I think I got an ok deal on it I basically grabbed it for the wheels/tires and the springer. I guess my question is I had never hear of the brand probably because I don't go bike shopping in the likes of box stores for bikes. The fork and stem feel solid does anyone have experience w/ these things?
Picked up a nishiki
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Yeah, Nishiki was a brand name created by an American firm (West Coast Cycles) to sell imported frames and completes. Nishiki was one of several badges WCC used to market frames, and I'm pretty sure it was, by far, the most successful in terms of sales volume. From the 60's til the mid/late 80s, Nishiki-badged bikes were built by Kawamura in Japan, and quality ranged from pretty low to top-shelf, depending on price point. After the problems with the yen in the 80s, WCC turned to Giant in Taiwan to make the frames for Nishiki bikes, and imo, the quality wasn't as good. By 1990, WCC had sold out to Derby, and Giant continued to build the frames until Derby retired the Nishiki name around y2k. Recently, ....'s Sporting Goods bought the rights to the name, and has been selling Nishiki-badged bikes at their stores. I think the ....'s Nishikis are produced in China.
I've seen Nishikis with Campy drop outs, quad-butted tubing, full Dura-Ace or Campy Record groups, etc.... really high-end bikes. And, i've seen Nishikis that were just a few clicks up from WalMart-level quality. It's going to depend a lot on when and where the bike was made, and what the original MSRP was. I will say that the low-end, cheaper early bikes made by Kawamura were heavy and often wore clunky components, but they were solid and dependable. Later Giant-built cheaper Nishikis tended to be far jenkier.
You got pics of the bike? You said "springer", which makes me think "Cruiser". I'm curious to see whatcha got.
I've seen Nishikis with Campy drop outs, quad-butted tubing, full Dura-Ace or Campy Record groups, etc.... really high-end bikes. And, i've seen Nishikis that were just a few clicks up from WalMart-level quality. It's going to depend a lot on when and where the bike was made, and what the original MSRP was. I will say that the low-end, cheaper early bikes made by Kawamura were heavy and often wore clunky components, but they were solid and dependable. Later Giant-built cheaper Nishikis tended to be far jenkier.
You got pics of the bike? You said "springer", which makes me think "Cruiser". I'm curious to see whatcha got.
My concern was if anyone had experience w/ these springers. Can they be trusted? I don't want it to be cruising down a hill an crack my melonYeah, that looks like a ....'s Nishiki....made to a thin nickel (yuan?) in China. strip away, no worries
If the various threads are ok and the tubes have no cracks, and the holes in the tubes aren't badly reamed it's usable. You could even get lucky and have one with bushed pivot holes. Sometimes they aren't made perfectly and will be misaligned unless the legs are on the correct side of the steer tube. Keep the hardware at zero clearance and pre-load the spring enough to prevent sag, i.e, leg assembly should only move from impact or grade-loading, not from just getting on and riding. Nice accessory for casual street use.
