Nikishi Olympic Score
#1
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Nishiki Olympic
Laid out $50 for this bike, feels like I got a great deal. I have been buying and turning several bikes the last few weeks. This one is a keeper!
Last edited by roadbikeChris; 10-31-19 at 10:51 AM. Reason: Miss spelling
#3
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This one isn't adding up for me. The decals and paint scheme say 1986 but I wasn't expecting the top mount boss for aero shift levers. Might this be a foreign market model? Serial number? TIA.
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#8
Ride, Wrench, Swap, Race
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One brief mis-match that occurred in the late 1980's was bikes having SIS-compatible rear derailers but equipped with friction levers.
Raleigh 460 and a few others had such a setup. Perhaps the SIS rear derailers were simply economical enough to be the best choice and also made for future indexing upgrade at much lower cost, which might have been part of their sales pitch(?).
Indexing or not, once the production of post-patent slant SIS derailers commenced, it made little sense to keep making the technically-inferior older friction models even if a bike's price point didn't allow for indexed levers.
I believe there was an indexed lever set for this bike's downtube aero mounting boss.
The Olympic sure came a long way from it's humble, cottered-crank and steel rim origins of the early 70's!
Raleigh 460 and a few others had such a setup. Perhaps the SIS rear derailers were simply economical enough to be the best choice and also made for future indexing upgrade at much lower cost, which might have been part of their sales pitch(?).
Indexing or not, once the production of post-patent slant SIS derailers commenced, it made little sense to keep making the technically-inferior older friction models even if a bike's price point didn't allow for indexed levers.
I believe there was an indexed lever set for this bike's downtube aero mounting boss.
The Olympic sure came a long way from it's humble, cottered-crank and steel rim origins of the early 70's!
#9
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So I don't get it, is this bike legit? Sounds like maybe it is....
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This is a Giant manufactured frame, so it doesn't reveal the intended market. However, it was manufactured in November 1985, so it is a 1986 model, as suggested by the decals and paint scheme. A quick database check quickly surfaced other 1986 Olympic with top mount levers owned by USA based members, so it would appear to be USA market.
#11
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There is this example on the interwebs of a 1986 Olympic with top-mount levers and a Light Action derailleur. The person who posted claims it was from the original owner and had only been ridden a handful of times. Shifters look to be index, but hard to definitively tell.
Damien B?s 1986 Nishiki Olympic | Old Ten Speed Gallery
Damien B?s 1986 Nishiki Olympic | Old Ten Speed Gallery
#12
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There is this example on the interwebs of a 1986 Olympic with top-mount levers and a Light Action derailleur. The person who posted claims it was from the original owner and had only been ridden a handful of times. Shifters look to be index, but hard to definitively tell.
Damien B?s 1986 Nishiki Olympic | Old Ten Speed Gallery
Damien B?s 1986 Nishiki Olympic | Old Ten Speed Gallery
#13
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Is it a keeper? For me that question, aside from storage space, comes down to the following:
Does it fit?
Do I like how it rides ?
Does it put a smile on my face?
YMMV Regardless $50 for a solid mid tier bike is a nice place to start. You can get legit seat post binder bolts on Amazon (Action), I had a similar hardware store solution on a Novara Randoneur I refurbed this summer
Does it fit?
Do I like how it rides ?
Does it put a smile on my face?
YMMV Regardless $50 for a solid mid tier bike is a nice place to start. You can get legit seat post binder bolts on Amazon (Action), I had a similar hardware store solution on a Novara Randoneur I refurbed this summer
Last edited by ryansu; 11-01-19 at 10:38 AM.
#14
Hump, what hump?
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Nice score! I’d say it’s a keeper. My first decent road bike was an ‘89 Olympic 12 (for 12-speed). It came with the Exage/Light Action indexed groupset, which has held up well over the past 31 years. Mine is blue/white with a Cro-Mo frame and high tensile fork. I consider mine a good rider, but it really flexes at the bottom bracket. Some riders like that. Me, not so much. But I still get a kick out of riding it from time to time. I’ll have to post a picture sometime. I like your fork better. By ‘89 they had switched to unicrown forks.
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2010 AB T1X ** 2010 Cannondale SIX-5 ** 1993 Cannondale RS900 ** 1988 Bottecchia Team Record ** 1989 Bianchi Brava ** 1988 Nishiki Olympic ** 1987 Centurion Ironman Expert(2) ** 1985 DeRosa Professional SLX ** 1982 Colnago Super ** 1982 Basso Gap ** 198? Ciocc Competition SL ** 19?? Roberts Audax ** 198? Brian Rourke ** 1982 Mercian Olympic ** 1970 Raleigh Professional MK I ** 1952 Raleigh Sports
2010 AB T1X ** 2010 Cannondale SIX-5 ** 1993 Cannondale RS900 ** 1988 Bottecchia Team Record ** 1989 Bianchi Brava ** 1988 Nishiki Olympic ** 1987 Centurion Ironman Expert(2) ** 1985 DeRosa Professional SLX ** 1982 Colnago Super ** 1982 Basso Gap ** 198? Ciocc Competition SL ** 19?? Roberts Audax ** 198? Brian Rourke ** 1982 Mercian Olympic ** 1970 Raleigh Professional MK I ** 1952 Raleigh Sports
Last edited by horatio; 11-01-19 at 10:52 AM.
#16
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Agreed, but at least the bikes themselves kept improving. This is far better than an early 1970s Olympic.
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
#17
feros ferio
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Nice vintage stereo system. We have a Sony receiver from about that era in my wife's art studio, along with EPI100 bookshelf speakers and an M&K subwoofer.
__________________
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069
"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069