Here's my latest completed builds.

First is my wife's Nishiki International from the early 70's.


It had stem shifters and 5 speed suntour VG, VT or whatever, now it's got barcons, dia-compe aero levers, an ergonomic handlebar, new post and seat, new 7 speed freewheel, and a shimano alivio rear derailluer. I only finished it a few days ago so she hasn't ridden it much, but it's a pretty cool bike. It's not too heavy, the frame is chromoly of some sort.

Next is the miyata shredder:


It had rapidfire shifters but was missing the left one, so I put my thumbshifters on it, which I would have done anyway cuz I hates rapidfire. The original headset was replaced with a nos xt unit (1 1/4"), and the stem replaced with an aheadstem converter. i want to put a titec jones h-bar on there when they finally come out. The brake levers are ridiculous- they attach like road levers and are pretty flimsy but they're all I had on me. The photo of the derailluer is there for mr. triplecross Top. I still haven't gotten to ride this thing so a trade could still be in the future.

Next is my Schwinn Le Tour III fixie which I finally consider finished:


The final piece was a stem from a super sport that had the same odd .833 diameter. The angle wasn't as steep and the shaft is longer than what was on it so the bars are up just about an inch or so and that's all it needed. It feels great now and I love riding this bike.

I just realized I had the pics set to huge size, so be warned, they're big.

I sure do like that Le Tour!

Nice job on all three. I love the color of the Le Tour.

Hey - how many speeds is that take-off rapid-fire shifter? I'll take it off you hands if you don't want it, as I could use one.

PM me if you want to dispose of it - maybe we can trade something.....

That stem looks like the one I salvaged out of my World Traveler for use in my Varsity (one of the few parts of the WT that wasn't heavier than its Varsity counterpart!) They are all beautiful but I agree with the others, I really like that Le Tour. I am still kicking myself for passing on one at the thrift store earlier this year.

I think maybe I was referring to it wrong. It's the push-push kind with two push buttons, not the push-pull. I think the push-pull is called rapidfire and the push-push something else. It's a shifter/brake combo- sti, 7 speed, the model number is st-m050r.

Nice work! That Miyata Shredder was a steal...what a beautiful bike!

Incidentally, I appreciate the huge pics - easier to study the bike. It helps having cable modem!

One thing though...what's with the brakes on the fixie? (Just a joke - I'd ride with brakes if I had a fixed gear or single speed.)

Schwinns usually do nothing for me, but that Le Tour is Le Cool!

Neal

Nice Fixie, Love that stem. I'm adding one of those stems to my "to watch for" list at the next swap meet! Don

What hubs did you use on the fixed?

Thanks dudes. I love the schwinn too. The color is awesome, I wish the paint were better, it's actually pretty beat up, but it looks awesome from a few feet away. I have both brakes on it because that way I have two brake levers and two hoods to use. It'd be a little cooler with just the front but then I'd either have a hood with no lever or a floppy lever (no return spring). Easier just to have two brakes.

The wheels are just old 27" off a motobecane super mirage. Normandy hubs with weinmann rims. So it's a "suicide" hub, but realistically I don't think a real fixed hub would work any better. The dish would be better but that cog isn't going anywhere. It's got a bb lockring holding it on and it's loctited too.

Keep the two brakes on the fixed-gear; there is nothing wrong with a little redundancy, where one's safety is concerned.

I really like what you did to the Kokusai / International; the barcons are a huge improvement over the stem shifters.

what are those red dots on the chainring bolts of the Nishiki?

I've never seen an international that old so I find that very interesting. I have a couple question to further my knowledge of the model. Do you know the year? Is it high tensile steel or chromoly? Are the dropouts stamped or forged? I assume they are stamped but from the pic it almost look like they are forged. Anyway, nice work on all three.

Red dots- I dunno. I've got a couple of those sugino 3-bolt chainsets that have red (actually orange) stickers on the bolts. I dunno why.

I don't know what year the international is. I'll check the hubs (shimano 333) or original derailluer and see if there's any clue. It's chromoly. I don't know if it's completely cromo but it does say chromolybdenum on it (you can see the yellow sticker on the seattube), and the weight attests to that. I'm sure the forks are probably hi-tensile. The dropouts are forged. Either that or they're something in between stamped and forged. It's kind of odd that they are but, there you go. I have another international but it's a Kokusai and I think I've heard the international was called kokusai (japanese for international) and then changed to international, so the kokusai would be older. It's very similar and I think it's pre '75.

The international might look older than it is because it was stored outside apparently. All the aluminum was oxidized and the decals are completely faded. No rust though. I got it, a steyr clubman, and junk frame and a cheap gitane frame with various parts for $50. Took a lot of work, and it's still pretty ugly, but it's a pretty sweet little bike. One thing that's kind of interesting is the headtube/toptube lug, it has a long point and it got brazed on crooked. So you look down on it and the point is slightly bent. Just kinda cool, in a way. It's the little forgotton junk bike that could.

Well as many forum members have mentioned, Nishikis from the early 70s had much poorer build quality, but they had improved markedly by the late 70s. The 80s internationals always had Hi-tensile stays and chromoly forks, I wouldn't be suprised if yours has the same. I would guess that that one is early to mid 70s. Did those cranks come on it? Seems like awefully cheep cranks for a chromoly bike at that time. Internationals were either the top or 2nd from the top touring or sport touring model for Nishiki but I have almost no reference points from the 1970s... Incidentally I am going to sell my international and the new owner is probably going to have it powder coated. It's a work horse of a bike for sure and I think I have put around 4000kms on it in the 2 years that I have owned it and used it for a commutedr, day tripper and once small 400km 4-day trip. I'll be sad to see her go but am ready to pull that other frame out of storage to replace her.

Both of mine had those same sugino Maxy cranksets and the same suntour... what is it, VT-lux? VG? derailleurs, the same shimano 333 hubs, dia-compe brakes, and the same cool quick-release seat and headset cable hangers (though I stole the ones on my wife's for my schwinn). If the kokusai is 74, let's say, I'd bet this is a 75. Or 75 and 76. It'd be interesting if the stays are hi-ten because they're so thin.

those quick release hangers are great! I only have one on the front though because there is a cable stop on the back, however the new touring bike will have the Tektro R200 levers with quick release meaning I will no longer need those quick release things.

I finally got my Alumicross together.



More pics here.

I've got a 2nd set of wheels w/ road tires, tomorrow will be the first real ride on it.

I also got new, cool brakes levers on my Shredder. I'll post pics of that sometime soon.

I had a Nishiki International that I purchased new in the spring of 1973. It MAY have been a leftover 72 model, maybe not, but the year before whatever mine happened to be was the last for the Kokusai name. Part of the transition from American Eagle to Nishiki, I guess.

Mine also had that heart shaped braze on below the cable stop on the downtube. It also had a Chrome Molybdenum frame (that is all the decal said), stamped dropouts that look more like forged than most do, Suntour VGT derailleur with stem mounted Power Shifters. I rode the hell out of that bike from age 15 to 16, about 3500 miles worth.

Many, many happy memories on that bike!

So they are stamped? They totally look forged. Thanks for the dating.