Nishiki (bicycle)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Nishiki is a brand name of bicycles originally produced at the Kawamura factory in Kobe, Japan. These bicycles were exported to Europe, Canada and the United States, with bicycles produced for the Japanese market using the brand name 'Kawamura'. Derby Cycles (now Raleigh Cycles Ltd.), who had been the distributor of Nishiki bicycles in the U.S., registered the Nishiki brand name within the U.S. before the Kawamura Company. Although this had no implications for several years, in 1989 Derby began manufacturing Nishiki bicycles without any cooperation from the original producer. The brand name was retired by Derby in 2001 in North America. However, Nishiki Europe, a group of European distributors, still exists and sells models in Scandinavia, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Estonia. These bikes are produced in Taiwan, the Netherlands, Finland and Sweden.

[edit] References

• Brown, Sheldon (2007), Japanese Bicycles in the U.S. Market, <http://www.sheldonbrown.com/japan.html#nishiki> 
• Ahlqvist, Kjell (2007), A Nishiki History, <http://www.cykelhobby.com/nisheng.htm> 

[edit] External links

• Official Website (in Danish, Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian)