chico81 

Bought on pure impulse! It seemed interesting, an Italian built Nishiki with Campagnolo Nuovo Record, Cinelli, and Superbe components and a Columbus frame. So, what did I buy? Who built this? I’ve heard maybe Olmo? Also, what model is this? Any information is appreciated Thanks in advance!

Frame is Columbus
Crank and derailleurs are Nuovo Record, pat. 81
Cinelli stem and bars
Suntour Superbe brakes
”57” stamped on the brake bridge
I can’t find a serial number anywhere

merziac

So, Nishiki stamped into the fork crown?

Stickers can always be added, stamping is another thing and only the fork but it looks a good match. Campy dropouts there too?

No Nishiki expert here so they should be along shortly, no s/n seems fishy, what do I know?

clubman 

Wow. @tmar?

lostarchitect 

I don't see why you think it's a Nishiki?

P!N20

Two cable guides on the top tube - someone was a Colnago fan. Does that head tube decal give us any clues? Looks a bit like part of a Record Cycles logo:

garryg

My Saronni/conago has the same bottom bracket

clubman 

The only pic is out of focus but the fork crown is stamped Nishiki and has Campy drop outs. I might poo-poo this but I had a nice Japanese 022 fork on a Japanese Bianchi with campy drops as well. Stranger things have happened.

chico81 

Yes, the fork is panto’d with “nishiki” and it has Campy dropouts as well.

chico81 

It does have two cable guides, and here is a bad photo of the head badge, or decal






Wow, that BB looks exactly like mine! Good eye! After a little investigation, there are several unsubstantiated rumors that Colnago (the ship at least) contracted with Nishiki to build these. I have also read that bike shops employees also remember unpacking Nishiki’s from boxes marked/stamped with “Olmo”. Is it possible that Olmo also built your Colnago/Saronni? If your Saronni was in fact built by Colnago, that gives strong support to the rumor that Colnago also built this Nishiki

P!N20

Ah, well that clears the decal up.

The two cable guides certainly hint at a Colnago build, although I'm sure there are other marques that employed two over three.

P!N20

This Nishiki Maxima looks just like yours: Nishiki Maxima - Italian Built Columbus Tubing! - Vintage NOS Bicycle Parts

ramzilla

I always suspected there was a love affair going on between Italian and Japanese bicycle manufacturers.

Lascauxcaveman 

These

have been

reported here

before...

Senior Ryder 00 

What the heck, just enjoy it!

Cheers,

rando_couche

As has already been established, it is a Nishiki, made in Italy. IIRC, the Maxima came from Colnago (or one of their contract builders) and the Ultimate was made by Olmo.

SP
Nwpt, OR

T-Mar

+1, it's a Nishiki Maxima. The Ultimate was Japanese manufacture. The Maxima and Cervino were Italian manufactured but the Cervino had different frame characteristics. This looks like a near perfect match for my Maxima; Columbus tubing, Nishiki embossing only on the fork crown, Portacatena dropouts, same BB tunnels. same brake bridge, same stay end to dropout transitions, same seat stay caps. Despite being manufactured in Italy, mine had an English BB shell.

These frames appear to have been a result of the frustration experienced by the USA marketing brands to crack the high end market and add prestige to their brands. When Japanese manufactured frames with Japanese components didn't achieve the desired market penetration, they went with Japanese manufactured frames using Campagnolo groups and, in some cases, Columbus tubing. When that failed, relatively speaking, they sourced the frames from Italy. Similar approaches were used by Lotus.and Centurion. Ironically, just as Centurion and Lotus were trying this last approach, the Japanese successfully cracked the high end market, courtesy of Shimano New Dura-Ace (7400 series ) and Tange Prestige, effectively ending the trend to Italian sourcing and causing the leading USA marketing brands to revert to Japan for their high end models.

curbtender

Good discussion. Talking part is done. Clean it up and post some more pictures. Bet it's going to look sweet.

shoota 

Looks like my size. So jealous.

xiaoman1 

You Lucky Dog!...I wish I lived down south!
Best, Ben

noglider 

@T-Mar will correct me if I'm wrong: Nishiki was a brand created by an American company, West Coast Cycles. So taking what he is saying, that company wanted to build the Nishiki brand by having an Italian made bike. It seems less strange for an importer to do this than for a Japanese maker. And I'm sure the Japanese maker(s) who made the Nishiki bikes didn't mind this if it built the brand well enough to increase sales of the Japanese-made bikes.

rando_couche

SMH! That's right, the Cervino was the one made by Olmo!

SP
Nwpt, OR

chico81 

Wow! Thank you everyone for all the kind words and wonderful information! Especially your thorough post T-Mar! You’re absolutely right, it has to be the Maxima, and was probably built by Colnago, or at least of of its subsidiaries.

As much as I would have loved to restore and ride this beauty, I’m happy to say that it is actually being passed on to another enthusiast, Nick Ozerov. Nick is an avid Japanese bike collector and restorer, and supplied the majority of the bikes for the book, “Japanese Steel” here’s a link: Japanese Steel: Classic Bicycle Design from Japan
After a long phone conversation last night, I think I have found a new friend! I also found out that he has been searching for a Maxima for years and that this is his grail bike. So, I’m passing it on to him at my cost (a song), and he plans to fully restore it to its former glory! Nick isn’t tech savvy and doesn’t have a membership here, so I will be sure to post updates of the restoration as well as the final product! I can’t wait to see how it turns out!

THIS is why I love the C&V community! It really isn’t about selfishness or personal gains, but about getting these beautiful bikes back on the road and into the hands of those who will love and care for them

I’s so excited to see how this one will turn out!!!

best,
Ian

clubman 

Double wow, good on you. Chico IS the Man!

wrk101

Except Nishiki was a marketing company that did not make bikes, nor were they Japanese.

That being said, there are some awesome bikes out there that were marketing brands. They had the advantage of not being tied to any single factory, so they could take their business anywhere.

Chombi1 

Nishiki was not shy about sourcing bikes from Italy to fill out their model lines.
One example was when they bought CF frames from ALAN and just added their top tube and down tubedecals on it. Otherwise it was exactly the same as the 1986 Carbonios that ALAN sold, pantographs and all......