Originally Posted by
abone
I have a '77 Nishiki Superbe, bought new when I was 21. A friend of mine had a dealership license so he gave me a "deal". It was a fairly high end bike at that time IIRC. I think I paid around $1000 Cdn but not really sure.
Serial # KH 05922, Sugino 54t crankset. Not sure what the smaller ring is. Small cog 5 speed cassette. SunTour Superbe derailleurs, Gran-Compe brakes, Cr-Mo frame. I've changed the saddle, pedals and tires of course, but still have the originals....even the tires! The handlebar tape is original. I just can't bring myself to change it.
It's mounted to a trainer, and has seen most of its life as such. Unfortunately I bought a 58cm frame when a 56 is my fit so I've never been totally comfortable riding on the road, plus it has impossibly high gearing and never bothered to change the cassette, so the bike really hasn't been used that much on the road. Most of the bumps and bruises are as a result of our many moves.
It's a beautiful bike.
It's definitely not a 1977 model, as the Superbe was introduced for the 1978 model year. While some 1978 models would have been manufactured and sold in late 1977, this one was actually built in 1978 based on the serial number and would be a 1978 or 1979 model. The serial number also indicates it's a USA market model, so it's curious that you bough it in Canada, as Canadian market models with their unique serial number format go back to at least 1977.
I appreciate your comments regarding the gearing. That 54T is OEM and was paired with a 46T inner chainring. The stock freewheel was 13-21T, so it's definitely tall, competition gearing. However, it's not as bad as the CCM Tour du Canada, which came stock with a low gear of only 46T-18T Thxs for posting.