Brand: Maino Model: Supercorsa Serial number: 148020 Production year: 1949 Size: 55cm vertical, 56 cm horizontal Conditions: preserved.

Nishiki is a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by West Coast Cycle in the United States, initially manufactured by Kawamura Cycle Co. in Kobe, Japan, and subsequently by Giant of Taiwan. The bicycles were first marketed under the American Eagle brand beginning in 1965^[1] and later under the Nishiki brand until 2001.

Throughout the U.S. bike boom of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Nishiki and West Coast Cycle competed with domestic companies including Schwinn, Huffy, and Murray; European companies including Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecane—as well as other nascent Japanese brands including Miyata, Fuji, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Univega, Lotus and Centurion—itself a line of Japanese-manufactured bicycles that were specified, distributed and marketed by Western States Imports (WSI), a U.S. company similar to West Coast Cycle. Japanese-manufactured bikes succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, leading companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.

As of 2013, Nishiki Europe markets bicycle models in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In 2010, Dick's Sporting Goods acquired the licensing rights to the Nishiki brand for the U.S. market and began marketing Nishiki-branded bicycles and accessories.^{[citation needed]}

History[edit]

West Coast Cycle and the Cohens[edit]

West Coast Cycle was founded by Leo Cohen Sr. and RosaBelle Cohen^[2][3] who had previously been partners in Wheel Goods Corporation in Minneapolis, later moving to Los Angeles in 1946 to purchase an existing retail bicycle store, Atlas Cycle, renaming it Playrite Bicycle Supply Co.. The Cohens subsequently founded a bicycle, parts and accessory distribution company in the late 1950s, naming it West Coast Cycle Supply Company. They operated the company — widely known as West Coast Cycle (or WCC) — with their daughter Louise and sons Leo Jr. and Howie (Howard Sherwin Cohen). Howie Cohen subsequently took over the business, followed by his brother.^[1]

When Cohen Sr. died in 1963, Howie Cohen traveled to Japan to find new sources for bicycles,^[1] and especially, a Japanese bicycle factory capable of producing high quality bikes that would be welcomed by U.S. independent bike dealers and the bicycling community; bicycles that would be able to compete with American and European-built bicycles.

After visiting over 60 bicycles factories over a period of six weeks, Cohen turned to Kawamura Cycles. Kawamura had produced quality bicycles for the Japan domestic market, but at the directive of their overseas buyers, had produced lower-quality, lower-priced bicycles for the U.S. market, for example, under the brand name 'Royce Union.'

Cohen also created working relationships with Japanese bicycle parts manufacturers including Asahi, Araya, Dia-Compe, Kashima, Kusuki, Kyokuto (KKT), Mikashima (MKS), Mitsuboshi, Taihei, Sanshin, Shimano, Sugino, Takagi, Suntour and others.^[1] Cohen travelled to Japan 8-10 times per year while developing his brands (American Eagle, Nishiki, Azuki and CyclePro).

Cohen placed his initial order for 570 bikes with Kawamura, selling them under the American Eagle brand.^[1] WCC sold tens of thousands of American Eagle bikes^[1] before changing the name — when a customer suggested it was disingenuous to put such an American-sounding name on a Japanese product.^[1]

WCC wanted a new, Japanese name that was easy to pronounce, with an inoffensive translation — and a name not easily mispronounced for comic or derisive effect. Cohen held a contest with Kawamura factory workers for Japanese names, choosing Nishiki for WCC's primary, nationwide line of bikes (after Saga Nishiki and the gold Nishiki thread often woven into wedding kimonos) — and Azuki for the secondary bicycle line (after the sweetened, red Azuki bean), using the chrysanthemum as the Azuki logo.

A second line allowed WCC to market essentially identical bikes through more than a single dealership in a sales territory. Louisville Cycle & Supply (Louisville, KY) were sub-distributors for both brands in the Southeast, and Pettee Cycle (Denver, CO) were sub-distributors of both brands in Colorado and surrounding states. Kawamura trademarked both names for the Japanese Domestic Market and Europe, WCC trademarked the brands for the USA. Early promotional material for American Eagle and Nishiki lines often carried the tagline 'KB Bicycles' or simply 'KB' — signifying 'Kawamura-Built.' WCC continued also to market the bicycle brands of Mundo, Caloi, Windsor, Zeus, and Mondia.

Howie Cohen served as President of WCC from 1965 until his retirement in 1976,^[1] with WCC subsequently operated by his brother, Leo Jr. and outside investors. Through the 1980s WCC continued to sell Nishiki bikes produced by Kawamura. International currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made Japanese-manufactured bicycles far more expensive and less competitive in the United States, leading WCC to move Nishiki production to Giant of Taiwan. Leo Cohen and his associates later sold West Coast Cycle to Medalist — with Derby International eventually acquiring the rights from West Coast Cycle to market bikes under the Nishiki brand in the United States.

After manufacture of Nishiki bikes shifted to Giant, Kawamura continued manufacturing bicycles for the Japanese and European markets (including private label bikes for Takara, Schwinn, and others), to be subsequently acquired by the sporting goods company Mizuno.

Howie Cohen later founded the company Everything Bicycles, working with Kuwahara to build and import BMX bikes carrying the Kuwahara brand name, developing the first major BMX distributorship^[4] — and ultimately supplying Kuwahara bicycles for the 1982 movie E.T. and securing the right to market the 'ET Bicycle.'^[1] To make the Kuwahara brand name a household word, Cohen ran a promotion giving free stickers to children who called a toll-free phone number and could correctly pronounce the brand name.^[1] In 1989, Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company.^[2] In 1992, Cohen returned to the bicycle industry to assist the Gary Fisher bike brand^[4] — 18 months later brokering the acquisition of Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes by Trek Bicycle Corporation.^[4]

Cohen later worked as a consultant in the bicycle industry for several companies, including Rotor Componentes of Spain, ^[4] and subsequently retired from Lomita, California^[5] to Colorado where he and his wife, Kay (Kay Piercy Guithues Cohen)^[5] catalogued his collection of bicycling memorabilia and maintained his website, HowieBikeMan.com.

When Howie Cohen died on July 11, 2013, Bicycle Retailer said he was 'a hugely influential figure in developing the U.S. BMX market and arguably the first person to bring high-quality Asian-made bikes to America.'^[4] retired from Lomita, California^[6]

Derby[edit]

From 1989 through 2001, Derby International marketed bikes in the United States under the Nishiki as well as Univega and Raleigh brand names. Some of the all terrain bikes and mountain bike models were designed in partnership with famed mountain bike designer and Mountain Bike Hall of Fame member R. Cunningham and have his name on the frames. These Nishiki models, though manufactured outside Japan (e.g., in Taiwan, by Giant Bicycles and possibly in Italy by Colnago, Olmo or Viner) often carried the name Nashiki and some of the same model names as had been used on the Kuwahara-built bicycles.^[7] The brand name Nishiki was retired by Derby in 2001 in North America.^[8] As of 2010, Nishiki-branded bicycles, manufactured by Accell Group were available for sale again in the U.S. at Dick's Sporting Goods. Dick's had obtained licensing rights to the Nishiki Bike brand in the U.S.

Currently (2013), Nishiki Europe, an unrelated group of European distributors markets bicycle models in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. Nishiki bikes had previously been also marketed in Norway, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Estonia.

Models[edit]

• Apache
• Aero, Aero II
• Alamosa
• Alouette
• Alien
• Anasazi
• Ariel
• Arrow Speed
• Arroyo
• Barbarian
• Backroads
• Blazer
• Bombardier
• Bushwhaker
• Carrera
• Cascade
• Century
• Cervino (possibly uncataloged)
• Citi Sport
• Colorado
• Comp, Comp II and Comp III
• Competition
• Continental
• Custom Sport
• Cresta
• Crossroads
• Expedition (made in Taiwan)
• Gran Sport
• Gran Tour 15 (probable precursor to Ultra Tour 18)
• International (earlier named Kokusai)
• Katmandu
• Kodiak
• Kokushi (later renamed International)
• Landau
• Linear
• Maricopa
• Manitoba
• Marina
• Maxima (possibly uncataloged, frame only)
• Medalist
• Meridian
• Modulus
• Mountain
• NFS Alpha
• NFS Beta
• NFS Altron
• Odyssey
• Olympiad (American Eagle)
• Olympic, Olympic Royal
• Prestige
• Professional
• Pueblo
• Race Master
• Rally
• Regal
• Riviera
• Road Compe
• Road Master
• Rockhound
• Royale
• Safari
• Saga (Cunningham Design drop bar ATB)
• Sebring
• Seral
• Semi-Pro (American Eagle)
• Sport, Custom Sport
• sTORM
• Stony Point (mountain bike)
• Super-five
• Superbe
• Team Issue
• Timbuk
• Tri-A
• Triathlon
• Trim Master
• Ultimate
• Ultima (possibly uncatalogued)
• Ultra Tour (uncatalogued, possibly specified by one store in Southern California, USA)
• Ultra Tour 18 (probable successor to Gran Tour 15)
• Westwood

Serial Numbers[edit]

Serial Numbers for Nishiki bikes were decoded by Tom Marshall, Canadian engineer, racer and runner, using a trial and error database methodology.

Kawamura manufactured frames (1972–1987): These frames used a serial number XYZZZZZ format where:

• X is the market (C = Canada (pre-1985) K = USA (pre 1985) W = USA (1985–1987)).
• Y is the last digit of the manufacturing calendar year (A =1, B = 2, C = 3… J = 0. Exception is letter S, used on all frames prior to 1975).
• ZZZZZ is a five or six digit number, possibly representing a sequential frame manufacturing number for the year (or era in the case of pre 1975 frames).

Example 1: KA24587 is the 24,587th frame produced in 1981 for the US market

Example 2: CG23117 is the 23,117th frame produced in 1977 for the Canadian market

Example 3: WE54612 is the 54,612th frame produced in 1985 for the US market

Giant manufactured frames (1980-1986*): With a date code generally stamped on the dropout on the drive side of the bike, these frames used a two part serial number in a G MM YY format, where:

• G = Giant.
• MM = month (01 = Jan, 02 = Feb, etc.).
• YY = year (80 = 1980, 81 = 1981, etc.).

Example: G0384 is a Giant-manufactured frame from March 1984

See also[edit]

• Giant Manufacturing - Giant was the original equipment manufacturer for Nishiki of Japan for several years.^{[citation needed]}

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdefghij'A lifetime in the Bicycle Industry, Howie Cohen'. Bicycle Industry and Retailer News, Steve Frothingham, August 1, 1999.
2. ^ ^ab'Bicycles in his blood'. Kickstand Magazine, James Burrus, August 15, 2009. Archived from the original on April 30, 2010.
3. ^'Southern California Retrospective'. Bicycle Retailer and Industry News, Jason Norman, 5/29/2009.
4. ^ ^abcde'Early BMX Pioneers'. American Bicycle Association BMX. Archived from the original on 2008-08-16.
5. ^ ^ab'Bicycles Appear Everywhere in Collectors Home'. The NewsPress, December 8, 1989.
6. ^'Beloved industry figure Howie Cohen, 74, dies'. Bicycle Retailer, July 12, 2013.
7. ^A Nishiki History
8. ^Japanese Bicycles in the U.S. Market

External links[edit]

• Official Website for the European company (Denmark, Finland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain and Sweden)

Ross Bicycles Inc. manufactured over 15 million bicycles^[3] under the Ross brand, between 1946 and 1988. The company began in Williamsburg, New York, later moving its headquarters and manufacturing to Rockaway Beach, Queens.^[4] The headquarters remained in Rockaway when manufacturing was later moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania^[5] — Sherwood Ross, against the advice of his vice president Randy Ross, retooled the Allentown Pennsylvania factory and experimented in unrelated bicycle endeavors involving government contracts. Randy Ross moved Ross bicycles manufacturing to Taiwan to keep margins competitive and bicycle manufacturing profitable, but Sherwood Ross's decision to keep the Allentown factory working on government contracts, ultimately led to the company having to file for bankruptcy protection in 1988. Ross Bicycles was re-established on July 31, 2017 by Shaun Ross, the current CEO of Ross Bicycles.

Ross competed domestically with bicycle manufacturers including Schwinn and Huffy — and was noted as a pioneering manufacturer of mountain bikes.

History[edit]

Ross was started by Albert Ross as Ross Galvanizing Works in 1940^[6] 'manufacturing and galvanizing pipes and pipe fittings for the fencing industry and later galvanized steel parts for military ships during World War II.'^[7] After World War II, it was incorporated as Chain Bike Corp. in 1946.

Ross' first factory was on Kent Avenue in Williamsburg, New York, near the Schaefer Brewery and the Brooklyn Navy Yard. The company moved to Beach 79th Street in Rockaway Beach, Queens (now Far Rockaway) some time around 1960,^[8] the company was renamed Ross Bicycles Inc. on May 21, 1982,^{[9][2][10][4]} and in 1973 manufacturing was moved to a new, purpose-built plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania.^[5]In 1982, Ross Bicycles was the first ever bicycle manufacturer to mass produce the mountain bike. In 1983, Randy Ross created the first mountain bike race team, the Ross Indians. Ross had models that directly competed with the Schwinn Side Winder called the Ross Diamond Cruiser. Ross introduced their first production MTB, the Force 1, during the first Interbike Show in October 1982 the bikes name was later changed to the Mt. Hood. In early 1982 Ross Signature (hand made bike department) was making custom Mountain bikes. Jim Redcay was the builder (Tom Kellogg was working on Road Bikes). Jim was also involved in the Force 1 frame development. This was the first bike Ross had built in Allentown with cantilever brakes. The Allentown factory was said to be retooled for government contracts by Sherwood Ross. Ross moved bicycle production to Taiwan in 1986 to keep the margins profitable, but the government contracts and financial strain from the Allentown factories unsuccessful government endeavors, led to Ross Bicycles filling for bankruptcy protection in 1988.^[1]

In addition to bicycles, Ross manufactured ammunition boxes for the US government at its Lehigh facility and cited the government contract as the source of its financial difficulties at the time of filing for Chapter 11 protection.^[1]

Russ what they want zippyshare. The Ross name was purchased by Rand Cycle in Farmingdale, New York, which suffered a recall of 11,000 mountain bikes in 1998.^[11] Randy Ross, grandson of Albert, introduced a stair stepper bike in 2007.^[12] Shaun Ross re-established Ross Bicycles in 2017 on July 31.

Albert Ross' son Sherwood (Jerry) B. Ross (1921-2013)^[7] was CEO of Ross Bicycles from 1946 to 1990,^[13] held several bicycle-related patents,^{[14][15][16][17][18]} served as President of the Bicycle Institute of America (BIA)^[13] and the Bicycle Manufacturers Association (BMA),^[13] and acted as an expert witness in product liability cases.^[13]

Bicycles[edit]

Ross began making bicycles in 1946,^[19] and by the late 1960s, Ross manufactured about 1 million bicycles per year.^[3] By 1985, it had sold 10 million bicycles. The company, still known as Chain Bicycle Corporation, marketed bikes under the Ross brand,^[20] including children's bikes as well as BMX, touring, cruiser, mountain, racing, wheelie, and stationary exercise bicycles.^[2]

In 1968, Ross joined the muscle bike craze with models such as the Marlin with a 'Console Mounted Stick Brake', the Barracuda with a 'Chrome Twin Stick Shift Console', and the Barracuda Beast with a 'Futura Sports Car Steering Wheel'.^[21][22]

In 1982, Ross introduced one of the first production mountain bikes, the Force One at Interbike,^[23][24] and in 1983, they launched the first professional factory sponsored mountain bike race team, the Ross Indians.^[25]

With the rising popularity of mountain bikes, Randy Ross, Sherwood Ross's son and executive vice president of Ross Bicycles Inc., said in the New York Times 'these bikes are one of the biggest things that ever happened to the biking industry. Its basic look constitutes 'a total shift in image' for the industry.'^[26] By 1989, Nyle Nims, at the time a vice president at Ross Bicycles (and later founder of Cycle Force Group), said 40 percent of bicycle sales were mountain bikes, adding 'we see a lot of people who previously owned the dropped bar, 10-speed bike buying the wide-tire bikes, they are people who don't want to ride fast; they want to ride for recreation.'^[27]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcMoylan, Tom (February 11, 1988). 'Ross Bicycle Files For Bankruptcy - U.S. Contract Blamed In Move'. The Morning Call. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
2. ^ ^abcUnited States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit. (July 22, 1985). 'ROSS BICYCLES, INC., Plaintiff-Appellant, v. CYCLES USA, INC., Defendant-Appellee'. Public.Resource.Org. Archived from the original on August 4, 2012. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
3. ^ ^abMoynihan, Colin (March 15, 2008). 'A Blue Ross 10-Speed Isn't Hard to Find; A Bomber Who Rode It Is'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
4. ^ ^abLloyd, Barbara (May 22, 1989). 'ON YOUR OWN; Bicycle Oldies Are Making Good'. The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
5. ^ ^ab'Ross Bicycle'. Fine Vintage Collectibles. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
6. ^Hardy Menagh (2008). 'History of the ROSS Bicycles Company 1946 - 1989'. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
7. ^ ^ab'Engineer behind Ross Bicycles remembered'. Bicycle Retailer, June 5, 2013, Lynette Carpiet.
8. ^COLIN MOYNIHAN (December 2, 2004). 'A Blue Ross 10-Speed Isn't Hard to Find; A Bomber Who Rode It Is'. The New York Times.
9. ^'Ross Bicycles, Inc., Plaintiff-appellant, v. Cycles Usa, Inc., Defendant-appellee, 765 F.2d 1502 (11th Cir. 1985)'. Justia.com. July 22, 1985.
10. ^Howie Cohen. 'Chain Bike Corp of Rockaway Beach, New York'. Everything Bicycles. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
11. ^'CPSC, Rand/Ross Bicycle Co. Announce Recall to Repair Mountain Bikes'. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). April 27, 1998. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
12. ^'Ross History'. MOMBAT. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
13. ^ ^abcd'Curricula Vitae for Professor Sherwood B. Ross, BSME'. witness.net. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
14. ^'Patent number: 2997145 - Wheel Hub for Disc Type Coaster Brakes, Sherwood B. Ross et al'. google.com. Aug 22, 1961. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
15. ^'Patent number: 3473404 - Operating-Lever Console for a Gearshift Mechanism or the like, Sherwood B. Ross et al'. google.com. Oct 21, 1969. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
16. ^'Sherwood B Ross: Inventor'. PatentBuddy.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
17. ^'Inventor: Ross; Sherwood B.' PatentGenius.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
18. ^'Patents by Inventor Sherwood B. Ross'. Justia.com. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
19. ^'Bicycle History'. SoCalBicycles.com. Archived from the original on 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
20. ^DANIEL E. SLOTNIK (June 18, 2013). 'Sherwood Ross, President of Ross Bicycles, Dies at 92'. The New York Times.
21. ^John Brain. 'Volume Three: The third five years, 1968-'73'.
22. ^Mark Wilson. 'The Ross model 494-3 Barracuda Beast with the Futura steering wheel'. The New England Muscle Bicycle Museum. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
23. ^'John Kirkpatrick'. Mountain Bike Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2014-01-28. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
24. ^'1983 Ross Force 1 - Ross Indians Mountain Bike Team Bicycle'. GhostNation.Org. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
25. ^John Kirkpatrick (1985). 'Ross Indians'. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
26. ^JOSEPH GIOVANNINI (July 30, 1983). 'A STURDY MOUNTAIN BIKE WINS HEARTS IN THE CITY'. The New York Times.
27. ^Barbara Lloyd (May 22, 1989). 'ON YOUR OWN; Bicycle Oldies Are Making Good'. The New York Times.

External links[edit]