Chr0m0ly 

So this has been up on "The List" for about a month, could probably talk him down a bit...

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/bik/d/nishiki-american-eagle-steel/6259672524.html

I've been hankering for a chromed out bike, something flashy, and I've been wanting to build a fixie, and see if Sheldon was on to something.

How do these ride? Is it a good buy? Is it better to fix something a little higher end, or what? Thanks for your thoughts!

Kactus

A Nishiki Kokusai was my first "real" bike. They have a nice relaxed geometry and IIRC mine weighed about 27 lbs. without racks and fenders. I think it would make a good candidate for a fixie. I don't know your market, but I'd offer him $100 and go up to about $125.

3alarmer 

.
...I've not seen an American Eagle (made before the change to branding in the USA to Nishiki) that was particularly sophisticated in terms of frame construction. The ones I've seen are relatively heavy, but well finished and very durable bikes. The components you can probably figure out for yourself because by then the Japanese component industry had started to take off.

Chr0m0ly 

The frame is plain gauge Chromo, hi-ten fork and stays. 27 lbs sounds heavy but not crazy.
It's very pretty, and in pretty amazing shape. Eh, maybe it's smarter to throw a flip flop rear wheel on a bike I already own and see if fixed is for me. Thanks for listening to me thinking out loud.

oddjob2

I think you're dreaming if you think it weighs 27 lbs as shown. The catalog page shown in the ad shows an International at 30 lbs. I had an American Eagle for about a week, heavy and slow.

T-Mar

I always considered these to have "dead" ride characteristics. Heavy and unresponsive.

Aubergine 

My first decent bike was a year or so newer than that one, a Nishiki semi-pro. After a life on steel-wheeled Schwinns, it seemed pretty nice. But as others have said, it was fairly heavy and unresponsive. It improved quite a bit when I got a better set of wheels for it.

Kactus

That's very possible (30 lbs), that's why I added IIRC. I bought the bike 45 years ago when most people I knew were buying Schwinn Varsity's and Continental's, and the Nishiki was quite light in comparison. The shop I bought it from sold Peugeot's and Nishiki's. I loved the PX-10 but it was something like $100 more than the Kokusai, a lot of money for a 17 y.o. kid saving up money for college, plus it had those "weird" sew-up tires.

Chr0m0ly 

Maybe it's in such beautiful shape 'cause no one wanted to ride it?
Some one thought enough of it to put barcons on it, but I think I'll let it go. Thanks for the feedback.
If you guys have a good suggestion of what to look for that would be great.
I'd like a "fancy" looking blingy 70's bike. Filed and chromed out lugs, what's a good company to search for?

uncle uncle

If your looking for early 70's stuff, the French stuff was ahead of most of the market at the time (in my opinion). Motobecane, Peugeot, and others made some good stuff. Later in the decade, the Japan manufacturers figured out the American market (their early 70's stuff seems to have been built stout, but also heavy). Really though, there is too many great small makers to cover, and everyone's stuff gets better as you move up their product line into their fancier/better offerings.