Video: A Hardtail Rider's Quest from Tokyo to Whistler in 'The Chromag Chronicles'
Rider: Jinya Nishiwaki. Film/Edit: Ollie Jones. Bike: Stylus.
Photography by Hailey Elise, Robin O'Neill & Rebecca Ritz.
Words: Chromag
It was 2009 when Jinya reached out and connected with Chromag to join us on a Friday Ride. He was fresh out of university, barely past 20, and had made his way from Japan to Whistler on his own to experience a season of riding. He became part of the Chromag Crew, joining us on rides every Friday and after work. He helped us in the warehouse assembling and packaging parts and working in the shop as a mechanic. When he wasn’t working or riding with us, he spent every additional minute riding on his own.
Jinya turned a lot of heads when he shared a video of himself shredding a hardtail in the Whistler Bike Park. This was on a bike with 26” wheels and a 140mm travel fork.
Jinya has featured in a number of Chromag videos over the years:
Hardtail Soul
Green Monsters
Trail Boss
Hardtail Soul
Green Monsters
Trail Boss
Jinya extended his working visa, and stayed as long as he could but eventually had to return to Japan in 2011. Returning this year (in 2023) for a visit, we were so stoked to see him again. We had some amazing rides, enjoyed after-work beers, and got him set up on our latest version of Stylus hardtail. He teamed up with Ollie Jones and Hailey Elise for a video/photo shoot and as it turns out Jinya is still as smooth and precise as ever. Following his trip we sat down with Jinya to catch up and get a glimpse of what it's like riding in Whistler all those years ago VS Japan in the present day.
 | I emailed Ian that I wanted to build a bike because I moved to Whistler without one. I was also interested in how bikes and parts were made because I’d never visited a bike company. I remember spending lots of time just sitting in the corner of the shop to gaze at raw frames hanging on the racks and stems waiting to be assembled. I was curious and felt overwhelmed every time I went to the shop. Trailforks didn’t exist back then. It was tough on uphills for the most part and I was always the last one in the pack, hoping to be stronger one day. We went up to Up up and away, the time when trails were not really there on the alpine, it was so foggy that we could see only 10 meters ahead. We did a hike-a-bike for all the afternoon and couldn’t find the trail, so we decided to spend a night up there. No food or water. Even though it was July, I was so cold and Darcy spooned me to warm me up. He really saved me! We finally found the trail the next morning and shredded to get to the bottom. I was actually surprised how hard we could ride on that steep technical trail with empty stomachs. |
| In 2010, I raced Canadian Open DH in pro class on my Chromag. That’s the year when they built a gap onto whoops right in front of Hecklers rock. As you might have guessed, I blew up on the whoops and went into a bush completely upside down. I couldn’t get up by myself and someone helped me get back on course. That was a bit embarrassing but the crowd went wild so that is what I choose to remember. Friday ride was a great place for me to learn all different kinds of riding styles from a solid group of riders. They are so fit and their line choices always amazed me. They’ve also taught me some life lessons and new perspectives of life that I might have not gotten because of the cultural differences. My life revolves around mountain biking. I started working for the bike industry as a translator and photographer after I left Canada. It’s been always there for me and I know I’ll keep riding as much as I can. The motivation never cease. It feels great to have a life long passion and people to share with. |
Read the full interview with Jinya here. You can find Jinya's socials under: @jingypsy
Author Info:
Member since Nov 21, 2011
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Was not able to do it. Jinya is a top level rider and absolutely beast on a hardtail.
Glad to see he’s back in the Sea2Sky.
Remember the days of smashing DH tracks on hardtail dirt jump bikes with 100mm coil shocks?!