mbaragona

I just scooped this pristine '81(ish) Miyata seven ten to turn into my commuter/city bike, and maaayyybbeee for some gravel touring? (Bad idea?) I was hoping for some recommendations on cargo racks that fit it well, as well as tubes/tires that will fit its 27x1 wheels. Any suggestions?

*This is my first post, so I can't post any pictures. Sad!

polymorphself 

I've got an 85 Miyata 310 and I'm pretty sure the geometry is the same or similar. With 27" wheels I can barely fit 27x1 1/4 (32mm), but you'll be just just fine with 27x1 or even 27x1 1/8. If you're looking for fenders you're definitely going to want to swap to 700c wheels, in which case you could probably squeeze 28s with fenders, definitely 25s.

Can't go wrong with Pasela Panaracers for the price point, you'll find them highly recommended. For tubes just grab whatever cheap tubes you can find, they're more or less all the same.

I personally would put a decent sized saddlebag in the rear and a basket in the front. If you plan on carrying a lot in the rear get a saddlebag with extendable volume (like the one from Wizard Works or a longflap from Carradice).

For basket I would use the one from Velo Orange and put it atop their rando rack, which would also let you use a rando bag if you decided to go that way.

Here is a super cool 712 (I think) which would have the same geometry, although he's converted to 700c to fit the fenders, but this is the aesthetic and setup I would go for with a city/errand bike. Nice basket in the front with a good bag inside of it that can hold a whole lot, saddlebag on the saddle when you need more room.




Here my 310 before I recently tore it down. Will be rebuilding it at some point in the future with Velo Orange Porteur bars, 700c wheels and a front basket. It's a bike I always consider getting rid of but was never able to, it just rides so nice, and it's only a 310. Miyatas punching above their weight is really the truth.

erikvonb

Here my 310 before I recently tore it down. Will be rebuilding it at some point in the future with Velo Orange Porteur bars, 700c wheels and a front basket. It's a bike I always consider getting rid of but was never able to, it just rides so nice, and it's only a 310. Miyatas punching above their weight is really the truth.

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The blue one looks a lot like a 750SR I had for years until it got stolen. I miss that bike so much. It was my grab and go, do-it-all bike and was such a joy to ride.

Mine was the exact same colour as yours, which I love. I've tried to "replace" it with this, which is a work in progress...

sovende

First off, welcome to a great source of an incredibly large amount of bike information. Lots and lots of factual info and even more opinions . Secondly, congrats on picking up the Miyata Seven-Ten! I have one too. It’s a 1984 model but I’m sure very similar. BTW, you can pinpoint he model year of your bike using the date code stamped into the underside of the bottom bracket. There’s a “sticky” here on this forum RE: Asian bike date codes.
RE: your plan to convert to a commuter or perhaps even a gravel touring bike, IMHO, I’d ask that you take a step back and consider a few things. The Seven-Ten is/was designed AND equipped as a “road bike”. According to the 1981 Miyata catalog, the Seven-Ten came with 27” rims and 27x11/4” tires. Those would be fine for your proposed uses. If, however, you plan on mounting cargo “rackage” i.e. added weight, there are two more things to consider. 1) Brakes- the side pulls on that bike might fall short of the stopping power needed when you load up the racks. You’ll need to upgrade to perhaps some center pull brakes. 2) Gearing- the chainrings and freewheel on that bike are unlikely to give you a low enough gear to comfortably climb hills when in the gravel touring mode. You’ll have to add a third “granny” chainring up front and maybe a freewheel with a 28 tooth cog in the back. Both of those changes might require different derailleurs (front probably, rear maybe maybe not).
Making the suggested changes would, for the most part, be doable but perhaps expensive. My suggestion (and here is one of the “opinions” I mentioned at the start) would be to keep your Seven-Ten as is and ride it as a road bike. Then seek out another bike that would be more appropriate for your desires. If you could find a bare frame from that era, you could build it up with the suggestions I’ve made and even use a 700c wheelset as suggested by others. Your costs wouldn’t be that much greater than what “upgrading” the Seven-Ten would be AND now you’d have two nice bikes! Bonus .