What does your 'Unicorn' become if you find it?

I'm sure we all have 'the bike' that we search, scour, pray and yearn for. You know... the one we know we'll never find!
Some of us call it the 'Unicorn' because it's mythical or unobtainable.

Question:

What does it become when you find it? Can you still call it your 'Unicorn'?

The reason I ask is... I found it!

My first 'seroius' MTB was a '90 Nishiki Ariel in Zolotone (black with blue and pink 'splatter'). I bought it new, bent the fork (jumping), added an RS-1 as soon as they came out and eventually traded it in on my first M900 XTR bike in '93.

60 odd bikes (honestly!) and 15 years later, the Ariel is still the bike I regret not having in my possession the most. I've been looking for another bike the same for years, collecting Aliens in lieu of the absence of any Ariels in the market-place... until recently.

I have now found an Ariel and it's on it's way to me. It did take some organising because i'm in Australia and the bike was in a remote part of New Zealand (the deep South) but I should have it within a few weeks.

Here is a magazine scan of the '90 Ariel from the March '90 issue of MBA so you can get a visual!

Nishiki Ariel? You set the bar pretty low as far as unicorns go.

Some of the less expensive bike are/will be
the hardest to find as people don't tend to look after mass produced products. Compared to a bike costing £1000's like Kleins which are fairly easy to find

rumpfy":3oowjnqs said:

Nishiki Ariel? You set the bar pretty low as far as unicorns go.

Click to expand...

Let me elaborate.

Unlike some who covet the ludicrously expensive (for obvous reasons), I was after a tidy 1990 model in my size with the original fork still attached. Have a crack at finding one and you will find that it'll be a harder job than finding, say a '90 Slingshot with 10km on the speedo (why anyone would want one is beyond me ).

I was looking to recover a piece of my youth, not clear 2m50 at the olympics.

Arran":8pmtk9ju said:

I was looking to recover a piece of my youth.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a mid life crisis to me or thats what my missus would say to me

Mid Life Crisis, Mid Life Scmisis, I say!!

It's just a case of bein' abale to afford the Big Toys and Indulgences we couldn't have when we was young and skint, while we're still marginally young and fit enough to enjoy them!!

And the day I have Grey Hair, Driving Gloves, and an open topped 'Performance Car' in february, ye can put a gun to my heed and set me oot of my misery!!!