Nishiki bicycle Wikipedia. Nishiki headbadge c. Early Nishiki Logo The early Nishiki logo derived from the American Eagle logo, which was largely identical and featured an eagle head along with the tri color square. WELCOME TO THE TYPEWRITER MUSEUM. All of the typewriters on this page are owned by me, but are only on public display virtually through this Web site. We are the original player clan. We are the greates and we rule. That is bcuase we rule. Kawamura Cycle, the original manufacturer of Nishiki bikes, had used a tri color square in its domestic marketing the three colors symbolizing passion for the customer red, quality products yellow and sincerity in business blue. WCC sought and received permission from Kawamura to use the same mark within the Nishiki logo and in their company marketing. Nishiki International. Ten speed road bike. Manufacturer Kawamura Cycles, Kobe, Japan. U. S. Importer West Coast Cycle. Frame Lugged, plain gauge Cromoly. Univega Serial Number Year Model' title='Univega Serial Number Year Model' />Fork high tensile steel. Rear Derailleur Suntour Cyclone. Front Derailleur Suntour Cyclone. Stem Shifters Suntour. Brakes Dia compe, single pivot side pull. Rims Araya 2. 7 x 1. Hubs Shimano. Crank Sugino Super Maxy. Seat stem La. Prade. Non standard equipment handlebars, saddle, chrome cable guides, rear rack. Handwriting To Text Program there. American Eagle Bikes, American Bicyclist Magazine, with KB Bicycles signifying Kawamura BuiltNishiki is a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by West Coast Cycle in the United States, initially manufactured by Kawamura Cycle Co. Kobe, Japan, and subsequently by Giant of Taiwan. The bicycles were first marketed under the American Eagle brand beginning in 1. Nishiki brand until 2. Throughout the U. S. bike boom of the 1. Nishiki and West Coast Cycle competed with domestic companies including Schwinn, Huffy, and Murray European companies including Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecaneas well as other nascent Japanese brands including Miyata, Fuji, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Univega, Lotus and Centurionitself 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 1. Taiwan. As of 2. 01. Nishiki Europe markets bicycle models in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. In 2. 01. 0, Dicks Sporting Goods acquired the licensing rights to the Nishiki brand for the U. S. market and began marketing Nishiki branded bicycles and accessories. HistoryeditWest Coast Cycle and the CohenseditWest Coast Cycle was founded by Leo Cohen Sr. Rosa. Belle Cohen23 who had previously been partners in Wheel Goods Corporation in Minneapolis, later moving to Los Angeles in 1. Atlas Cycle, renaming it Playrite Bicycle Supply Co. The Cohens subsequently founded a bicycle, parts and accessory distribution company in the late 1. 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. WELCOME TO THE BICYCLE MUSEUM. Bicycles are wonderfully simple, eloquent and efficient machines. A few of the bikes were purchased by me, or for me, new, including. History. Miyata was founded by Eisuke Miyata, a gunsmith and engineer from Tokyo. In 1881, Eisuke opened a gun shop and factory in Shiba which he called Miyata. 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. Howie Howard Sherwin Cohen. Howie Cohen subsequently took over the business, followed by his brother. When Cohen Sr. Although Japanese derailers had appeared as original equipment on Japanese bikes, the SunTour VGT was the first model to make a big splash in the aftermarket. 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 6. 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. Cohen travelled to Japan 8 1. American Eagle, Nishiki, Azuki and Cycle. Pro. Cohen placed his initial order for 5. Kawamura, selling them under the American Eagle brand. WCC sold tens of thousands of American Eagle bikes1 before changing the name when a customer suggested it was disingenuous to put such an American sounding name on a Japanese product. 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 WCCs 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 1. WCC subsequently operated by his brother, Leo Jr. Through the 1. 98. WCC continued to sell Nishiki bikes produced by Kawamura. International currency fluctuations in the late 1. 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 distributorship4 and ultimately supplying Kuwahara bicycles for the 1. E. T. and securing the right to market the ET Bicycle. 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. In 1. Cohen sold the Kuwahara name back to the Japanese parent company. In 1. Cohen returned to the bicycle industry to assist the Gary Fisher bike brand4 1. Gary Fisher Mountain Bikes by Trek Bicycle Corporation. Cohen later worked as a consultant in the bicycle industry for several companies, including Rotor Componentes of Spain, 4 and subsequently retired from Lomita, California5 to Colorado where he and his wife, Kay Kay Piercy Guithues Cohen5 catalogued his collection of bicycling memorabilia and maintained his website, Howie. Bike. Man. com. When Howie Cohen died on July 1. 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. Lomita, California6From 1. Derby International marketed bikes in the United States under the Nishiki as well as Univega and Raleigh brand names. These Nishiki models, though manufactured outside Japan e. Taiwan, by Giant Bicycles and possibly in Italy by Colnago, Olmo or Viner often carried the name Nashiki and the same model names as had been used on the Kuwahara built bicycles. The brand name Nishiki was retired by Derby in 2. North America. 8 As of 2.