T-Mar, thanks for doing this! Here's my Nishiki Colorado mtb "Richard Cunningham designed
" stats that I just picked up for free from someone off of craigslist:
sn is W90032761 (on the down tube, beginning on the bottom bracket; W900 is stamped strong, the other digits stamped weaker)
seat tube labelled 4130 cromo (although I can't read the rest of the label…yet…working on that…maybe butting info on there?)
fork is "TANGE" and "made in America" labelled with replaceable straight forks, four bolt; unusual setup that looks like it may be custom but am not sure since I can't find any stock fotos to compare with; forks appear to be straight, race angle provided by the post/fork offset similar to shock forks.
FD Exage 500 LX
RD Exage 500
Cranks are biopace (48-39-24 'buzzsaw' stamped on the small ring, not biopace, custom config?)
rs DEORE w/friction switch (sis not marked…but it has to be, right?)
fs DEORE (but, alas, as is typical, the top cap has popped off; this is set to friction but has the SIS slot so I guess I can switch it back with a screwdriver if desperate to have indexing on my biopace rings…yeah, no)
The seat post is stamped "KALLOY" and 29.6 and 92-07 (not original?), the seatpost clamp is missing and I had a heck of a time getting the seat post out of the frame…but thanks to liquid wrench and super penetrant, I got it out in pretty good shape
The Vetta seat is dated 91, original maybe
Pedals are quill aluminum body metal Sakaes with steel cage; the aluminum is not corroded around the steel contact points…which makes me suspicious they're not original
Brake levers are Diacomp SS-5 (with nice action still, yay)
Brakes are MB 454 cantelevers and look to be stock
Odd labels:
"Mountain Biking Action" down tube (odd label, not sure if it's part of the sale of the bike or what)
"Designed by Specialized" seat tube (odd too—Specialized made Nishiki brand bikes?)
"Oakley" top tube
"Bike Lane Racing" on left bottom stay (same font type as "Oakley", lettering smaller though)
"Anza" added on the down tube (splash font of some sort)
(someone went label happy on this!)
My general impression is that this could be an "Oakley" configuration of the 90-92 Colorado from a catalog or distributor somewhere…or maybe some guy who is somehow related to "Oakley" componentized this mtb in or about 1992-93
taped end tube bullhorns(and really nice too, almost certainly not stock)
Front hub is stamped in pathetic fashion MB50, rear hub unmarked but it's hyperglide 7 speed hub that is completely shot; presumably rear hub is Shimano but I haven't bothered to degrease yet to see what it sez on the seals (if anything)
rims are Avaya 26x1.50, meh
Oh, yeah, the paint job is black with ugly spackle; who ever decided that Pollack should be the basis of color schemes on bikes? Actually, don't tell me as there is already enough violence in the world. Be thankful that I don't post a picture of it…oh, maybe someday I'll be into extreme ridicule…
The bike is worn out but I'm game to try out the interesting geometry when/if I get around to fixing it up. Yeah, I'll just do that thing…as soon as my bro gives me back my bottom bracket tools…yep. All I know is that the headset appears to be good so this Nishiki goes onto the project pile…until I (or someone(s) else!) can think of a better idea.