Eric F

This 1977 Nishiki ONP frame was purchased new by my father. When he passed in '94, it became part of my stable. It got some use as a single-speed training bike for a short time in the early '00s, but has mostly sat collecting dust, and was moved from house to house. After taking a break from cycling for 15 years, I have returned with a new passion for riding, and a renewed enjoyment of wrenching on bikes. Diving into the BF community, the C&V thing caught my attention, and inspired me to find out more my dad's old frame. I have been surprised and excited to find out that this was truly a top-level frame in its day, and is very worthy of a rehab project. The amount of Nishiki info on this site is wonderful.

Unfortunately, an incident with a car in '80, the subsequent repair and black powdercoat, and a almost 30 years of knocking around, has left it with a less than glorious appearance. I don't intend to do an exact vintage-year correct build, but want to keep it pretty true to the era. Eventually, it will get a new paint job.

Build specs (updated 5/19/20)...
Crankset: SunTour Superbe w/ 52/42 Sugino drillium rings
Bottom Bracket: Campagnolo Nuovo Record
F/R Derailleur: SunTour Superbe
Shifters: SunTour Superbe
Brakes: SunTour Superbe
Brake Levers: SunTour Superbe
Wheels: SunTour Superbe/Araya, 36H
Freewheel: Suntour Winner Pro 6-speed, 13-21
Stem: ITM 120mm
Handlebars: Nitto Mod176 44cm
Bar Tape: Benotto
Headset: Specialized
Tires: Veloflex Master 23
Pedals: SunTour Superbe w/ MKS clips & straps
Seatpost: Sakae 27.0
Seat: Selle Italia Turbo

Here's the starting point...

Eric F

A few parts, cleaned up and ready for install...


The Sakae SX cranks are from my parts bin. They are pretty beat up, but some cleaning and polishing helped a lot. The SunTour Superbe brakes are an eBay purchase. They were pretty clean, but I completely disassembled them and cleared out some remaining rust and gunk. Unfortunately, the printed “Superbe” on the brake arms did not survive. These also didn’t have the stock barrel adjusters. DA adjusters from my parts bin are standing in for now. I still need to figure out replacement pads.

Eric F

Woo hoo - more parts showed up today!! They’re in need of a deep cleaning, but the condition is pretty good.



Other stuff on the way...
- Superbe shifters (NOS)
- Superbe brake levers (no hoods)
- Cinelli 66-42 bar

This weekend, the frame will get a good cleaning and an attempt to give it a little shine despite the rough condition of the current paint.

Eric F

Progress today...








I’m still looking for the right seat post at the right price. Pedals, too. Ideally, both would be from the SunTour Superbe line, but I may go with Sugino or Sakae. I’ve been trying to stay with Japanese parts to compliment the Japan-made frame, but went with Cinelli for the bars and stem most because I already had the stem. I may look for another solution in the future.

I am planning go with Veloflex Master tires, but I’m open to suggestions for other skinwall options.

Eric F

More progress...

Superbe shifters are immaculate, and came with the original box (likely NOS). Superbe brake levers are in great condition and cleaned up very nicely. Cinelli 66-42 bars are clean and straight. Huret cable guide is pristine NOS.

I like the cable guide a lot. It’s a more elegant and clean design than the Campy or Shimano options.

The brake lever clamps did not fit over the Cinelli bars. I substituted clamps from Shimano 600 levers in my parts bin, and they work just fine.

More parts coming soon. 😀

Cassave

Beautiful. I lusted after an ONP in 1976. My LBS had some in that neat champagne color but I couldn't put up the $220 or whatever it was at the time. Just as well, it got me into building my own frames.
When you're done you MUST do the Pasadena vintage ride since it's in your neighborhood. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Eric F

Once this bike is up and running, I plan on doing the Velo-Retro ride, for sure. 👍😀

I’m not a big fan of the champagne color, and a restoration project to original spec is not my target. Currently, I’m leaning heavily towards something colorful like electric blue.

tyler_fred

I know you plan to repaint blue, but Man! does that black and aluminum, and the absence of decals look stunning together!!

Eric F

I plan to ride it like this for a while, with maybe just a simple head tube decal. There’s a chance I could talk myself out of the blue that’s in my brain right now (I’ve already changed my mind once since I started the project). I do want new paint, eventually. It’s a bit dinged up.

Eric F

More parts delivered


I’m finally to the point where the list of the stuff I have is longer than the list of stuff I still need.

Eric F

Almost there!...






Just cables, tape, and toe straps left to go

tyler_fred

Looking good!!

Narhay

Really nice. The colour scheme looks a bit like my Raleigh competition.

Eric F

Final parts are on the way! Cable housing (none of my LBSs had white in stock), toe straps, bottle cage, cage clamps, and decals. The decals aren't going to be exactly right, but it will satisfy my needs for now.

When I do a re-paint in the future, I'll get Velocals to make the custom seat tube decal for this frame...


As of now, I expect to be up and running for the April edition of the Retro-Velo ride in Pasadena.

Eric F

Functionally complete! Decals and a couple of final touches coming soon.

tyler_fred

solid classic look. can't go wrong here. I like it.

Eric F

Around-the-block test ride...MARVELOUS! Smooth, agile, and wonderfully quiet. The original Superbe brake pads showed very little signs of wear, but I was concerned that their age made them too hard to be effective. I gave the contact surface a little work with a flat file to expose some fresher rubber, and they work surprisingly well! I'm hoping to get this machine out for a longer ride sometime later this week, but rain is in the forecast, so it might have to wait a bit more. Overall, I'm extremely happy.

I'm on the fence about the red toe straps, which have since been adorned with chrome tips. I might switch to white straps with red tips.

The white housing at the rear derailleur will be replaced with black or stainless coil.

Decals are expected to be delivered this week.

tyler_fred

I like the red toe straps, and I agree with the rear derailleur needing black housing. I think you should slide the rear brake cable along the top tube back just a bit to give the cable loops the same height over the handlebars and to add just a small amount of up-&-over arc as it turns towards the rear brake caliper. That would put the front and rear cable housings crossing each other almost directly over the handlebar stem.

I'm just rambling on.. Did I mention that it looks great..?

Eric F

I appreciate your input, and thanks for tip on the cable clamp Getting the cable crossing symmetrically is a detail I appreciate. Thanks for your kinds words about the bike, too. I'm pretty damn happy with how it's coming along.

I just ordered a vintage-style wound SS housing for the rear from Yokozuna.

tyler_fred

I just looked at my non-aero bikes where the two cables cross over the handlebar, and I have the rear housing crossing over the top of the front cable housing on every single bike. I think that was the most aesthetic routing to my old eyes..

Eric F

Thanks for making the effort to look at your bikes. I will give that a try for my own old eyes

cleroica

Very nice, clean build.

tricky 

Such a nice build. I like that the imperfections on the non-NOS parts matches the subtle imperfections in the frame. And I love those little splashes of red! It provides classy visual interest without being overwhelming like matching bar tape and saddle can be. Nice choice. Can't wait for the decals.

bwilli88 

Nice build, looks great sans decals.

Wildwood

Clean build, excellent pics.
I did one - black, silver, red highlights.

Repaint , hopefully that was a joke or a unacknowledged desire on your next build.