VeloVeg

I often hang out over at the Touring forum, but since I'm an oldish guy, I like all things Classic and Vintage. So I've lurked over here as well for years, only occasionally posting anything very useful or entertaining. So, this winter I purchased a Nishiki Pro O.N.P. frameset and have been busy cleaning it up and putting together a component group for her. Actually, I plan to put together 2 renditions of this old Pro. The first version is suppose to represent how the original owner might have built her up after taking possession of his new special ordered handcrafted frameset. That is, as a nicely kitted out road racing machine. I did take the liberty to use aero brake levers and cables for a cleaner look and a couple of modern, yet classic, cockpit parts--well, because I haven't found a nice Dura-Ace stem at the right price. So, please be forgiving.

The 2nd rendition of this Pro will feature a saddle swap--replacing the Selle Italia with a Brooks Team Pro along with matching brown leather bar wrap. I might possibly swap the Dura-Ace downtube shifters with bar-end shifters. We'll see.

Meanwhile, the Selle Italia ProLink saddle isn't quite period correct, but it's what I had on hand. And please forgive the brown leather toe straps, as they don't match the black saddle. But they will match the Brooks on the next rendition.

I've put together a little web page with lots of pics, a history of the Kawamura handcrafted O.N.P. frames, and the parts list for the build. Later, I'll update the site with the 2nd rendition. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy.

Many more pics:
https://www.seeworthy.com/bicycling/b...pro/index.html

Italuminium

Hi Ted, what a clean and well done build, the same goes for the site! You compiled some interesting reading material there. Thanks for sharing and enjoy the ride.

plodderslusk

Beautiful bike, I am shure it rides as nice as it looks. Had my first roadbikeride of the year today on my 87 Team Miyata. Just above freezing but that bike just puts a smile on my face. Nothing compares to the "springiness" of a well made steelframe.

Tende

So nice. Sometimes seeing such a clean (metal) bike, it seems a shame to add tires, handlebar tape and saddle.

T-Mar

I don't mean to scare the OP but be aware that a few members have reported failures on these frames. I'd appreciate the serial number for my Nishiki database. TIA.

John E

My Karamura frame (American Eagle Semi Pro) did break at the bottom bracket, but only after 40k miles of riding.

VeloVeg

Been out working in the yard...thanks for the nice comments. It was a lot of fun to build.

T-Mar, I understand there were 2 versions of these framesets, the 0.8x0.5x0.8 frames like mine, and even thinner gauge tubing used on some frames released for criteriums. I understand some of these latter frames have failed. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Mine is definitely not a crit frame. If you can put me in touch with anyone who has experienced a failure, I'd appreciate it. Meanwhile, pending failure not withstanding, it seems like an incredible frame so far. The serial number is: NP7720016. Based on the database, I'm not really sure what year this one is. Any thoughts?

VeloVeg

Sorry yours broke, but actually that's pretty good news! Sounds like you got a few seasons of enjoyment out of her.

Straightblock

I and several teammates had ONP's racing for the Montrose (SoCal) Cycle Club. One of my buddies broke his During a race at the downtube near the shifters. Mine broke the right chainstay just ahead of the dropout JRA in the park. A few others broke tubes at the bottom bracket. It was a great rider while it lasted. I hope you get many miles from yours.

T-Mar

The two tubeset story originates from the 1976 Bicycling review which mentions the Tange Champion Pro tubeset, while the surving ONP frames have the 0.8-0.5-0.8 seat tube decal, indicating a Tange Champion #1 tubeset. Unfortunately, it's impossible to verify the tubeset of the broken frames as they have long disappeared. Tange #1 is quite a bit beefier based on the tubing gauges.

The Bicycling article states the test frame as being a criterium model and mentions a pending road model with less aggressive geometry. This suggests a light criterium frame and a heavy road frame. howeve, I have never seen an ONP road frame. As late as 1978, Nishiki catalogs still mentioned only the criterium ONP frameset.

As for the serial number, it's interpration is pure speculation, as there have been relatively few of these that have surfaced, preventing a high degree of confidence in the analysis. It obviously doesn't fit the standard Kawamura format but that's to be expected, given that they were manufactured in a separate department. This department is almost certainly indicated by the NP prefix. A six number string is too long to be a sequential number system, as this means the eight reported craftsmen would have produced over 700, 000 frames! It's tempting to look at the first two numbers as being the year, but then another reported NP would have been built in 1972. According to the Bicycle article, this would have been two years prior to the oprganization of the new department and four years prior to commencement of commercial production! Consequently, it would appear that only the first numeral indicates the year and this is consistent with Kawamura practice, though it is a bit strange that they selected a numeral as opposed to a letter.

One other ONP serial number has the format NPyxx zzzz, the space suggesting that zzzz is the sequential numbering and that xx may represent some further stratification. What that might be remains unclear.

VeloVeg

Thanks for all the responses. Very much appreciated. Thanks T-Mar. I really appreciate your expertise. I realize that stating mine as "circa. 1977" is only an assumption and not an absolute fact. And thank you for all of your hard work in maintaining the database all these years.

Regardless of the O.N.P.'s history, this one is in very good condition and was a lot of fun to build up. The reason I was drawn to the Nishiki Pro was, I raced on a '79 or '80 Nishiki 'Professional' for two seasons back in the day. It came as a complete bike with a full Campy group. It was similar to the older O.N.P. models, in that it also required top tube cable guide clamps, but it might have been a completely different frame altogether--I don't know. I'm quite sure it was also Tange #1. It was a beautiful riding and handling bike and I liked it much better than my Raleigh Professional (Reynolds 531) from the mid to late '80s. It was this bike from my past that led me to the current Nishiki Pro.

The particular frame that I've just built up hasn't been in a vault all these years and shows signs that it has at least a few miles on her and with no apparent signs of failure (yet), so I'm hoping for the best. Since I'm not a racer any longer, the Pro will have a pretty easy life, as it will be rotated with my other bikes for fitness and weekend rides, and will enjoy the occasional century ride throughout the season. Again, hoping for the best.

Thanks again!

T-Mar

Yes, we've seen a couple of the circa 1980, pre-built Pros and their equivalent, the Ultimate. They might have been the end result of the ONP road frame project. However, they have had the standard Kawamura serial number format. All the special department ONP so far have fit the 1976-1978 time range and I wonder if they shut down the special department circa 1980.

Like may other Japanese and pseudo-Japanese brands, Nishiki never was able to successfully crack the upper end market. The boom era Professional weren't viewed as race worthy. Offering exclusivity in the ONP frameset probably seemed a surefire way to get the race monkey off their back but a rash of frame failures would have quickly killed enthusiasm among the racing fraternity. Next step to attract the racing crowd was to offer Campagnolo equipped models like the early 1980s Pro and Ultimate. When that didn't work they went to Italy for Columbus tubed models like the Cervino and Maxima. I have Maxima pending restoration. The great irony is that it has no serial number.

cooperryder

Even though last post is 3.5 months back I will add I am enjoying a 1981 Japanese built Nishiki Professional in the dark blue with contrasting red head tube. It is a tall frame around 63cm that I got as a frame and fork with Campy headset about 9 months back and built up with a mix of parts I mostly had on hand.

It is a very nice riding machine.
Surprisingly yesterday I was able to fit some true to size 700 x 32 Vittoria tires on it.
I am looking forward to a ride with the new rubber tomorrow or the next day.
As I have aged I appreciate the cush of a bit fatter tires.

I must say the beauty of VeloVeg's O.N.P. frame built up has influenced how I recently changed up the cockpit on my Professional.
I really like the look of that Dia Compe Ene stem a lot.

Good job VeloVeg.

VeloVeg

Thanks cooperryder for the kind words. The Dia Compe stem is a beauty. I know you're going to enjoy your Professional with the new supple rubber.

BTW, here's a pic of the latest rendition of my O.N.P. And I have to say, this is one of the sweetest riding frames I've had the privilege of pedaling. Truly amazing!

Ooops! Looks like the pic is too large, so here's a link: https://www.seeworthy.com/bicycling/b...o/leather.html

12mphflatout

Wow! That is a real beaut. Terrific work.

jstar1000

Sweet, Sweet build. I love those DA brakes I have never seen that generation of brake before, they are beautiful. I have those VO rims, do you know the ERD and what length spokes were used to build them up. I had measured mine and wrote it all down but lost the paper I wrote it on. I need to go back and measure but if you know off hand I could compare notes to be sure. Actually if yours are 32 hole never mind the spoke length as mine are 36 hole. I have a Ron Cooper that is ready to go to the powder coat folks with fresh decals and all and a campy build but need to get the wheels built up and only need the spokes and nipples. I also would like to know where you got the cable housings as I would love to put those on the RC as well. Thanks for your reply. Jim.

VeloVeg

Thanks for the kind words guys. I love the way this bike rides. It's a very sweet frame. She puts a smile on my face every time I take her out.

Jim - Those DA brakes are DA EX with DA7400 series shoes/pads. https://www.seeworthy.com/bicycling/b...ro/vorims.html The 7400 series shoes/pads offer much better stopping power than the originals, which were small and typical of the era.

Unfortunately, I don't know the length of the spokes. I used DT Revolution spokes with DA7400 hubs and the very pretty VO PBP rims. https://www.seeworthy.com/bicycling/b.../fronthub.html And I have to say, they are some extremely nice wheels and those rims should look stunning on your RC.

The braided brake and derailleur cable is from VO. Brake: https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...able-kits.html and Derailleur: https://store.velo-orange.com/index.p...able-kits.html

I hope you'll be posting some pics of the RC when it's completed. They're wonderful frames.

RubberLegs

Beautiful ride! Cleaner than a lot of "NEW" bikes I have seen at shops!

TriStar

Rode my ONP for many years 25K+ miles, no failures, Serial #1 , what I believe was the first one built

ed b

I have been riding this frame for 10 years and I weigh 92 kilos, no issue at all
btw I was just informed today that my frame is a Nishiki ONP serial NP 763 0026

Hummer

I need some information about this retro bike | Retrobike

"I read the news today oh boy" John Lennon: A Day in the Life.

John E

Understandable, given the early 1970s Road Compe (essentially my spongy-framed Competition, but with tubular tires and CrMo forks) and other early efforts, but unfortunate, given just how good the Professional line of frames was. Your bicycle just plain looks right to me, and I am not surprised that you enjoy the way it behaves on the road. Kawamura learned and evolved very quickly during the 1970s.

Kevindale

Do you have photos of the built-up bike? Would love to see the whole package.

T-Mar

It's the subject of the following thread, though it's been repainted and the only overall photo was taken from the drive side.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...-old-bike.html

ed b

don't know if you meant my pictures but here are some