mstateglfr 

So i am 95% sure this is a '96 Nishiki Blazer. Its absurdly clean and barely used for a 20 year old bike. Yes, this is pushing the 'c&v' qualification, but it has nishiki on the downtube.
The RD and canti brake both show jan/feb of '96 for manufacturing dates, so thats what im going off of.

Sure, by all means please quote away on the value.


Im hoping to get info on the company and tubing.
There is a decal that says this was made in the US. In the 90s, Derby owned Univega, so any idea where this would have been made? My guess is Kent WA since Huffy/RaleighUSA made bikes there and Derby also owned Raleigh...not sure if the timelines work or not.

Also, what is 2fat tubing? This has a huge downtube and is no lightweight. Just curious if 2fat is k own to have been tubing from a specific company or what.

Thanks

bargainguy

If memory serves, Nishiki 2fat tubing was oversize chromoly. The sticker could just mean that the bike was assembled here. I looked up the retail for a '96 Blazer and it was $270 at the time.

While there's a slim chance the tubing was produced in the US, my strong suspicion is that it's of southeast Asian origin to keep the price point down, as well as the low-end parts mix on that $270 retail.

T-Mar

Derby purchased the Nishiki brand in 1989 and I have seen Nishiki with Kent serial numbers. If you post yours, I can break it down, or refer to post #1 in my https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-database.html .

The Blazer was an entry level ATB introduced in 1993. The rear derailleur appears to be the version of Shimano Acera X introduced in 1996, but the Blazer was spec'd with Shimano C90 in 1996. However, it did go to Altus X in 1997, so it may be a 1997 model. This would appear to be be corroborated by the green/black colour scheme, which was not offered in 1996 but was available in 1997. In which case the frame and fork are hi-tensile steel with CrMo only for the seat tube, which would explain the weight. FYI, the MSRP in 1997 was $239.00 US.

bikemig 

I don't know why MTBs are such a tough sell in Des Moines but they are. I'd start out at $150 in the spring and see what happens. It should be worth something in that neighborhood since it has been fixed up and it's very clean. Slick tires would help sell the bike as well.

mstateglfr 

Your knowledge fountain overfloweth. Thank you! I will grab the serial # later today.

mstateglfr 

Not sure what Im going to do with it. Maybe give it to a niece to try out some singletrack, or swap some components out and keep it for my oldest when she is bigger, or just sell it come spring.

I bought it partly because I saw some options on what to do with it, partly because its ridiculously clean after 20 years, and partly because I hadnt seen a late 90s Nishiki made in the US before. Figured at worst Ill just sell it for what I paid come spring.


I saw you are the proud owner of that 80s Stumpy which was listed without tires and a seatpost or saddle! That looked like it has some looooong chainstays.

bikemig 

Yes I am. I couldn't resist, I like early MTBs. I'll sell it in the spring after I've harvested the parts I want. That's actually a really fine machine with a full deore build; it's a 1987 rockhopper.