Nishiki (bicycle company) Nishiki (bicycle company) 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 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,
Merlin (bicycle company) Merlin (bicycle company) Merlin Metalworks, Inc. was a pioneer in titanium bicycle design and construction. Merlin introduced the first titanium alloy mountain bike, oversized tubesets, s-bend chain and seat stays for mountain bikes. For road bikes, Merlin commercialized the first titanium butted tubing and many other innovations. The company was founded in 1986 by Gwyn Jones, Gary Helfrich, and Mike Augspurger in Cambridge, Massachusetts They were the first to manufacture bicycle frames constructed solely from titanium. Merlin became known for their meticulous and visually pleasing puddle welds. The first Merlin frame was a mountain bike frame custom-built for the defending