yes, cool set that is. I think the Dutch importer wanted to compete with Koga Miyata. These bikes were built in the Netherlands with Miyata tubes. Therefor non of the Nishiki names used for the US or worldwide were used here. Overhere we used Road Ace, Trim Ace and Olympic. From 1978 they were called Road- and Trim Master, Competition and Olympic Royal. Road and trim could be aquired with silver or champagne frame color, Competition came in Gun Metal Blue and the Royal in grey metallic with burgundy or white with red.

And as rare as the Road Ace is, I did find another one. 1977 too and with framenumber EG00078....

[IMG][/IMG]

I am new to this site and really enjoying it. I need a bit of time to figure out how to upload my photos. I will attempt one.

Here are a few more photos. repacked most of the bearings and bought another set
of tires. Panaracer Tour

^^^^
Pretty! Love the early Nishikis, and this is a beaut. [MENTION=447713]Monkeyhanger[/MENTION]

I am new to the forum and found this while looking for info on a Nishiki International. The bike was abandoned in a park for weeks but still in a somewhat road worthy condition. Local government was gonna trash it so I decided to bring it home. The serial number is KS345171. Was wondering if anyone could help with the year? From the serial it looks like a 75 but the date codes I could find were between '73 and '77.

Well it seems my old early to mid 80s Nishiki International that I converted to a track bike (or what we would call a constant) in the 90s is still alive and kicking. It was a birthday gift when I was a teen so I am the original owner. It has seen a lot of days at Kissena Park back in the 80s. I had lent it my nephew to ride and thought it was long gone but lo and behold it is still in my brother's dusty basement. I should have it back sometime within the next month and then I will hug it and pet it and squeeze it...

It is rolling on some Araya 27 x 1 wheels that I had built with flip flop hubs. The original components are somewhere in a box at my mother's house and the original 27" wheels are there as well. More pics to come as well as the serial number.

Nice to have it back again, I bet

Hopefully you can make that work for you, Crestas are fine bicycles and yours looks very clean! Your Cresta was made about the same time as mine, towards the end of 1982 and most likely sold as a 1983 model. FWIW, my Cresta is a 57, but I should be riding a 54 according to sizing calculators (I'm 5'-8" with a 30" inseam). But honestly it feels great to me. Give it a try before you decide to pass it on.

I tried it with a set of wheels and bars and the fit doesn't seem too bad. It's tall but not too long. I might just build it and ride it before I decide.

Saw this at the local sporting goods reseller, and thought I'd add it to the database. It's a Nishiki Competition, my guess is a 1974, serial #KS196608 (and also stamped C 815 in the opposite orientation).


Nishiki

NishikiBB

Suntour barend shifters, V-Compe FD, Sugino Mighty Competition crankset, Shimano Crane GS long cage RD, along with Phil Wood hubs, Weinmann brake levers, Mafac Racer calipers, an Ideale leather saddle, Campy skewers, and Mavic alloy rims. I neglected to note the bars, just that they had that wonderful 70s black foam.

I wasn't able to get date codes on the components, but Velobase reports the V-Compe FD was released in 1974, so that's my guess for the year of the bike.

BTW, they were asking $250 for it, perhaps because of the saddle and hubs. Seemed optimistic to me, especially in this market. It's too small for me, too big for my wife, though I dig the color and think it's an otherwise intriguing package.
NishikiBadge
NishikiCrankFD
NishikiRD

This is definitely older than 1974. The Compe V was out at least as early as 1973, as I have a 1973 SunTour catalog that mentions it. It's obviously been heavily frankenbiked but the serial number is only 842 higher than another Competition in the databases that was equipped with OEM components having autumn 1972 date codes. Consequently, it would appear to be a 1973 model, though the frame itself may have been manufactured in late 1972.

Thanks for the clarification. If it would be useful for you, I could go by the shop again and see if I could get date codes off the cranks and (if they're present) the derailleurs. Let me know.

After I posted, I went back through some of my Japanese bicycle catalogues and found references to the Compe-V in 1972 catalogues but not 1971. So, it looks like 1972 may be the first model year for the Compe-V.

Component date codes are always appreciated but don't make a special trip to get them. The next time you have to go to shop or are in the vicinity, will be fine. TIA.

Hi all. This thread is pretty cool, and I had a question I hoped all you Nishiki owners could help me out with.

I have a 1985 Nishiki International that I have dressed-up with some SRAM Force 22. It's a great bike and I love riding it, but the seatpost has been slipping a bit.



The seatpost that came with the bike when I bought it was a 27.2mm SR Laprade. The one I have in it now is a 27.2 Ritchey Classic. They both feel a bit 'loose' in the seat tube, and I'm wondering, is this frame actually meant for a 27.4mm?
I know some other forum members have this same bike so wondered if they could tell me the seatpost diameter on theirs, and help me decide whether I should buy a 27.4 (hard to find in NZ) or try shimming it first.

Serial is WF 00904

To start, your bicycle is 1986 model, not 1985. The model is an International LD, with LD referring to the large diameter tubes. These were 1/8" larger than the standard Tange #1. Theoretically, this would have produced a seat tube inner diameter of 31.15mm and utilized a 30.0mm post. However, Kawamura joined the tubes using internally sleeved lugs which determine the post size. My literature specifies a 27.2mm post for the International LD.

Awesome bike!

You said slipping, how much? Millimeters at a time, after one ride?

Any play with the post when you're not in the saddle?

Do you have any pics of the top of the seat tube?

The FD has the date code 'OH', Aug. 1972. Both cranks were marked '47-8' and '171.' Did they make a 171 mm crank?. Couldn't find any code on the RD.

Thxs, the crankarm codes are also August 1972 so it's almost certainly a 1973 model, though the frame could have been manufactured in late 1972.

The dies for those cranks were designed to imperial measurements. In this case it's 6-3/4". 171mm is the metric equivalent, rounded to the nearest millimetre.

Very cool. Thanks for the decoding. I hadn't seen that style of date code before; good to see that it all seems to fit.

Thanks! You have confirmed what I suspected, which was that I had the correct seatpost and something else was going on...

Thanks, yeah it's been a great bike. I say been because today I went out to do some further investigation and noticed a crack in the paint. Under this crack is a crack in the steel, which I wonder why I didn't see earlier. Whether this has happened because of a loose manufacturing tolerance allowing the seatpost to move, or it's been cracked for ages and I just didn't see it, I don't know. I suspect it can be repaired but not right now.
The crack runs from the seatpost slot directly under the ear, all the way to the seatstay. The other side has a smaller crack.

The post was slipping 5-6 millimeters at a time during rides no matter how tight I got it.

Thanks T-Mar for all the useful info!

The crank codes are based on the Japanese Imperial calendar. Whenever a new emperor took the throne, a new era was officially declared. On December 25, 1926 Emperor Hirohito ascended to the throne and chose the the name Showa (radiant peace) for his era. It ended on January 07 1989 when Akihito took the throne and the Heisei (peaceful accomplishment) era began. Thus, 1926 is year 01 of the Showa era, 1927 is year 02, up to 1989, which was Showa year 64 and Heisei year 01. This Japanese Imperial Calendar was used by a number of Japanese bicycle and component manufacturers but dropped as they started to expand into international markets.

It's a strikingly good looking bike. It's one of the only retro-roadies I've seen that works well with a black anodized drive train. I hope you have it fixed.

I love this kind of information. Thank you.

That's the plan, just this time of year is not a good time for getting things done There's a place about an hour away that says they repair steel frames so sometime in the newyear I can look into it.

All the parts are getting moved over to some more vintage steel for the time being, we'll see if it looks as good...