John Nolan 

Thought people might like to see this. Got this off Kijiji. "Two bicycles for parts: $20". One bike was gone, so I got this for $10. The pedals seem pretty seized, the headset is crunchy, and the bottom bracket is wobbly, but the seat post came out, and so did the stem,

The 1991 Miyata Catalogue isn't available online as far as I know, but a couple of mentions, and one Flickr photo, lead me to believe it's a 91. (BTW, if anyone has a lead on a 1991 catalogue, let me know: I'll post it here.)

I've put up a gallery here: Elevation 300 photos



Miyata Elevation 300, 1991

T-Mar

There's no reason not to believe that it's not a 1991. The Elevation series was introduced in 1991 and the last year for 300LX was 1992. In 1991 the Elevation was spec'd with an STB tubeset and 300LX, while the 1992 version used SunTour XCM. Of course if you want verification you can always check the serial number for the date. Given that's it's STB tubing, it should be manufactured by Miyata and conform to the standard serial number format.

John Nolan 

Yes, it's got 300LX on it.

TiHabanero

If I recall correctly, the Elevation series bikes were manufactured in Taiwan by Southern Cross. Is there a made in Japan sticker on it?

John Nolan 

No made in Japan sticker, and serial m=number seems to begin with a D, not a T as one might expect, so maybe Taiwan is right.

Currently struggling to get the adjustable cup off. Bent pins on pin wrench, tried overnight penetrating oil, "Sheldon" nuts and bolts with jam nuts & breaker bar (stripped the threads on the bolt), and hit it with a torch. On to cutting it out!

T-Mar

The database shows at least a handful of STB road models which were still being manufactured in the Miyata factory as of 1990. Taiwanese manufacturing would require Miyata to ship the STB tubesets, offsetting most of the savings, so then only reason I could see for Taiwanese manufacturing of ATB frames with STB tubesets would be if Miyata did not have TIG welding capability.

Miyata did employ Dodsun of Taiwan to manufacture some entry level road models, at least as early as 1988. A D-prefix to the serial number could represent Dodsun. Please post the complete serial number or, if you're uncomfortable with that, please send me a Private Message.

John Nolan 

Looks like D10400372

T-Mar

That's not Dodsun or at least not the format that they used in the 1980s. However, it's a standard Taiwanese format and almost certainly indicates an April 1991 frame manufacturing date.

John Nolan 

Thanks.

Now if only I could get that adjustable cup out!