2003(?) Nishiki FS

I bought this bike as I wanted to have an FS with the NRS rear suspension. Wanted to overhaul it before going to Italy with it, but found out it needed a lot of work. Taking it apart, it turned out all bearings in the rear suspension had seized, wrong bolts installed, damper bearings were gone, headset contained a brown pasta (water with grease) fork elastomers were to soft and the rims of the wheels were gone.

Decided on a full rebuild, so took the frame apart and sandblasted the old scratched transparent lacquer of, installed new bearing everywere and fabricated new axles and bolts for the rear triangle. Found this nice fork for little money (well, considering the MSRP) and bought the damper as well. New wheels as I had the 15mm QR on this fork. Always wanted to try the cable disk brakes so this is the result! Way to much money, so I hope it rides really well. Tests from that time praise the frame, so let's hope so.....




This is the only sign of its origin:


O yeah, the specs:
Frame: 2003(?) Nishiki FS

Fork: Fox F32 RL

Headset: Ritchey Logic
Stem: Nishiki
Handlebar: XTC
Grips: Yeti

Brakes: Avid BB7
Brake Pads:
Brake Cables: XTR
Cantilever cable hangers:
Brake Levers: Avid Speed Dial SL

Shifters: XT
Front Derailleur: LX
Rear Derailleur: XT
Derailleur Cables: XTR
Cassette: XT
Chain: HG90
Cranks: LX?
Pedals: LX
Shock: Fox Float RL

Wheels: Mavic Crossride
Tyres: Schwalbe Smart Sam (R) & Nobby Nic (F)

Saddle: Fizik
Seatpost: Nishiki

Weight: 13kg or 28.7lbs

It's a nice looking bike so I think it was worth the effort?

How do you find the Crossrides and the tyres? I have a set of the same wheels which haven't been ridden yet and I'm a fan of Schwalbe tyres. I've run Racing Ralphs all year, but I'm looking for a better all round winter tyre. I have some Fire XC pros which would most likely work and a couple of Maxis mud tyres, but certainly the latter are a real drag on any hard surfaces.

The quality of both the frame and the parts should certainly make it worth while, but it also has to "fit" me, if you know what I mean.

The Crossride wheels are very nice, but a bit rough around the edges (literally), but then again they are the cheapest from Mavic.

The Smart Sam's have a low rolling resistance and are even good on street. The Nobby Nic's should be a nice addition to give just that extra grip on the fast technical parts on the front.
I have been very positive about the Schwalbe tires up till now.