wooster9000

Its nuts but I go to store my bike on the far side of the house and I find my room mate's uncle's very weathered bike...another Nishiki! It's a Sports Special and serial KS124976. Bike is def showing some age and weathering, but the cranks turn and shifters still move. I'll post photos when I can. The bike is a 10 speed and has the green/black KB decal on the seat tube and an American Eagle decal badge at the bottom but also a Nishiki steer tube badge (square lettering).

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. It is difficult to date these early Nishiki solely on the serial number, as they appear to use sequential numbering, without any date coding. This one is probably a 1973 model. Sometimes components date codes can help to increase the confidence level.

T-Mar

This one is likely a 1972 model.

bellshapedhead

Have finally decided to get my Nishiki off the mag trainer and back on the road. It is a GB922039 serial number. Nishiki Performance Equipe CR-4130 frame. Got this frame from a bike shop in Louisville when I broke the previous Nishiki climbing. Since Nishiki had a lifetime warranty, and I was a big guy 225lbs, they replaced it with a chrome moly one. Been on the mag trainer for years. Don't even know where the front wheel is. Long journey ahead to get it back on the road.

top506

This Cresta is out in the barn awaiting a new owner. Serial # WE 14066. Top

Florida33458

Hello!

Forgive me as I know nothing about these bikes. This one is in my dad’s garage... is it 10 years old? 30?!

Nishiki bike, no model name anywhere, reads “Manufactured by Kawamura” on the post under the seat and lower down “Made in Japan.”

serial number is B 17042 which I can’t seem to decipher from any of the databases. This is my first post so the site won’t let me upload a photo 😂

Any suggestions are to where to begin? Thank you!

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. The serial number as reported is incomplete. A letter is missing from prefix, which would tell us the intended market. However, based on the decal style, in conjunction with the partial serial number, it should be a 1982-1983 model, manufactured in 1982.

Things get a bit complicated after that, as the bicycle appears to have been significantly modified over the years, making it difficult to tell what may be OEM. A drive side photo, so we identify the crankset and derailleurs may help. It has stamped dropouts and a fairly small diameter seat post. Typically, this would indicate an entry level model but it also has a 2nd set of bottle bosses and a recessed rear brake mount, which would be atypical for the level and era.

DaverSomething

Made it through the entire thread and didn't see another one, even though the '87s were covered in depth early on. :-)

Found a 1987 Sport Mixte in North Carolina on eBay, looks like it's been stored indoors for the majority of its life. Very clean all over. Hardly even any brake wear on the rims.
Serial # GC735678

Seems to be just about entirely original, including the tires. It probably won't stay that way. So far just oiled the chain, adjusted derailleurs, and replaced the tires and brake pads since the pics. It'll probably get a 700c/10sp conversion some day soon.


EDIT: now with pics!

Jimbo1983

I have another one for you, a Nishiki International. Serial # WF00969

It has the same issue as my previous one, the seat post hole is too big so the tube starts to crack around the binder-ears or whatever they're called. Because the tubing is oversized I'm guessing when they were sleeved and reamed they were reamed too much. At least this one I caught before it cracked right through, and am using a shim on the 27.2 seatpost as 27.4mm ones are expensive and hard to get.
I love the colour scheme.

merrman

I have 2 more internationals for the thread. First ones a 23 inch.




The second one is a 25 inch. Probably a bit big for me but at 70 bucks I couldn't resist. It's in pieces right now getting cleaned up.






Both bikes have a little threaded hole above the drive side drop out on the inside of tube. Black one has an Allan screw in it. Would this be for a chain guard mount?

T-Mar

It's in the traditional location a chain hanger peg. Before you remove a wheel, you'd lift the chain and place it on the peg. This keeps tension on the chain, facilitating wheel removal and installation, and preventing the chain from contacting and damaging the chain stay finish. The drawback is that you have to touch the chain and get dirty fingers.


Normally, a chain hanger peg is brazed directly onto the seat stay rather than using a threaded boss into which the peg is installed. The latter is marginally more expensive and typically Norco didn't go to the extravagance of a two piece units like this. Consequently, I can't rule out another function, though a chain holder is the obvious answer.


Serial number for the other International? TIA.

merrman

Here it is Tmar. I thought I had it in my post. Somehow left it out. That makes sense on the chain hanger. After your post I found another thread which refers to a similar chain hanger on another nishiki. I guess I can throw a flathead bolt in the missing one to do same job. I also have a nishiki landau which I will put on thread once I take some pics.

eclps

I have this Nishiki Cascade but I cannot find any serial number nor any look alike on the internet. It's a textured granite grey paint with pink highlights. I haven't found a similar paint.

It has a rear brake cable housing built into the frame which I have not found another example of.

Shimano deore lx components. Tange MTB 4130 CR-MO. Richard Cunningham Design. Araya 26x1.50HE RX-7 rims. FH-M550 hubs. Suspension seat post. Rigid CR-MO fork. 1 1/8" headset.

Any examples of a similar bike?

(Newbie so I cannot post pictures nor links...)

Markbobb

Hi,

I've picked up an old nishiki frame which looks like it was made in the Netherlands in 1980 from the stamp. It didn't have forks with it so I'm going to replace abut wanted to know what sort of 1" headset to buy please, JIS or ISO?

Frame No. NL000343

Photos not allowed as new to the forum

Londonsworld 

Nice machine

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Your Cascade should be a 1990 model as that was the last year for the 'Richard Cunningham Design' label and the first year for Shimano Deore LX. Furthermore, the Cascade rec'd elevated chain stays for 1991.

eclps

Awesome thank you! That is my picture, nice find! I have more if they're of value to the forum.

What do they call the rear brake housing that's built into the frame?

jongal

recently bought a nishiki frameset to build as everyday bike (with nice mtb drivetrain hacked with microshift thumbies, dirtdrops, and cyclocross wheelset). i liked the lugs and the fender/rack mounts. the faded decals say "NISHIKI" on the downtube and "Global" on the toptube. a decal just behind and under the seatube lug reads: "SIZE 753" (the number is twice the size of the word). serial number stamped under the bb shell is "I105241" (does not fit into the serial number sort out at the beginning of the thread). any info on the frame (where it is made, when, what tubes are the frame, etc.) will be very appreciated.

can't post pics and urls yet.

many thanks

additional info: the rear brake cable is internally routed on the right side in the toptube. the headtube and seattube lugs have flor de lis-like engraved designs. the top of the seattube stays are embossed with "Nishiki". a now inadvertently removed decal said "CrMo Chrome Molybdenum Kawamura'

uploaded the pics in an album in my profile. thanks

T-Mar

I don't recall seeing anything like this. I'm assuming it was specific to the East Asian markets. Based on the vertical dropouts, cantilever bosses and brazed-on chain stay protectors, it would appear to a grand touring model.

Given the tubing decal, I'd assume it was Kawamura manufacture and that the serial number format is Kawamura but missing the alpha market indicator. The "I" would represent the year, either 1979 or 1989. The frame characteristics suggest 1979 (i.e. derailleur cables routed over BB shell, style of lug cutouts, brazed-on chain stay protectors, absence of bosses on upper down tube for shift levers or cable housing). I suspect the rear spacing is 120mm OLD, as opposed to the 126mm OLD which would be consistent with 1989. It's likely also designed for 27" wheels, as opposed to 700C.

During this period, Kawamure typically built with Tange tubing. Since the tubing decal says CrMo but doesn't mention butting, I'd assume plain gauge, which was common practice for grand touring bicycles in the late 1970s. Consequently, the leading candidate for the tubeset would be Tange #5 , in which case the seat post should be 26.6mm, possibly 26.8mm.

Selective photo assist:

Sir703

Hey guys, have some question.
What is the mode,l with serial number W00311776, may someone help?

jongal

thanks for the info t-mar.
it might have been produced for the japanese domestic market. there is also a faded sticker on the non-drive chainstay that is in nihongo. bought it from a seller of japan surplus bikes. i fitted 135mm wheelset at the rear with minimal pulling of the drops. currently, the frame has been modified with additional braze on and bosses (disc brake mounts, downtube shifter bosses, additional bottle cage mounts, additional mounts for racks, cable guides).

T-Mar

Welcome to the forums. Unfortunately, model information is typically not incorporated into the serial numbers. All, it will tell you is the year and manufacturer. In your case, I don't know the manufacturer, other than it's Taiwanese and that the bicycle should be 1990. Given that you're located in the Ukraine, there's a very good possibility that the model name is different from the North American models with which most forum members are familiar. If you post pictures, I may be able to tell you the equivalent USA market model but there's no guarantee that your bicycle would have used the same model name.

Sir703

Hi, thanks you, for answer, but cant download photo, have no 10 post, try to fix it now =)

Have some information, about frame:
Frame come to Ukraine in 90s, from Italy, gift for my friend by his uncle shipping it from the used market
On this frame being:
-cantilever brake - With Name Vanguard - 888-p
- carriage axis - Name "First"
- Fork - Name Chen Sheng for 26 wheel
And about frame:
Have one lugg on seat tube
Welding i think TIG with brass/copper additive cuz have some yellow color on welding place

T-Mar

I saw the photos. The brakes have a November 1990 date code, suggesting a 1991 model. This seems late for a March 1990 frame and I'm wondering if the '3" may be an incomplete '8", indicating August, which would be more reasonable. Regardless, it's a 1990-1991 model.

The rear dropout does not have an integral hanger for the derailleur and the chain stays use a kickstand bridge instead of the traditional tubular style. Both features suggest an entry level model. During this period the equivalent USA market models would have been the Stony Point and Arroyo, which were bottom of the adult ATB line. Both used the same frame design but the Arroyo was full hi-tensile steel, while the Stony Point used a CrMo seat tube. Being from Italy, there's a good probability that your frame was marketed under a different model name.

Sir703

If it help, weight of frame - 2,7 kg