thanks a lot. it does look a lot like it. Probaly same model, close in year.

Most Nishiki Century that have surfaced are from the early 1980s and were manufactured by Giant. Check the drive side rear dropout for a date code, format Gmmyy per post #1.

It not a Road master, as that was a European market model and your bicycle has a USA market serial number. It's very much a frankenbike, so it's hard to tell what is OEM, with the possible exception of the shifters. The top mount shifter boss, in conjunction with a relatively long wheelbase and 27" wheelset suggests an International.

thanks a lot T-Mar. Been driving me crazy to know.

just picked up a Nishiki International on craigslist, converted to single speed.

Serial: KB 111461

Sugino crank.
Dia-Compe brakes
Sakae bars i believe.
I'm the 3rd owner so i'm not sure whats original and what isn't

Sounds original to me, or original equipmentlike anyway. It probably would have had Suntour Cyclone. A shame it's no longer on the bike.,,,,BD

icariis,

From the engraved seat stays and the lugs it looks to be a 1980 International. I think it has been repainted and different decals were added. The head tube has the rivet holes for a Nishiki Eagle headbadge.

I think most of the components are not original: crankset, shifters, brakes, forks, headset, wheels.

How the heck did you get in my back yard??,,,,BD

Reply to old post #636.

The lugs, seatstays, crankset, style of chrome on the forks are consistent with the Olympic model between 1975 and 1978.

On the top end of the seat tube it looks like there is an oval decal, "SPECIAL 150 TUBING". I don't know which year of Olympic used this tubing. Some of these years the Olympic models had TANGE decals.

Your day must have been much more boring than mine! Post 636 is 2 years old and Nishiki Gold hasn't posted since then.

You might be right on the boring day thing.

The post was not necessarily for Nishiki Gold. A lot of people read through this thread, to learn about Nishiki brand and/or Kuwamara Built bicycles, no matter who the post was for. This includes many of the old posts. This thread has become a repository for WCCSC, Nishiki, Kuwamara, Giant, etc. information.

Not all of the posts requesting information have been responded to, or responded to with definitive answers. So, when I see something, no matter how old, that I am pretty certain of, I put in my two cents (or less).

Gallo,

along with the odd serial number, your Tri-A is Tange 2 tubing. All the other Tri-A bikes that have been posted are Tange 1. The other Tri-A bikes all have "standard" Kuwamara serial numbers.

The brochure that you referenced also shows Tange 1.

I have seen one other BB with a similar format serial number, a Canadian Nishiki, probably a Continental model.

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...1#post11060546

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...me-Help-Please


Unfortunately the Canadian frame has been stripped, so there is no tube material information.

Need to look for some other Tange 2 frames and compare.

Nishiki Competition
KS3-28073

A lot of people read through this thread, but apparently ignore everything in it, then post their serial number and ask:"I can't figure out what year this bike is?", which TMar covered expertly in posting #1.

that_guy_zach in old posts #363 and #365,


the letters on the top tube should be for the model name. From your description of the letters the model name that fits is "ROYAL".

The headbadge is the same as that for 1983 model year Kuwamara built Nishikis.

There is another Nishiki "ROYAL" (not Royale) from member matimeo. His serial number very close to yours, ARYC466854. See the following threads:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...he-Mysterybike
https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php/318322-Nishiki-Royal-finally-done-%28pics%29

and then there are those that do

Given the era and Canadian market, this International is probably hi-tensile steel, The database shows a similarly spec'd, 1977 Shields Nishiki International with a hi-tensile decal. Baring a decal, the best way to identify the frame material is via the seat post diameter.

Actually, this is a 1984 model. The model could be Royale as opposed to Royal. This model started out as a upgraded versionof the Olympic in 1978 and at that time the model name ended with an "e". There are other Royales in the database too, though I can't confirm the model name with the "e" as late as 1984. It's possible that this one could go either way.

Just picked up a very tall frame Nishiki Sport that obviously has seen some upgrades. No serial number on bottom bracket, but driveside dropout is stamped G0783, and the offside dropout is stamped 3187136. It has many Shimano 105 components (brake levers, downtube shifters, hubs, derailleurs, crankset with Biopoace rings, 7-spd rear cluster.) and Shimano 600 brakes. Rims are Matrix Titan.

Picked this Blazer up yesterday. I've looked everywhere, and can only find any type of identification on the derailleurs. From what I've read and seen, its all stock. Rear derailleur has EF so it's June of '88. Not 100% sure what the GX means on the front derailleur. Any tips on finding what year the frame is from?

As stated in my reply to your previous thread, the bicycle is a 1989 or 1990 model. This is based on the decal style. It fits well with the rear derailleur date code, which is in the grey area and could represent either model year. However, the Alpha 2000 derailleurs were only in production for 1988 and 1989, being replaced in 1990 by the AC 2000. This should make the bicycle a 1989 model, unless the manufacturer had a large stock of left over Alpha 2000 derailleurs.

Any further attempt to corroborate the model year would require the frame's serial number and even this may not be conclusive, as by this time the brand had been acquired by Derby Int'l, who was contracting new manufacturers. Still, the data would be appreciated, as it may prove valuable in decyphering Derby era serial number formats.

As for the "EX" on the front derailleur, I suspect it may be part of the model number. For instance, the Alpha 2000 rear derailleur had the the model number RD-2000-GX. I wasn't able to find a model suffix EX but it does fit the format and is too large for the traditional date code. There does appear to a double character stamp below the "VIA" designation that may be the actual date code.

I believe the understanding among the majority of the long term Nishiki followers has been that the contracting was under the control of the licensee of the Nishiki brand, as opposed to Kawamura.

I say licensee because by the time that Giant got involved, it is unclear whether WCCSC was still directly involved. While they still may have owned the brand, it appears to have been licensed to the Nishiki Bicycle Company (USA) and Shields (Canada).

In 1976, Howie Cohen retired from WCCSC and handed things over to his brother, Leo Jr. and a group of investors. Currently, the earliest evidence we have of Giant manufactured Nishiki is 1978. It’s also the earliest known date for the Nishiki Bicycle Company, though there is evidence to support 1977 as Shields ‘ earliest involvement. Given that this is around or just a little over a year after Howie Cohen’s retirement seems just a little too coincidental.

I suspect that Howie’s retirement set off a chain of events driven by the profit oriented investors. The easiest way to ensure profit is to divest yourself of the risk associated with manufacturing is to simply license out the brand name. The differences between the Nishiki Bicycle Company models and the Shields Nishiki models clearly illustrate that each company had separate control over the specifications for their own models, indicating that some, if not all, of the manufacturing control was in the hands of the licensee. What we do know is that the Nishiki Bicycle was still solvent in 1981 but out of the picture in 1983. That puts their life span at four years, minimum. Five year terms seem to be a common lisence agreement period in the bicycle industry, so I suspect this was the case with Nishiki Bicycle Company. Whether Leo Jr, and the investors were also involved with the Nishiki Bicycle Company is unclear.

Undoubtedly, the reason behind the addition of Giant was purely economics. The bicycle boom basically collapsed in 1975, leaving lots of excess inventory. Going forward, everybody would be competing in a much smaller market. To stay competitive, costs would have to be closely maintained. Taiwanese companies like Giant had an advantage in that the rate of exchange between the New Taiwan and USA dollars was fixed. On the other hand, the Yen wasn’t fixed and the post 1975 trend was increasing the cost of Japanese manufacturing. So, I think it was a very easy decision to offload the high volume, entry level models to Giant, where there would be less volatility in the cost.

The move to Giant does not appear to have happened until after Howie Cohen stepped down. It is well known that Howie was extremely quality conscientious, placing it over cost and he would probably have been reluctant to source to somebody other than Kawamura, whom he had carefully cultivated. While the financial impetus would have been there as early as 1975, there is no evidence to support this happening, at that time. It is much easier to envision Giant being brought on board under the insistence of a group of profit driven investors or a licensee, and the timing would seem to substantiate this.

While Kawamura was probably not directly evolved in the decision to utilize Giant as a second source, there probably were some cases where Kawamura did subcontract manufacture, both to Giant and other manufacturers. The database clearly shows a handful of other sources, some known and some indeterminate. Some predate Giant’s involvement and others post date it. What does seem clear , is that these were not sustained long term offloads, but temporary ones. It would not be unusual for either company to occasionally get into a backlog and require some help, due to situations like strikes, natural disasters, machine breakage, materials shortages, etc.

Certainly, the circumstantial evidence supports this scenario. For instance, we’ve seen cases of the same model coming out of two different companies in the same year and have seen frames bearing Made by Kawamura decals but having a non-Kawamura serial number format.

The vast majority of Nishiki that crop up on this forum come from the USA. Relatively few are from other markets. In the case of Kawamura, the serial number format makes it easy to determine the intended market. Offhand, I can’t think of any other manufacturer that did this, so even if we did see a Giant frame intended for another market, it would not necessarily be readily apparent.

I wouldn’t put any faith in the tubing origin as an indicator of the country of manufacture. The tubing could simply have been imported, the same as the components.

This thread brings back memories of my wife's old Nishiki from about 1983 - she won it in some contest when I was in Podiatry school. One of the features that I remember about it was a little heart on the down tube above the BB. Being married on Valentine's Day, we have always been partial to hearts! Andy

My Landeau has little, almost heart-shaped, pads brazed on the down tube to keep the gear cable clamps from slipping.

TMar

Very cool. Your knowledge and insight is very helpful. This explanation goes a long way toward my understanding of my bicycle post 930 931 ish

The brochure I referred to is the pink brochure which is already posted of the TriA


and also thank you to Hummer for your comments did not realize my TriA had two anomalies. Since I am in the high 180s the Tange 2 is probably a good thing

got it out for a spin yesterday.

Thanks