thirteenthcor

Wise fwom the gwave Nishiki Thread! Picked up a 1989(?) Nishiki Ariel from a vintage bike reseller on CL. He cleans them up and filters out the junk/broken frames.

Any ways, it's getting some updating. Brakes, seat, handlebars, 31.8 stem, shifters, rubber etc. Anyone have good suggestions should I want to swap for a shock fork? Mostly going to be a road bike, but the option would be nice!

This bike is amazingly light for being an XL Cro-Moly frame. I'm very impressed! It must weigh stock -30lbs. I had a Giant Revel 0 2XL that was just a bear for weight and drag, and I test rode a new Giant Escape 3 XL that was set at 28lbs.. This Nishiki feels like it weighs almost the same as the Escape 3. I guess the Giant is cheap, heavy allux?

Seems to me every time I use/buy/access something from antiquity the quality is always better. I'm only in my thirties and I'm already saying things like "things were built better back in the day".

Though adjusting for 1990 dollars the Ariel would be 1500 today, and I guess great 1500 dollar bikes can still be had today.

J.

dtnel

I paid just under $1k for my Nishiki Ariel back in 1990. I don't know what that would be in today's dollars but maybe that'll help you gauge what they cost back then for comparison to today's dollars. There were alot of Rock Shocks and others that people would use on their bikes back then. I stuck with the stock forks.

I had my bike in Hawaii, took it to Ft.Drum NY for 2 yrs in the army with me then brought it to Sioux Falls South Dakota in Nov of 1993 and have had it here since. It still has the factory gearing which if I recollect properly was the Shimano Deore DX. I have replaced the front and rear rim at least 1-2 times each I had the cables replaced once for brakes and gearing and the last few years it hasn't had much riding on it. I do plan on getting new cables installed and getting the rims trued up. I need to put some more miles on it for sure. I'd like to possibly upgrade the gearing to something modern with more gears available if possible.

T-Mar

FYI, the 1990 Ariel had a west coast MSRP of $699 US. It's misleading to apply inflation rates to determine equivalent modern values. The trickle down of technology allows you can buy current bicycles that are lighter and with more features, at far less than the adjusted price of C&V bicycles.

dtnel

Hawaii had a higher price point than the West Coast. When you're stuck on the rock you're limited to their pricing..Had I been able to attain it for the $699 suggested as the west coast price I surely would've. It's been a great bike regardless and almost 30 yrs old and still rides good and I still get looks of "what kind of bike is that" especially with the elevated chainstay.

thirteenthcor

Makes sense.

Though I will say that this cro-moly bike is lighter than a lot (if not most) of the "lightweight aluminum" mid-grade frames I've checked out at various LBS's/Department Stores/Costco etc.. All those bikes also seem to come with Tourney/Altus stuff on them for $570+.. As for features I didn't see or notice (or have had pointed out) many "oohs and aahs" in that same price range; that all started at around $1200.. Come to think of it, outside of road-bike/fixie setups I haven't seen a non-aluminum alloy based bike sub $1k in any bike shop I've been in.. Even the Surly Ogre frameset only (Cro-Moly) starts at $650..

So, I'm waiting to be impressed by mid-entry modern bikes.

All this makes me feel as if someone did put a similar bike as the Nishiki Ariel in a LBS today, modernized, it would still break a grand.

As an aside, my father, who is a casual bike rider, bought a Northrock XC00 (Made by Giant-Taiwan) from Costco for $400, and I was able to squeeze the down-tube with my hand and feel it compress/flex.. Dunno what that means to you guys, but it didn't inspire confidence in me..

thirteenthcor

Did you end up doing anything with the under-lugs in front of the BB? I can't fit the air-pump I want to ride with there, it's too long. I guess I could just run a water bottle there but I don't like the idea of it getting covered in dirt.

dtnel

ha ha yeah I had a 2nd water bottle there till the mid 90's. Regarding air I kept air cylinders under my seat in a seat pouch that would tuck up beneath the seat. With the tool and a cylinder it was no more than 4 in long and I kept 2 extra air cylinders in there along with a tube, patch kit, chain tool and other misc stuff. I did have a flat rack on the back that I had a insulated cooler mounted to for those long hot humid days to keep cool drinks cool in it. It had a narrow profile and was large enough to put a 12 pack of cans stacked 6 per level in it.

Bikedued

Zombie alert!! lol!
I just ran across one of these at a pawn shop yesterday, for $65. I passed on it since I am really not into bikes anymore per say. I still have an unhealthy amount of bikes, but I haven't built one up since 2018ish. I just lost interest and moved
on to guitars. But anyway I digress. This is not the exact one I found, but it is very much like it. Chainstay rear brake, full Deore including cranks, Biopace chain rings, thumbies, long brake levers, level top tube. It clicks most of the boxes for me, so I may go back and grab it if they're open today.
IIRC it had a white stem and bars, so these look like a more modern replacement in the pic.

capnjonny 

I love these zombi threads. Just goes to show that some old bikes never die, they are just passed down to the next generation.

I just brought home what appears to be a White 1989 Ariel to be reconditioned for eventual sale by the Bike Exchange.

seeing the pictures here and the discriptions really helps when doing a Resto /preservation.

I'll be posting pictures when I get it cleaned up .

Here is a 1958 Schwinn World Traveler I just finished (almost)