Air

I'll join the fun. I couldn't get through all 80 pages (!!!), but I believe this Nishiki Sport would be Giant made in May 1986. I'm not sure how to interpret the three groupings of numbers though. I've replaced everything except the frame (which just cracked ), including the fork. I've rode the hell out of it for 15 years after I rescued it from a friend's backyard (who's ex roommate left it behind a few years prior) and learned how to wrench on it.



Last ride. Hand built rear wheel (Velocity Big Chukker), Mavic Pro front, touring handlebars, mishmash of a drive train haha.

T-Mar

Yes, it's a 1986 Nishiki Sport, manufactured by Giant of Taiwan during May 1986. The bottom number appears to be the sequential frame for the year, with the 1st character representing the year. In other words, it's the 147,444th frame produced during 1986.

offwhite

OK, I'm hoping to leave ultimate vintage determination to the experts. Sorting the serial number to me is reminiscent of 8th grade story problems: "If two trains leave the station at the same time but...........".

My Olympic 12 serial # KC11424. It has a decal that says handcrafted by Kawamura [sp?], and champion # 5 chrome molyboensteel, seamless PG tubes, tange industries limited. I recall distinctly the bike shop telling me at the time, true or not, this was the last of the hand built bikes.

I bought this Olympic 12 new in the early 80s. Stopped riding it years and years ago. During COVID I needed something fun to keep my beer pounds down, and pulled/saved it from the crawl space. It has always been stored inside, however neglected, so well worth salvaging. I cleaned it up enough so as not to be too embarrassed to take to my local shop to be checked out. All it required was new cables, brake pads, tires, and lube, and the freewheel was shot from sitting. Once reacquainted with riding I have since modified it to better suit the now 64 year old owner/rider.......both for comfort, and aesthetics.

Original chain rings were drillium 50/42 [I believe]. I converted to orange velo compact crankset 46/34 also drillium to maintain the look, changed to bullhorn bars with interrupter style levers and cushy tape, updated orange velo threadless stem, new tires [reflective], modern brake pads, comfortable pedals, and removeable butt guard rear fender. Ultimately had my LBS install an interweb sourced Suntour a 7 speed 13-30 freewheel to restore some lost gear range the replacement 14-28 freewheel had robbed me of. Because it had an original long cage rear derailleur this worked a charm! [My research tells me this might have been kind of rare.]

Some would think I have bastardized it, to which I apologize. To me, it's kinda sorta hot rodded and I like it, a lot! I am quite attached to being the original owner and am really digging ridding it around. [Some of the original parts, bars with stem and brake levers, plus drillium chain rings, are available for any of you who are loving that kinda stuff PM me for info.]

I will post some pics once the forum allows.........I have several.

offwhite

four

offwhite

five

offwhite

six

offwhite

seven

b dub 

looking forward to your pictures.

T-Mar

Here's a link to the photos, https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/519122

It was definitely manufactured by Kawamura for the USA market during the 1983 calendar year, though it could be a 1984 model if it was manufactured late in the year.

offwhite

1983 is almost certainly when I bought it, and indeed could have been an '84 model. Thanks for the link to upload photos. That saves a lot more posts to qualify........although computer savvy, not quite sure how that worked, but thanks ...........I deleted old pics, updated what's in there and everything now reflects current condition/state of my old whip. [all at the link you posted - still can't add to any posts]

Ultimately playing up a black 'n white color scheme………different mostly white seat next. I am but a casual rider, in a pretty rural setting. Jaunts to the library, down to the beach and back, or out for 15+/- miles of exercise kinda thing. Nothing serious – ever! It's all about enjoying a cool old piece of machinery and getting my stiff parts moving as well. Thanks for getting me up to speed on what I have under me - appreciate it!

OLDYELLR

offwhite here is a page from the Canadian 1983 Nishiki catalogue of the Olympic for reference.

T-Mar

Be aware that there were often significant differences between the Canadian and USA market models.

offwhite

just as I was about to post referring to the colors, [mine is solid black], decal placement on the seat tube for starters............

offwhite

I see in the Canadian brochure they advertised a wide ratio 12 speed, and there also appears to be a long cage rear derailleur. When I was returned my rejuvenated/resurrected bike from my LBS with the replacement ubiquitous 14-28 Shimano freewheel inclines so much harder than I remembered. Could have been old age, but seeing this, I'm thinking perhaps the original freewheel had a wider range. Does anyone know what Nishiki would have considered and offered as this "wide ratio" gearing on my bike or similar models? When sourcing replacement freewheels I was hesitant to go for a 13 or 12 - 32 fearing that my rear derailleur wouldn't handle it. Any info on what it would handle would be appreciated. [I still have the original beautiful 50/42 drillium chain rings.]

T-Mar

Your rear derailleur is a SunTour ARx-GT. The catalogue specs indicate it will handle a 32T freewheel and 32T of chain wrap. These specs are often conservative and many members find they can accommodate an extra 2T but that can be dependent on the dropout hanger length and wheel position in the dropout. Positioning the wheel farther back allows a large a slightly larger freewheel, though at the expense of some shifting performance.

The freewheel in your photo is a Maeda, so I'm assuming it is the original freewheel. It is larger than 28T and appears to be a be a 30T. However, changing the small chainring from a 42T to 34T would have made a much bigger difference than the 2T change in large cog size, so the increased difficulty is obviously age related.

Be aware the Shimano's modern, HG compatible freewheels have superior shifting due to ramps and gates. They shift very well under heavy loads. If you are looking at larger, vintage appropriate freewheels, they will not shift nearly as well.

offwhite

T Mar, thanks for the information. I’d not been able to verify what rear derailleur it was, with any certainty at least. The freewheel in the pictures is not the original. It’s one I found/sourced on the internet, was advertised as a Suntour 13-30. The original got tossed before I could compare it to the 14-28 they replaced it with when the bike was tuned up for the first time in decades...........hence my questions about what the original gearing might have been.

I understand about the compact chain rings having a big impact on ratios, [that’s why I switched to them], and thanks for verifying the effects of time.

middy

I have the brother of Air’s 1986 Sport. Another black C68K G0586. Serial number is 6146740. Neighbor had it in his front yard up for grabs. It appears to be all original except for some new tires and brake cables and saddle. 58 cm TT.

middy

Hey Air,
Where did your frame crack?

gnavs

Glad to have found this thread. I've had this Nishiki Rally for close to 15 years, and hasn't seen much action during this time. I'm on a quest to bring it back to it's former glory, as I'm participating in a charity cycling tour later this summer. Should just need some basic TLC.

Frame serial number CC01641
Brakes date stamped 03 83

Will post some pics once I hit 10 posts!

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Here's a link to your photos https://www.bikeforums.net/g/user/391593
I'm not sure why the overall photo is so poor resolution compared to the photos of the serial number and brake lever date code.
As you're probably already aware, your Rally is a Canadian market model, manufactured in 1983.

gnavs

Thanks T-Mar, not sure about the picture quality but I'll post them in here later on. It was actually funny to discover that the bike was built the year I was born, and I'm enjoying reading up on Nishiki and Norco from that time period. I'm a cycling noob, but adamant on doing all the work myself, so I'll be doing some research in the coming weeks before I start ordering any required parts. First up is tires, as these ones don't hold air. I'm not seeing a ton of local options for 27 x 1.25" so I'll probably have to order a set.

OLDYELLR

@gnavs,
27 x 1-1/4 was the popular high performance clincher tire since the 1950s and I remember you could get them in department stores no so long ago. You can still find them on Amazon, just make sure you order the amber wall ones for originality.

Here is your Rally from the 1983 Canadian Nishiki catalogue for reference.

gnavs

thanks OLDYELLR

Air

Right where the downtube meets the bottom bracket

Consensus was that it wasn't worth trying to fix or weld. It was the second time the frame cracked, I felt like the combination of NYC streets + metal fatigue + post pandemic weight would mean constantly chasing issues. Just replaced it with a Surly LHT which should take the abuse much better. Still getting nostalgic looking through all these pics though - yours is a beauty!!!

r_wett

SERIAL # R906950845


From what I've gathered, this bike was manufactured by Raleigh bikes


I purchased this bike from our local co-op's warehouse sale and plan on building it up as a bike I feel comfortable locking up outside of my office in the city when I have to go to the office. She's a touch on the small side, but the goal of using it as a back-up bike for friends coming over was a deciding factor in sizing. I live close to our rail-to-trail system and have a pretty bike friendly city, so friends/family love riding from my house.


Short term plans are to give her a once over, replacing whatever components are beyond function/safety. I put on a C17 saddle I picked from a friend and plan on finding matching locking grips and flat MTB pedals. Once she's safe to ride, I'll reassess my goals with it and put together a build thread.


Thanks T-Mar for putting in all this work over the years!


EDIT: I might be computer illiterate but have been trying to upload photos for an hour and I keep getting an error message. I'll add them once I figure out how lol