Nishiki Road Compe
03-20-23 | 12:40 PM
#1
Thread Starter
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Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 218
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From: Jacksonville, Florida
Bikes: Kona Rove DL, 1972 Nishiki Road Compe
Nishiki Road Compe
Well, this is my first vintage find. It appears to be mid 70's. I'm not quite sure what to do with it. The light rust on the lugs and the fancy clips that hold the cables on seem to come off with a little aluminum foil and water but one of the seat stays has rust (rust on the chrome) on the wheel facing side so I can't repair that. Everything turns and nothing like the seat post or the stem is stuck, so that is good. the frame itself has very wide tire clearance, like 49mm. The Sugino cranks are nice, as is the Suntour derailleurs. Opinions wanted. Part out what I can? Do a gravel build of the frame? Fix it up and just ride it? I don't think it's worth a whole lot to invest in, I did read that this model was towards the top though for Nishiki. I do have good experience rebuilding some 70's BMX bikes, a couple complete restorations right down to the decals so it's not beyond what I could do, I just need to learn about cassettes and taking apart the bottom brackets, which I have been learning on my road bike. Opinions wanted!
Post #8
Post #8
Last edited by Breadfan; 03-20-23 at 12:46 PM.
03-20-23 | 01:01 PM
#5
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 4,299
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You are not kidding about the tire clearance! You are on the right track with the aluminum foil. For heavier rust you can use rust removal gel like evapo-rust gel. For best result, put a thick layer on- and immediately cover it up with Saran wrap so it doesn't dry out too quickly- give it some time to work on the rust.
Last edited by icemilkcoffee; 03-20-23 at 01:11 PM.
03-21-23 | 04:50 AM
#6
Thread Starter
Full Member
Joined: Feb 2023
Posts: 218
Likes: 110
From: Jacksonville, Florida
Bikes: Kona Rove DL, 1972 Nishiki Road Compe
You are not kidding about the tire clearance! You are on the right track with the aluminum foil. For heavier rust you can use rust removal gel like evapo-rust gel. For best result, put a thick layer on- and immediately cover it up with Saran wrap so it doesn't dry out too quickly- give it some time to work on the rust.
03-21-23 | 05:29 AM
#7
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Joined: Jan 2019
Posts: 2,031
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From: Toledo Ohio
Bikes: 1964 Huffy Sportsman, 1972 Fuji Newest, 1973 Schwinn Super Sport (3), 1982 Trek 412, 1983 Trek 700, 1989 Miyata 1000LT, 1991 Bianchi Boardwalk, plus others
Some searching here looks closer to early 70s. It looks like a quality frame with long point lugs an quite an interesting seat post cluster. Research shows butted tubes and decent quality for the era. Building it up would be a fun project and the riding characteristics may be very pleasing. I bet it would clean up with an acceptable amount of patina for a 50 year old bike. Have fun, and keep us posted.
Last edited by sd5782; 03-21-23 at 07:26 AM.
03-21-23 | 06:57 AM
#8
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Joined: Apr 2012
Posts: 21,823
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From: Middle Earth (aka IA)
Bikes: A bunch of old bikes and a few new ones
The wheels aren't original but the parts otherwise look fairly original. I wouldn't part this out. This will be a nice riding bike. I'd just fix it up and ride it. If it's not to your liking, you haven't sunk a lot of money in the project and you can pass it on to the next person.
