revcp 

I've rebuilt and sold two 210s, and and 312. I recently had a NOS 1991 Team that I build up with DA. It ended up being just a bit large, so I sold it. I built up a 1985 Six Ten for my son, had it powder coated forest green, put on Hed Ardenne wheels and a 9 speed group with bar end shifters. I'm in the midst of trying to sell a 1991 Shredder that I bought cheap, tore apart and rebuilt (let me know if any of you want a good deal on it, 17cm/small side of medium). And, pictured below, I bought a 1988 Twelve Hundred with full original Sante group and great wheels (Wolber Alpine) that I'm now riding as my fast bike (it's fun to take sprints and hills from my Wednesday evening ride buddies on their $6k Di2 cf bikes). The paint is pretty nicked up, but it fits like a glove, so this winter I will be getting it powder coated.

riva

Yeah you are right, found it. Picked up frame/fork for peanuts IIRC. Hit my el cheapo alert.

Gotta get it out in the sun.

rjhammett

Picked up this Miyata 912 a week ago. I will be passing it on since it is too small.

Chicago Al 

Here's a selection of Miyata bikes that have passed through my hands in the last ten years. I know they're 'just' factory-made bikes from Japan, but I have a soft spot for the brand. First because the first vintage bike I bought was a Miyata, and that was a particularly rewarding purchase. But also because Miyata has a quality I can only summarize as 'integrity.' They're one of the very few companies that drew their own steel tubing. The paint on Miyatas seems to hold up exceptionally well, and most of those that have come my way have had little to none of the routine nicks and rust spots most 20+ year old bikes do. And though I wasn't shopping for bikes back in the 80s, I get the impression that Miyata offered excellent value for the money, and that as prices inevitably rose due to the yen/dollar rate, Miyata kept adding value to the line all the way down. A late 80s 110 is a heck of a bike esp considering it's 'entry level.'

So, the bikes.

# 1 is a 1986 Miyata 100 mixte I bought for my daughter to take to college, just over 10 years ago. Cb400Bill helped me out with the purchase as it was on CL near his hometown in Michigan; this was my introduction to the kindness and helpfulness I have found in this group all along. Thanks again Bill! The bike came from a woman whose late father had bought it for her, but she had hardly ridden it and was thrilled that it was going to another father for his daughter. Ten years, many tires, and some changed components along the way, my daughter still has this bike!

# 2 is a 1982 210, which I bought for myself, dirt cheap. I picked it up in Indiana on my way home from dropping daughter (and her Miyata) at college on the E coast. It had been abused, with a too-big seatpost hammered in, but I got it into decent riding shape. Gradually I realized that it was too small for me, so I passed it on to a mature lady who intended to try it as a fixed-gear.

# 3 is a 1986 100 I bought cheap and flipped, after no more than a wipedown. It was in such perfect condition I kind of wanted to keep it as it matched my daughter's bike so well.

# 4 is a 1200, 1988 or so, that I picked up though I knew it was too small to keep. I just had to see what a higher-end Miyata was like!

# 5 is a 1988ish 110 that I picked up for my son, then going into HS. We adapted it to FG/SS and he rode it all over the place. At age 15, bike=freedom. Unfortunately it was stolen during a party that got out of hand (not at our house).

#6 is a late 80s Triple Cross. Bought this at a show/swap meet during the closing minutes. I'd been looking at it the whole day and didn't have a use for it but just thought it was extremely cool. When was I ever going to see another? After establishing that it was not the right fit for any family member, I put it on CL and got an immediate and enthusiastic reply. The young couple who showed up wanted to do a long tour and had been looking for this exact model for her bike. Matching these folks up with their ideal bike was its own reward, paying it forward just like cb400bill did for me.

#7 is a 1985 Pro Miyata that's my backup bike. This is as-found, from a local bike co-op, with quite a few changes made by them. Obviously the aesthetics of the build are questionable! The replaced wheelset is nice though: has Specialized sealed-bearing hubs. I may sell this one as it gets so little attention. My main bike is a 1974 Motobecane, which I love---but I would certainly not say that it's 'better' in any way than this Miyata.

Lastly: I sold some tires last week to a bike-crazy young couple, who showed up with the gal riding a petite late 80s Miyata 310. When I remarked on it, they said they loved the brand, are always looking for them, and have a MTB project in her size they're working on. They knew about the old catalogs online. These kids (if I can call them that) weren't even born when Miyata stopped selling in the US in the early 90s! So the 'cult' certainly lives on.

Chicago Al 

Here's a small frame Triple Cross near Milwaukee for $75. Nice color too. Looks to have been set up by someone who knew what they were doing, including an updated wheelset. Looks to be available as of 9/15/19.

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/bik...966169062.html

alexihnen 

Posting here as I had a 914 in college for a year and recently acquired a 6700 Alumitech with full Sante group. I may part it out or restore and ride.

fvernon

This was my spring project--bought it for next to nothing; the derailleur hanger was bent and the owner couldn't figure out why it wasn't shifting. Came with the original 1980 catalog & spec sheet, as well as a toolbox full of vintage tools and parts. It wasn't all original--looked like someone had put on a new RD and wheels in maybe '85, and I swapped a few other bits and bobs to get it to my liking. Not pictured--he had put a Jim Blackburn rack on the back, but I changed it for a NIB 1983 Jim Blackburn front lowrider I had recently run across in a thrift shop. Rides beautifully--I'll have this with me in California for Eroica in April.

1980 Miyata 912:

shmuelyosef

My wife and I made our first investments in high quality road bikes back in the 70s...I bought a Team Miyata frame (royal blue with too many decals... and built up my own bike with Suntour Superbe Group (except for Campy hubs and Rigida rims...my own handiwork building the wheels). Over the following decade we rode 1000s of miles along the California coast and ridge range and in the mountains. There are dozens of century rides in the Northern California region where I still live, and I rode virtually all of them many times, including the "famed" Mount Hamilton ride (for several decades continuously) in the SF Bay Area. My wife lost interest in riding years ago. About a decade ago I had my Team Miyata painted (same color, but not decals) and have a full Shimano Integra group on it. A shoulder injury 5-6 years ago put me off riding seriously. We both have suspension hybrid bikes for commuting and general errand-running. Her bike was stored in the basement and the running gear (hubs/axles, crank, headset, etc) all rusted badly. I finally got my shoulder together last year and have been riding again. I asked my wife about her bike and she relinquished all interest in it so....

I stripped the frame, cleaned everything, managed to salvage the headset (nice JIS headsets are hard to find...only Ritchie and Velo Orange?). New BB with a short spindle, new wheels (from modest chinese parts with good spokes) with Continental Grand Prix 4Season tires, PAWS freewheel, 1/8-inch crankset, original brakes (Dia-Compe sidepulls), original seatpost, and my old Avocet leather touring saddle, original pedals with Zefal mini-clips, and an Origin8 cockpit (shortie flat bars and minibrakes).

It weighs in at 20 lbs, 4 oz (about what I expected as there are no heroic parts), didn't cost too much, and is a blast to ride in town with 46-18 gearing.
I managed to find my old messenger bag and it's the perfect shopping bike.



The Singlespeed makeover of our Miyata 710

SurferRosa

Someone around here might want a peek at that stuff.

polymorphself 

Just gave my 310 some new bar tape, cables and toe straps so here it is again.

belacqua

impressed with this '89 Triple Cross

sherief

Just put some new bar tape on the triple cross; about six months of daily use and it's been treating me great.

escii_35

I forgot how good even the lower in bikes were.

The coop had a minty 1984 25in DB w/Magnalite with race sport geometry in stock. I took it for a spin and was blown away.

ryansu

Scored an 87 112 off of CL. I realize its the entry level sports touring model but it was $50 and it does have the same tubing as a 312 and SIS indexed 6 speed DT shifters, it will be my winter trainer bike and then get an overhaul come spring.

dim

my water bottles (photo was taken with the old wheelset and previous mudguards):




and this is how it looked a few weeks ago with the Miyata front rack and old wheelset:






My 1980's Miyata 1000 ...

I'm 90% done with the build and I will be using this bike as my daily commuter (40Km/day) and for touring (My next tour will be wild camping/fishing along part of the Wild Atlantic WEay in Ireland in May/June next year

The components:
Wheelset: Handbuilt with HED Belgium Plus rims, Son 28 Dynamo hub, Royce rear hub (Bike has 126mm rear spacing and I managed to get a brand new hub from Royce)

Tyres: Continental GP 5000 TL (tubeless) in 32mm wide

Front Light: Supernova E3 Triple Dynamo light

Mudguards: Honjo hammered (bike can fit tyres up to 38mm wide)

Saddle: Brooks Cambium Carved

Bell: Crane Brass

Brake Pads: Kool Stop

Bottle Holders: Nitto

I also have the full set of Miss Grape bikepacking bags

still to buy:

Tubus front and rear racks
Ortlieb saddle bags (2 large rear and 2 front)... Current saddle bags are cheap and used for commuting
Supernova E3 Triple rear light
Sinewave Revolution USB charger (to charge a powerbank)

this is an amazing bike and rides like a dream .... It took me over 4 years to find one in my size and I managed to buy this Miyata 1000 in mint condition from a seller in Germany .... I have not seen another Miyata 1000 in the UK

norcalmike

Here's my 81 912 I picked up recently as just a F/F.
that pearl orange is awesome and the frame is so mint it's like it was hardly used. Still has the bike shop decal from new Jersey.
thanks to the forum classifieds, I got a really nice Arabesque group set. Goal is to build it back to original spec.

Dfrost 

What is the serial number? Frame size?

I’d thought only the ‘79 version had that style model number decal on the chainstay, according to the catalogs:

https://www.ragandbone.ca/Miyata/miyata_selector.html

Your decals and details look identical to my ‘79 (shown here pre-Gugificazione), except for your longer lug points, shorter seat stay “spoons”, and quite different fork crown as found on later years. And I’d love to see a closeup photo of your tubing sticker. I managed to destroy mine before I’d had the presence of mind to take a photograph of it.

Regardless, that’s a great find! I’d love to get an orange 25” 912 frame of any year to build up for my son, who loves things that are orange.

norcalmike

thanks for the reply!
it's a 58cm.
serial # I696831
I thought I had it narrowed down to 81 based on research. I never tried to decipher the serial number though.

norcalmike

Looking at the catalog closer 79 did not come in Orange. It looks like this is a 1980.

ryansu

norcalmike that is a nice score, an orange 912 with Arabesque is on my grail list. Had a black 79 that was A) my best ever garage sale find and B) the bike I most regret having to let go (economics) have fun building up your 912

squirtdad

OT but I have seen those E and D type stickers on mid to late 70's Univega's My guess was it was to help with builds during the bike boom with inexperienced mechanics....any thoughts?

norcalmike

I don't know. I haven't looked into it but I was wondering that myself. I'm amazed they are still so clean

casanewt

Had those on a 1982 Univega Competizione that passed through my collection a while ago. From what I have read, all of the earlier higher-end Univegas were manufactured by Miyata.

Retrogrouch731

The 87 Fullpro is my favorite bike and the 86 Pro is not far behind.

uncleivan 

Love the Fullpro.....!