Tuesday, January 20, 2015

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration


1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle After Restoration
At the end of last week I started work on an approximate 1988 Nishiki Olympic bicycle.  I really don't know a lot about Nishiki bicycles as I really have only worked on a few over all the years.  I came across this one however and liked what I saw and thought it would be a good restoration candidate and think it would be a very nice bike for someone restored.  It will be going up for sale when completed.

The Nishiki has some pretty nice stuff from the era, index Shimano 6 speed shifting on the rear, a very nice rear derailleur, 700c wheels, a nice Bio-Pace crank, really nice brake calipers that where precursors to the dual pivot calipers and very nice brake levers.  The components where what actually caught my eye.

The Nishiki Olympic will receive a total restoration with new brake lever hoods, new handlebar tape, new cables and cable housings, new brake pads, new bearings and tire tubes.  I think for now at least I am going to keep the tires because they seem brand new to me.  I think the red and white paint will clean and polish to almost new with only a few chips.  Amazingly I have a appliance tough up paint that is a perfect match for the white, can't tell a difference in color at all and red is a super easy color to match for touch up paint.  I think the Nishiki Olympic is going to turn out very nice and be a great bike for someone.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Handlebars

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Brake Levers

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Stem

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Head Badge

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Brake
Caliper

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel Hub

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Wheel Rim

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Stem

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Headset

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Head Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Top Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Indexed Shift
Levers

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Down Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Saddle

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Seat Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Seat Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Crank

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Front Derailleur

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Pedal

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Brake

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before
Rear Derailleur

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Before - Rear Wheel Hub

With the frame stripped of the components I found the paint to be a little rougher then first thought, it was very dirty and had a rough texture.  After cleaning and working through the polishing compound the paint really came back beautifully.  I did do the touch up paint and you can see in the photos the red is to dark but that because I ran out of paint to mix, i will have a better match after I pick up some more paint to mix.  The white however is a fantastic match and you can see in that in the fork before and after photos.  ( I take that back, if I remembered to take before photos of the fork it would show that.)  Over all I am very happy with the results of the frame, the red shines very nicely and the white shines the way white should, I like it!

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before
Head Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Top Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Down Tube Decal

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before
Seat Lug

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before
Seat Tube - Water Bottle Eyelets

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Bottom Bracket

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Seat Lug

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before
Seat Lug

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before
Drop Outs
For full discloser I did remove this made in Tiawane sticker, not because its Taiwan but because the graphic designer in me absolutely hated the looks of it!

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Before - Taiwan Decal
Removed Later

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Head Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Head Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Top Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Down Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Down Tube
Decal

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Lug

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Bottom Bracket

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Seat Lug

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Seat Lug
1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Drop Out

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished
Fork

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Fork Crown

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Frame Polished - Fork Drop Outs

The headset and bottom bracket are in okay starting shape, the headset has some deep dirt and a little surface rust, however the last layer of chrome is thin as all chrome was then so after cleaning and polishing a lot of the copper chrome base is showing through, it is actually kind of a cool affect when complete.  I replaced the headset and bottom bracket bearings and packed them in new grease.  The headset and bottom bracket turn out very nice and spin great, I am happy with the results!

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset Cups
Pressed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset Cups
Pressed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - New Bearings Packed in
New Grease

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset
Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bottom Bracket Bearings
Packed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bottom Bracket - Complete
I like the chrome and black effect.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Headset & Bottom Bracket
Complete

The handlebar tape was rotted and very gooey and so where the brake lever hoods,  The brake lever hoods will be replaced with black hoods as soon as they arrive. I chose black because they don't show dirt like the white hoods and last longer.

The handlebars are nice Road Champion handlebars and the stem has no name but has a very nice shape and the alloy is good quality.  A lot of the aluminum components have some slight surface etching, the bike was probably rode in a wet snowy salty day once and that left the etching.  I cleaned the components and then worked my way through a few polishing compounds. The stem and handlebars polished fantastic!!  I am very happy with the results of the stem and handlebars.


1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Handlebars - Stem & Brake Levers
Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Levers - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Handlebars & Stem - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Stem - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Stem - Exploded

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Stem - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration
Stem & Handlebars - Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Stem & Handlebars - Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Stem & Handlebars
Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Levers - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Levers - Installed
Waiting on brake lever hoods.
 The crank is a Shimano Bio-Pace crank, I actually like Bio-Pace cranks, I rode one for near 20,000 miles way back when.  The etching was on the crank arms, I cleaned the crank arms and chain rings and then polished the crank arms.  After going through the polishing compounds the crank arms turned out very nice and with the polished chain ring bolts the crank looks fantastic!!

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Crank - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Crank - Exploded

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Crank - Exploded

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Crank - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Crank
Installed
 The brake calipers are nice ones, calipers that where precursors to the dual pivot brake calipers of today.  I was originally going to try to polish the calipers with a half disassemble but that was not going to work or be good enough so I then disassembled the calipers completely and polished the pieces.   The calipers turned out really nice, they look fantastic against the polished paint and after install some somewhat expensive brake pads they will stop very nicely.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Calipers - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Calipers - Half Exploded

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Caliper - Completely Exploded

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Calipers - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Calipers - Compelte

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Brake
Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Brake Caliper - Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Brake
Caliper - Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Brake Caliper
Installed

The seat post in very nice, fluted, so I like it.  The saddle I think will be replace, I have to pick one out yet out of my new saddle shelve.    The seat post cleaned and polished very nice, it has a very high finish and looks great against the freshly polished red and white paint.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Seat Post & Saddle - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Seat Post & Saddle - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Seat Post - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Seat Post
Complete
 The front derailleur I really don't know much about, I only have come across it a very few times.  It is an early SIS derailleur.  I cleaned the derailleur and flushed the pivot points.  With the derailleur complete I polished the derailleur and assembled it.  It looks really good against the red paint and works very well with the pivot points lubricated.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Derailleur - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Derailleur - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Derailleur - Installed

The rear derailleur is a very nice indexing derailleur, one of the first, I have used this derailleur in the past and it worked very well, I like it a lot.  I cleaned the derailleur and flushed the pivot points and then polished the derailleur.  The rear derailleur turned out great, I am very happy with it.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Exploded

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Derailleur - Complete
 Next on the list is the pedals, they are nice Shimano 105 pedals with toe clips.  The toe clips are broken and I do not replace toe clips because most people do not use them so to me its a waste to put new ones on only to have them taken off and sit in a garage forever.

I cleaned the pedals and then lubricated them, after I got them spinning very smoothly I polished the pedals by hand, pedals do not polish well on the power polisher with all the tight areas.  I think the pedals turned out pretty nice.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Shimano 105 Pedals - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Shimano 105 Pedals - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Pedals - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Pedals - Installed

Last of the main body components is the indexed 6 speed shift levers.  The levers took a good deal of de-gooing but after lubricating and polishing they shift levers work flawlessly and look great against the red paint.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Shift Levers - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Shift Levers - Polished

With the levers complete the main body components are complete, the Nishiki Olympic is really coming along beautifully!  I love this stuff!!

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle So Far

The wheels are not in horrible starting shape, the grease and bearings need to be replaced and everything polished but they should come back really nice.  I cleaned the wheels and then started polishing the hubs and rims, the slight surface etching was also on the rims.  The rims really polished nice considering where they started and the with new bearings and grease the wheels spin very nice.  I am happy with the wheels.

One problem I had with the rear wheel is removing the freewheel, it was pretty darn tight.  I used my giant crescent wrench and it removed almost easily.  When I was torquing the wrench I felt a pop, I assumed it was the freewheel breaking free but when I went down to the floor I realized it was my rib muscle that popped or something in that area, after some concentrating to let the pain pass and a few days of soarness I was ok.  Oh, and the freewheel broke loose.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel
Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel Before - Freewheel

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel Rim - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Giant Crescent Wrench

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Old Grease

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel Hub - Bearings Packed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Wheel Axle Components
Cleaned & Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Wheel - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel
Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel Hub - Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel Rim
Before

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel - Old Grease

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel Hub
Polished

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel Hub
Bearings - Packed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Wheel - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Wheels - Complete

Next is installing the freewheel, the chain and running the cables and cable housings.  The freewheel cleaned up and lubricated nicely and the chain was cleaned and oil soaked and came out nice.


1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Freewheel - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Freewheel & Chain
Complete

I chose the Ice Gray cable housings again, the color just looks good with everything, it does not contrast to much or fade in the background to much, I like it and it looks great with the white and red.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - New Cables & Cable Housings

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Cables Run

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Cables Run

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle - So Far
I am just waiting on the brake lever hoods, handlebar tape and saddle to arrive.  When they arrive the Nishiki will be finished quickly.  Check back soon.

The brake lever hoods and handlebar tape arrived.  The brake lever hoods are SLR hoods so they will fit very well.  I installed the hoods, they where an extremely tight fit getting them on, always use some really soapy water to get brake lever hoods to slid on with out tearing.  The hoods fit great and look great installed.

I then installed the Deda synthetic leather with gel handlebar tape.  I really like this tape, it has the nice classic look with the feel of today's gel.  I chose black brake lever hoods and black handlebar tape on purpose, I think the black will highlight the red and white paint very well.  The handlebar tape went on tight and will tighten up even more with some time out in the sun and use.  I really like the look, its a mean look.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - New Brake Levers Hoods &
Handlebar Tape

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - New Brake Levers Hoods
Installed - Great Fit

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Brake Lever Hoods - Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Half Handlebar Tape
Compelte

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Handlebar Tape - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Handlebar Tape - Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Handlebar Tape - Complete

I am using the tires that where on the Nishiki, I have not seen them before but they are in new condition, the mold marks are still on the tires and they are very flexible, I wonder what the story on the tires are, I think they where just installed and then the tube stem broke off and the previous owner gave up on the Nishiki or the restoration process.

I did install two new tire tubes.  I cleaned and treated the tires and they look good installed.  They are narrow 23 mm tires and the black walls add to the mean look of the Nishiki, I am happy with the tires.

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Tires Cleaned
Treated & Ready

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Two New Tire Tubes

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Front Tire
Compelte

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Rear Tire
Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Tires - Complete

Last thing is the saddle, I ordered a Aviener saddle that I like but it did not look right installed and it was way to wide for the size of the bike, I will save the saddle for the next restoration that is a bigger sized bike.   I then went through the 100's of saddles I have and found this one, the leather is in great shape.  I did repaint the rails gray as they had a few scuffs.  I cleaned and treated the leather and the saddle turned out great, a much better saddle for the Nishiki.  I really do not like picking out saddles for a bicycle, a saddle is such a personal thing so I look for a saddle that I have found to be a good value and comfort for most.  I do not like the Idea of an expensive saddle not fitting someone and they repalce it and the saddle that was replaced sits in a garage for 25 years and then gets thrown out after it deteriorates. I am happy with this saddle.


1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Replacement Saddle

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Saddle
Installed

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle - Complete

I stand tuned the Nishiki and then did a very quick test ride down the very narrow center of the street that was clean ad then it started to snow again.  The Nishiki rode very nice in that very quick test ride, it did not need any more tuning then how it was tuned on the stand.  The Nishiki was very nimble in that narrow strip of clean road and shifted and broke very well.  The Cro-Molley steel felt great and the 23 mm tires where very fast.  I like the Nishiki very much, I like the mean look and the red and white paint scheme.  Final photos are still indoors as my favorite place to take final photos is still snow covered.

After final photos I noticed the water bottle cage bolts where not up to my liking so I installed new stainless steel bolts and makes a nice difference.

The Nishiki Olympic is Priced at $325.00.

Details.

22 Inch frame or 56 cm.

The Nishiki Olympic received a total restoration as shown above.
Shimano 12 Speed Indexed Shifting.
Shimano SLR Areo Brake Levers with new brake lever hoods.
New Deda synthetic leather gel black handlebar tape.
All New cables and cable housings.
All New brake pads.
All New Bearings.
New tire tubes.

12 Speed Index Shifting.
700 x 23 mm wheels & tires.
Alloy wheels.
Bio-Pace crank 52 x 40.


1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Handlebars

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Stem

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Head Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Brake

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Wheel
1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Stem

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Cr-Mo Fork

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Indexed Shift Levers

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Half
1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Top Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Down Tube

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Saddle

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Cr-Mo Frame

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Drive Train

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Crank

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Front Derailleur

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Seat Lug

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Brake Caliper

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Derailleur

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete
Rear Wheel

1988 Nishiki Olympic Restoration - Bicycle Complete - Rear
Thank you for all the interest!

John Z.

7 comments:

  1. First of all I hope the rib is healing! This is such a great example of the (SIS) bridge between the friction shifting bike boom bikes of the 70s and the "brifter" equipped road bikes of the mid 90's and beyond. Gorgeous job -the Olympic looks fast just sitting there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow! Incredible. That takes dedication and lots of patience.

    ReplyDelete
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  4. I am the proud owner of a 1987 Nishiki Olympic 12, and I dream of doing a similar restoration one day...

    ReplyDelete