My mixte (also a nishiki) is probably "too small" going by the frame size... the seat tube measures at something like 45cm, but the effective top tube comes out to around 54cm, so it's not much shorter than yours - personally I wonder if the geometry isn't pretty similar on most of these, with "smaller" frames just having the seat stay mounted lower, shortening the seat tube. I did have to buy a longer seat post to make up for the short seat tube... the one the bike came with was only 180mm!

I didn't have to replace any of the drivetrain components on mine (yet).. it's a 10 speed and everything looks/shifts fine, neither the freewheel or chainrings show any significant signs of wear for a 25 year old bike. I do want some lower gearing though.. it's fine to ride as is, but when pulling a trailer I wish I had more. The brakes look fine, it was sold to me with new brake pads (and recently trued wheels) so I left that alone. I still need to get new tires for it but I can't decide what I want.



What I did to mine:
  • New bars (and tape)
  • Aero brake levers
  • Cross brake levers
  • new cables/housings
  • New seatpost
  • New saddle
  • Pedals (egg beaters)
  • Rack


I spent just over $200 fixing mine up, but I put a Brooks on it and spent a little more on some things (like my chrome cable housings) than I could have simply because I was picky about what I wanted. I probably could have done everything for well under $100 if I had been thrifty.

There are lots of "vintage" components on ebay if you aren't looking to replace any of the drivetrain with modern parts... a lot of them are really inexpensive. If you have any local bike swaps that may also be a source for parts cheap/free/for trade.