Help me identify this bike

[Tuckervill]

Thanks, Deb. My hunch has been from the beginning that it is Japanese, because of all the Japanese parts. It's not really important to know, really. I can figure out the BB stuff without knowing, but it's sure be easier if I did. And it's kind of like knowing who built my 110 year old house. It's just interesting.

Nashiki is a name that came up often in connection Nitto, but I can't tell if they made bikes this old.

I'm going to hunt around on bikeforums.net, too.

Thanks,
Karen

[Tuckervill]

The brake cable clamps bespeak of a 70's era or earlier frame

That's what I thought, too. They remind me of the bike that saved my life in 1978. (there's a thread around here, somewhere.) I think those clamps are lovely. Familiar.

I planned on buying a new road bike in March. Since my son is building up the John Deere, I thought it would be fun to do one at the same time, and I had been taking cursory glances at garage sales for a few months. It's a rare thing to see any kind of '70s road bike anywhere around here, so I thought I'd snatch this one up. Should be a learning experience, anyway. I can always sell it.

Karen

[KnottedYet]

I had a white Nishiki in the late 70's. I loved that bike. It was my first "real" bike, and I rode it everywhere. Can't remember what happened to it, think it got "borrowed".

[Lifesgreat]

OK, I looked at my 1976 Raleigh Grand Prix (all original ex. seat and pedals, BTW, and will be undergoing some renovation/TLC this winter), and your lugs are different than its lugs. So you can rule that one out

I'm such a BIG help. . .

[Popoki_Nui]

Can you make out any brand on the headset? Bottom bracket cups?
Those headtube lugs, and the fork crowns look very, very familiar. In fact, my late-60's Falcon has the exact same fork crowns.

[East Hill]

Tuckervill, have you been able to date any of the components via the vintage Trek website? The crown fork lugs look familiar to what I have on my old beater World bike (apparently made for Schwinn in Taiwan), but the rest of it doesn't look familiar. As others have said, the fact that it has clamps for the cable makes it pre-1980s. It does have DT shifters, so it must be a little more upscale.

Having said that, I don't think it's a Nishiki. Nishikis should have a serial number on the bottom bracket. It's an easy format to date (with the exception of my oddball numbered Nishiki Pro). Nishikis were originally headbadged as American Eagle, certainly as early as 1971. But you should be able to find a number of the bottom bracket if it's a Nishiki.

East Hill

[Tuckervill]

The headset? Like the nuts, etc., that hold the stem and fork on? I know what a headset is on a mountain bike, but I'm not sure on this one. Would this be something I would have to take apart to see?

The stem says Nitto.

I've been waiting for daylight so I can see a little better in the sunshine. Hope I find something.

Thanks for everyone's help.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

I'll check out the vintage Trek website.

I wish I knew what to look for as far as the serial number. It should be obvious on the bottom of the bottom bracket, no? I couldn't find one on the John Deere, either. And there's that big rusty spot on the BB. I seem to recall people stealing bikes and scratching the serial numbers off them when I was a kid. Maybe that's why this is rusty.

Karen

[DebW]

I wish I knew what to look for as far as the serial number. It should be obvious on the bottom of the bottom bracket, no? I couldn't find one on the John Deere, either. And there's that big rusty spot on the BB. I seem to recall people stealing bikes and scratching the serial numbers off them when I was a kid. Maybe that's why this is rusty.

You could be right about the serial number being ground off, and the resulting rust on the BB. They normally don't rust up that badly.

It was normal to find lots of Japanese parts on European bikes by the mid to late 70s, but not in the early 70s. What you have is intriguing because the Suntour Sprint and GT derailleurs were early models, superseeded by the V-GT, and I don't know of those being used on European bikes. European bikes in the early 70s were using Huret and Simplex shifters. Though Diacompe brakes were standard on Motobecanesthroughout the 70s. The crankset is also interesting, as it's cotterless. Low end 10-speeds from Europe didn't go cotterless until the late 70s. I'm leaning towards Japanese on this bike. Japanese bicycles available in America would have included: Nishiki, Centurion, C. Itoh, Fuji, Panasonic, and Sekai.

If the headset is labeled, there may be some writing on an outside cup, but the threading specifications would probably be inside. If the bike is Japanese, the frame cup outside diameter would be 30.0 mm (European would be 30.2).

[Maureen Valley]

I just sent this pic to my brother....the biking guru in Minnesota. Let's see what he says. He has a Trek shop up there.
Maureen