1990 Nishiki Pinnacle
Part Diary, Part Technical Manual, Part Tips & Tricks

The more bikes I've owned, the more I'm intrigued with unique designs, such as the elevated chain stay, aka e-stay, designs made popular by Richard Cunningham in the late 80s and early 90s. I've actually been looking for an example of such a bike for a couple years with little success. My first preference would have been a Nishiki Ariel or a Kestrel MX-Z, but a random Haro or Fisher would have done nicely as well. Although not an expensive bike nor a rare bike, the combination of size, price, and condition had eluded me until today. I saw an ad for a Pinnacle, which is less common than the Ariel model that I mostly came across. Looks like the same frameset to me, just different color paint and Suntour XC components. So on August 25, 2014, my search for an e-stay bike has finally ended.

9/7/2014 - Did a few minor things to get the bike dialed in right. First of all, I tried to replace the damaged shifter cables, but the special Suntour cable is not readily available anymore, so I installed something similar which appears to work. I also got rid of the old crusty tires and rim tape and put on some VelociRaptors with new cloth rim tape. Finally I put on some SPD pedals, so now it should be in decent condition to ride around for a bit.

4/3/2015 - This bike does not shift well, it does ok to get by, but the Suntour gruppo is not performing very well. So I decided that I like the bike and the fit, so I plan on rebuilding the bike up. So tonight, I completely stripped down the bike, so I can get the frameset powder coated. I also ordered a new 1-1/8" steerer tube, so I can convert the bike into a threadless stem, like I did with the Hujsak. The bottom bracket bearings were totally lumpy and the headset was not great either. This should be a fun little project over the next few weeks.

2/3/2016 - Once I decided to go with a 1x11 drivetrain, I cut and filed off all the unnecessary braze-ons to give it a clean and lean look. Then I dropped it off to get it powder coated.

2/8/2016 - Picked up the frameset from West Coast Powder Coating, the look was totally transformed with the new RAL 3015 "Hellrosa" (Light Pink) color.

2/9/2016 - I ordered Shimano XT 1x11 components for the bike. But I didn't have any 26" wheels with a modern Hyperglide cassette body, so it took me a month to find a pair of nice rim brake wheels on eBay. It's amazing how disc brakes has totally wiped out the previously ubiquitous rim brake! It was surprisingly difficult to find a decent pair of wheels for not a ton of money.

3/13/2016 - When the wheelset arrived, I finally had all the components to finish to build. I did part of the assembly on Friday night - installed cassette and tires, cut steering tube and handlebars to length. I just spent a few hours today to finish off the build - install shifter, brakes, grips, derailer, and all new cable housing. Regarding chain length, with a 1x configuration, the typical large-to-large+2 links does not work, I needed to add two more links to get the right length. It's also nice to see how Shimano has improved the details over the years, the more direct RD cable routing and the 3mm allen adjustment screws (instead of those silly little Phillips head screws that can get easily stripped). Overall I'm really happy how it came together and how the bike looks, now I just have to wait for it to stop raining so I can go for a ride. The bike previously weighed 26 lbs 9 oz with a 3x7 drivetrain. This build cut out 1 lb 14 oz to bring the weight down to a very trim 24 lbs 11 oz.

6/29/2019 - This has been my primary mountain bike in the past few years, but as I ride less, I'm just not as strong as I used to be, so I decided to put on a modern 1x crankset with a 32T chainring and the benefits of a modern bottom bracket. This upgrade dropped another 3 oz. from the bike.

Here are the specs:

Frame: 1990 Nishiki Pinnacle, 19", Tange MTB Cr-Mo tubing, 132mm rear spacing. Serial Number: W89102570. Originally Purple Crackle, now Light Pink.
Fork: 1990 Nishiki Pinnacle, 1-1/8" threaded converted to threadless. Tange 4130 Cr-Mo steel. Originally Purple Crackle now Light Pink.
Wheelset: Mavic Crossland, hard anodized.
Tires: WTB VelociRaptor, 26" x 2.1", folding bead.
Cassette: Shimano CS-M8000, 11-42T, 11sp.
Cranks: SRAM GX-1000, 32T, 170mm, 94 BCD. MY2018 WK46.
Bottom Bracket: SRAM GXP Team. MY2017 WK31.
Rear Derailer: Shimano XT RD-M8000 with GS Cage.
Brakes: Suntour XC, cantilever, black.
Brake Lever: Suntour Multi Mount.
Shifter: Shimano SL-M8000.
Headset: Ritchey Logic, 1-1/8" threadless with Tektro cable hanger.
Chain: Shimano Ultegra CN-HG700-11, HG-X11.
Stem: FSA OS-150, 110mm, 1-1/8" threadless, 31.8mm diameter.
Handlebar: FSA V-Drive, 31.8mm diameter, originally 74 cm wide cut down to 60 cm, black.
Grips: Ritchey True Grip, black.
Pedal: Shimano XT PD-M8000, SPD, black.
Seatpost: Shimano Deore XT, 27.0mm, black.
Saddle: Selle San Marco Caymano, TitanoX rails (titanium & stainless steel alloy), 170g, pink.
Bottlecage: Lezyne Flow Cage SL (side load), black.

1x Gearing

Original Gearing

The bike originally weighed 27 lbs 8 oz. The bike current weighs 24 lbs 8 oz as shown. The frame weighs 5 lbs 6 oz and the fork weighs 1 lb 15 oz.

The following are OE parts that I am currently not using:

Hubs: Suntour XC Comp, 32H.
Rims: Araya RM-17, 32H, silver
Cassette: Suntour 7spd, 12-30T.
Cranks: Suntour XC Comp, 36T, 175mm, 110/74 BCD.
Bottom Bracket: Suntour 125mm spindle.
Front Derailer: Suntour XC Comp, clamp-on, bottom pull.
Rear Derailer: Suntour XC Comp, Accushift Plus.
Shifters: Suntour X-Press, Accushift Plus.
Headset: YST Ruddy DV, 1-1/8" Threaded.
Chain: Suntour.
Stem: 1" threaded, 22 degree rise, 120mm, 25.4mm diameter, black.
Handlebar: 56 cm wide, black.
Pedal: Suntour XC platform.
Saddle: Vetta Gel, black.