Beaut Nishiki e-stay in Paignton Devon

[setspeed]

Wrong size and too far for me, but someone surely wants to snap this up!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/23494526...Q1v2igERVK&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[zbikes]

lovely!

 

[Trebz]

I think that used to be mine...........

 

[setspeed]

I think that used to be mine...........

Probably. There can't be too many in this country. Is it an Alien? I'm not too hot on Nishikis, but I thought Aliens were all alloy, or alloy with bolted on cromo rear end?

 

[incorrigible]

"Nishiki Alien"
Nope. That's a 1990 Ariel with the "Ariel" stickers (conveniently?) missing.

"The frame is lightweight steel believed to be Prestige"
Nope. Made from 4130 Thin Wall Butted Tubing, but not Tange Prestige steel, which is the same metal, only heat-treated. Sure, I see the Prestige sticker on the seat tube; but it could just as well be a Rolls Royce or a Ferrari if I put an "RR" or a Prancing Horse sticker on it.

"I think it's a 17 or 18"
and it would just kill him to actually measure it.

"I can't quite remember what the canti brakes and hubs are - either DX or XT"
and he apparently can't be bothered to either look at or photograph them.

At this rate, I was fully expecting an authoritative-sounding tale about how Richard Cunningham himself died while jumping that very bike across the Grand Canyon and was posthumously granted Knighthood by the Royal Order of the Knights Who Say "Ni!". Richard had made it most of the way across the canyon before suffering a mid-air collision with a Swallow laden with coconuts. The Swallow was never found and was thought to have survived the ordeal. I was going to plant a shrubbery in Richard's honor, but none were available as, sadly, the last known living Shrubber, Roger, was suddenly killed when this very same bike fell on his head as he was arranging shrubbery at the base of the Grand Canyon. I think all of this is fully documented, certified, and notarized, but I can't quite remember where I heard it.

Still a VERY nice bike. I'd buy it at that price in a heartbeat, but it's not available to jaded, sarcastic, grumpy old men who live in the USA. Harumph! Maybe I should change my username from incorrigible to irritable?
It's late. Time for my nap...

 

[Trebz]

It's an Ariel. As Incorrigible pointed out. I had one (Possibly this one) for a while and only used it once for a Retrobike meeting, I remember it being largely ignored on the day, probably because it had a non original spray job hehe I had it setup with a full XT group set and a Proflex Stem in black, hence my thinking this was the one I had. And I can assure you I didn't sell it for as much as this chap is asking as that would have been wrong of me.

 

[setspeed]

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1234285-road-test-bike-review-1989-nishiki-alien.html
I found this review about the '89 Alien which was made of Tange Prestige (before the Alien was switched to alloy in 1990), and looks a lot like this one.
Could it be that this bike is an early Alien, after all?

 

[vtwinvince]

I have a '91 Mystic produced for the local market. Interesting bikes.

 

[incorrigible]

I found this review about the '89 Alien which was made of Tange Prestige (before the Alien was switched to alloy in 1990), and looks a lot like this one.
Could it be that this bike is an early Alien, after all?

No. Here's the lowdown on the earliest Nishiki e-stays as I understand it, along with some pics:

1989 - Alien, Tange Prestige steel, white with purple pearl clearcoat & black decals. 1" head tube. Seat-tube lug has a swooshy "N" cutout on the left & right. sides All Deore XT.

1990 - Alien, Tange Prestige steel, white with black splatter & teal decals. Same exact geometry as the 1989 except with 1 1/8" head tube & no swooshy "N" cut into the seat tube lug. All Deore XT.

1990 - Alien ACX,, Aluminum/Chromoly X(perimental?), aluminum front triangle, chromoly bolt-on rear triangle, head tube & welds around the saddle crack if you look at it sideways. All Deore XT.

1990 - Ariel, Chromoly steel, white with purple decals, geometry matches 1990 Alien. All Deore DX. You can zoom into the attached pic to see part of the seat-tube decal stating "4130 Thin Wall Butted Tubing". See pics below and note the similarity in the decals to the bike for sale posted above.

Over the next 3 years or so, Nishiki went on to make over a couple dozen different varieties of e-stays, including all-aluminum Aliens, all-steel Ariels, Cascades, a Pinnacle, and a few more for the Canadian and European markets. I think I have versions of all but a couple Nishiki e-stays, all buried in storage until I can retire in a couple of years (Got a Nishiki e-stay to sell? Then I'm your guy.....unless I already own what you got......like this Ariel)

I think I just obligated myself to immortalizing all of my Nishiki e-stays online for all to benefit, including pics, weights, measurements, and any and all documentation available, but it won't happen for a couple of years yet. Meanwhile, check my previous posts for more info. Grab a shovel and dig in!

Thanks @setspeed for the magazine article. More documentation is always appreciated but unsubstantiated info just introduces confusion, hence my rant above. This type of confusion has been introduced here on RB before, but reports of Richard Cunningham's death are greatly exaggerated. Note my qualifying statement above, "as I understand it", based on about a dozen years of research and collecting.

 

[setspeed]

No. Here's the lowdown on the earliest Nishiki e-stays as I understand it, along with some pics:

1989 - Alien, Tange Prestige steel, white with purple pearl clearcoat & black decals. 1" head tube. Seat-tube lug has a swooshy "N" cutout on the left & right. sides All Deore XT.

1990 - Alien, Tange Prestige steel, white with black splatter & teal decals. Same exact geometry as the 1989 except with 1 1/8" head tube & no swooshy "N" cut into the seat tube lug. All Deore XT.

1990 - Alien ACX,, Aluminum/Chromoly X(perimental?), aluminum front triangle, chromoly bolt-on rear triangle, head tube & welds around the saddle crack if you look at it sideways. All Deore XT.

1990 - Ariel, Chromoly steel, white with purple decals, geometry matches 1990 Alien. All Deore DX. You can zoom into the attached pic to see part of the seat-tube decal stating "4130 Thin Wall Butted Tubing". See pics below and note the similarity in the decals to the bike for sale posted above.

Over the next 3 years or so, Nishiki went on to make over a couple dozen different varieties of e-stays, including all-aluminum Aliens, all-steel Ariels, Cascades, a Pinnacle, and a few more for the Canadian and European markets. I think I have versions of all but a couple Nishiki e-stays, all buried in storage until I can retire in a couple of years (Got a Nishiki e-stay to sell? Then I'm your guy.....unless I already own what you got......like this Ariel)

I think I just obligated myself to immortalizing all of my Nishiki e-stays online for all to benefit, including pics, weights, measurements, and any and all documentation available, but it won't happen for a couple of years yet. Meanwhile, check my previous posts for more info. Grab a shovel and dig in!

Thanks @setspeed for the magazine article. More documentation is always appreciated but unsubstantiated info just introduces confusion, hence my rant above. This type of confusion has been introduced here on RB before, but reports of Richard Cunningham's death are greatly exaggerated. Note my qualifying statement above, "as I understand it", based on about a dozen years of research and collecting.

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I don't suppose you've got an XL framed Alien ACX you want to sell me, have you?