sinnerman":117zm9vx said:
incorrigible":117zm9vx said:
And sold in England too....
Perhaps you could contribute to the thread with pics of your Nishiki collection, it might help a little with defining a lot more...?
Did I read somewhere you have most of the range...?
It's definitely an OCD of mine to try to get at least one of each Nishiki e-stay ever made. I'm still kicking myself for passing on the one that dalecooper sold (I guess the closest emoticon to a forehead slap is this one :facepalm: ). Even though it's too tall for me, it's a Nishiki e-stay that I don't have. In the future I'll refrain from being so picky.
For 20 years I was content owning just one bike, my 89 Alien. Then I found this site, which opened my eyes, then it opened my wallet, and then it grabbed me and shook me upside-down until all the coins fell out my pockets
Since then, I've bought several dozen bikes. Many are beaters, some are really nice, and many somewhere in between. Some I have spent a good amount of money on (one might argue that I've spent too much money on some of them because I'm sure I couldn't sell them for what I paid for them), and some I've been lucky to find for bargain prices. Some I've driven as far as a few hundred miles to get, and some have been available locally. The one thing I have going for me that enables me to hoard so many bikes (and that seems to be in short supply amongst most of the population) is an abundance of storage space. On the other hand, I don't seem to have an abundance of free time, so I buy what I can, when I can, and tell myself I'll restore them someday.
From the information I've been able to find online, I think I have one of every USA-branded steel Nishiki e-stay made. Not sure of the years, but I'll check the serial numbers when I have more time (some are "buried" halfway back inside a shipping container amongst a sea of bikes, but like I said, "someday" I'll get to them).
I got the Brown Ariel from a member here, and all the others from either eBay or CL. The Brown Ariel and the Yellow Ariel LTD are too tall for me, but I wanted them to complete the collection. I'd be happy to sell either of them if I could find them in decent condition in a smaller size.
I also have some of the all-aluminum Aliens. I have the green one, although the rear mech stop - the part that the limiting screw contacts - has been nearly ground off, so I need to find a way to fix it before I can build it up. I was able to get a matching (original) fork from a taller frame, so I also need to cut that down or find someone to trade for the correct size fork. I also have the purple one, and the blue one, both with matching forks, and I'm still on the lookout for the silver one with orange decals and the half-green, half-silver one.
I have a few of the 1990 ACXs, but almost all of them are cracked, even some of the ones I've found in otherwise excellent condition, and have begun repairing those, although the repairs will be obvious, i.e., head-tube sleeves, triangular gusseting, etc, so they won't look original, but I'll bet they won't crack again anytime soon. I also have what appears to be a 1991 Alien ACX frame that I got from eBay Germany. It was posted here awhile back, and I commented on it, but nobody else seemed to want it. It looks to be pretty beat, and restoring it will surely be a labor of love. It appears to have been powdercoated, and I don't know if I'll be able to tell if it's cracked or not until I strip it, although considering my experience with these frames thus far, I'm betting it's cracked.
Funny thing about those 91 ACXs: a guy who sold me a 90 ACX told me he worked in a bike shop in the 80s and 90s, and he said they sold only 3 of the red (1990) ones, and he thinks it was the bright color that turned people off. He said the next year they sold about 20 of the black (1991) ones. My question: so where are all the 91 ACXs hiding? I wonder if some crazy old guy is hoarding them in a shipping container somewhere...
As for Canadian Nishiki e-stays, I was also able to get one each of the 2 variants of Barbarians that I know of, and have recently struck a trade deal with Retro_Roy for the smaller of his 2 Mystics. As for the Kodiak and Colorado e-stays, I know of only one of each, and they belong to members here.
I can post better pics if anyone is interested, just let me know.
