Japanese 3-speeds

Mike said:

Browsing around ebay recently I came across a Nishiki 3-speed

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3693189560

The photo is not that great, but this looks a lot like a classic
Raleigh 3-speed.

Anyone know what model this would be, and if any of the other Japanese
companies, or anyone besides the English, made 3-speed roadster style
bikes?

That's a Japanese (or perhaps Taiwanese) knockoff of a classic English
3-speed.

Would this bike have a Shimano 3-speed hub instead of SA?

Yes, it does have a Shimano hub. Probably the notoriously unreliable
"333" model.

Quoted message said:

Or is this perhaps just a rebranded Raleigh?

Noooooooo!

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/english

Sheldon "Not The Real Thing" Brown
+--------------------------------------------------+
| Whoever you vote for, the government gets in. |
| John Jones--Oysterband |
+--------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

Quoted message said:

Anyone know what model this would be, and if any of the other Japanese
companies, or anyone besides the English, made 3-speed roadster style
bikes? Would this bike have a Shimano 3-speed hub instead of SA?

Or Suntour.
Phil Brown

Sheldon Brown said:

That's a Japanese (or perhaps Taiwanese) knockoff of a classic English
3-speed.

Yes, it does have a Shimano hub. Probably the notoriously unreliable
"333" model.

Sheldon "Not The Real Thing" Brown

There goes my dream of a three-speed whose nuts and bolts and bits and
bobs fit wrenches I can still buy.
Mike

Mike said:

Browsing around ebay recently I came across a Nishiki 3-speed

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3693189560

The photo is not that great, but this looks a lot like a classic
Raleigh 3-speed.

Anyone know what model this would be, and if any of the other Japanese
companies, or anyone besides the English, made 3-speed roadster style
bikes? Would this bike have a Shimano 3-speed hub instead of SA?

Or is this perhaps just a rebranded Raleigh?

Mike

Nearly every major manufacturer offered a similar three
speed in the sixties and seventies.
That bike has a Shimano shifter, presumably a Shimano
gearbox, which would be correct to a Kawamura-built Nishiki
of the seventies.

Nishiki/West Coast Cycle had no relationship with Raleigh
until the two companies merged in the late '90s.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971