hand, what did one of the wise persons who haunt C & V have to say...something like 'just buy it, if you don't want it, flip it'...?

Still, fifty-nine bucks sounds like a lot of money for the wreck in front of me. Both tyres flat, filthy, weird thing on the front dropout...but wait! It's half-off day! Oh, and I get an additional 10 (or was it 15? 20?) percent off for some reason or other...I'll go for it!

So $22 bucks and some change got me the following:

Nishiki Prestige 'Sports Series', serial number WG06 457 on bottom bracket.
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k3...argaret012.jpg
Front and rear brakes are Dia-compe alpha 5000
Shifters are (front) Suntour Index Power Control
(rear) Suntour friction shifter
Deraillers are Suntour alpha 5000. Back of front dr reads Maeda Inc. Japan VIA DB
Crank arms are Sugino CP 130 alpha 5000. Crank arm reads GP Sugino Japan 165 2GC
Fork is "CR-MO steel Tange fork blade" (red/black decal)
Stem tube "Tange 2 Seamless Tubing Double-butted tubes" (red/black decal)
Decal directly below the above states "Japan"
Left stay has decal stating "Handcrafted by Kawamura 100% Chromoly"
Seat post is Sakae, marked "87"
Rear dropouts are marked "Suntour ???IV"
Headset is Hatta Vesta
Stem is Winpista? Japan 22.2
Handlebars are also Winpista? Kusuki
Vetta saddle
Pedals are Sugino PD-1000.

But if you've looked at the first photo, you are probably thinking, "What's up with those wheels?"

That's correct, the front wheel is a 24", Araya bronze coloured anodised rim. Hubs are Sansin 5345, Japan, DB.
The rear wheel is a 700c, Araya bronze coloured anodised rim. Hubs are also Sansin, but I haven't cleaned them sufficiently to read anything else.

The weird thing on the wheel/dropout was the wiring for the still working Avocet 25 cyclocomputer (after I replaced the battery). Came with a bell as well. Oh, and there was a decal on the bike stating "Palos Verdes Bicycle Tour 1994".

All right, did I forget any important specification? I would guess that this is a 1987 from the Sakae seat post. Anybody know anything about the 'Sports Series'? Where would this fall in the Nishiki line up? Colour is a platinum/fade to silver by the way.

It's a tiny little bike. The top tube appears to be approximately 45.7 cm, with a 28" standover. It fits me perfectly! I can go really, really fast on this bike! However, I did notice that the front rim appears to be suffering from metal fatigue, and I think I need to have the hub relaced onto another rim. Oddly, the rear rim is in good shape, and the spokes front and rear appear to be in good shape also. All the components appear to be in excellent shape except for the front rim, actually.

East Hill
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