illenvillain

Been planning on doing a 3-4 week bike tour in Europe after all this is over and some local touring until then. After doing some research I knew I either wanted a Specialized Expedition, Trek 720 or Miyata 1000. Then I found a deal too good to pass up on the Miyata and here it is! I plan on changing the saddle, stem and tires, otherwise all original. If anyone has a touring saddle or a brooks cambium for sale please let me know. Also I’m looking for advice on touch up paint. Happy Riding ~







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bikemig 

Nice bike. I'd use some clear nail polish over the missing paint. By the way, that's an SR apex crank with obsolete 86 bcd chainrings. It's a nice crank and chain rings are still available via Spa cycles in the UK. It can only go down to 28 teeth though.

If it were my touring bike, I'd consider swapping out that crank for a 110/74 bcd crank. But then I might just ride the heck out of this crank before installing a new one.

illenvillain

. The bike has barely been ridden so the cranks are pretty much new. All the paint chips are from storage. The owner wasn’t able to tell me much in terms of ride quality so I was hoping someone on here would be able to share some info in that regard.

bikemig 

These are pretty much all--including the SR apex crank--top shelf parts.

The gearing is half step plus granny which was often used on touring bikes BITD and it's a good way to eke out more usable gears when only running 5 or 6 on the back.

The bike just needs to be completely overhauled and the consumables replaced. I would definitely get rid of the brake pads and replace them with kool stops. Also it looks like the pedals are missing dust caps. You may prefer a platform type pedal rather than a quill in any case on a touring bike; MKS makes a good one.

Salamandrine 

Nice score!

I'm never quite sure what people mean when the say ride quality. These feel subjectively a little more responsive and sportier than most full on touring bikes. Pretty traditional 72º parallel frame with a moderately long wheelbase. Medium neutral trail, maybe a bit on the low side.

If by ride quality you mean smoothness, that has to do mostly with the tires and tire size chosen. That being so, a longer wheelbase and steel forks do also contribute to absorbing shock.

I noticed the missing pedal covers too. I'd also suggest you replace the pedals, unless you really like quills. My preference is SPD, especially if you will be climbing in mountains, but many people like these new wide platform pedals and that is also a reasonable choice. Probably best to figure that out before your trip....

Nice old school Zefal HP pump. Keep that for sure.

John Nolan 

NIce! Looks like an 1989 model:
1981 Catalogue.

illenvillain

I’m also looking for suggestions on tires for the original wheels. Thank you everyone, can’t wait to post the updated pictures and take it on it’s first century.

BikeWonder

My 1982 model (similar to this one shown above but more modified) is great in a straight line, encompassing all the things you just mentioned. But when I have to turn, I really feel the longish wheelbase and weight. That being said, the ride quality of a bike is the sum of fit and all its components, so I'm sure any bike can feel great if you have the right things.

BikeWonder

Check out the other Miyata 1000 threads. There are a lot of variants of this model with detailed specs of what we've done to them! Limitless possibilities

Cougrrcj

You're going to go there, Really? The 1000 wasn't all that heavy in the era of steel-frame touring bikes. Yes, it had a longer wheelbase to help with loaded stability and that was the intent of the frame geometry - if you wanted a nimble bike or canyon-carver, you wouldn't be looking at a purpose-built touring bike!

BikeWonder

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the bike and have two of them, my favourite being the later 1991 model. I think it's a fit issue more than anything with my 1982 since I hate being hunched over in the aggressive fit position and I'm too lazy to change it. It's also likely the extra weight and lack of exercise I've experienced during this pandemic that make me feel that way when I ride. I never experienced the issue before. It's still very lively regardless of the weight, I didn't mean to put it in a negative light, it's still my go-to ride!

illenvillain

Is the Trek 720 or Specialized Expedition much lighter?

BikeWonder

I don't think so. I'm not entirely sure to be honest. Based on what I read online, the Expedition seems heavier, but I don't why it would since it's made from similar tubing as the Miyata. I'm not too sure about the 720. I recall reading about this comparison several times on this forum.

Salamandrine 

These are not heavy bikes. They include the weight of the racks and accessories in the catalog weight spec, which confuses people. The stock wheels are a bit on the robust side for my taste, but if you're carrying heavy loads that can be helpful.

Lascauxcaveman 

Small frame, so if it fits you, I'm guessing you don't weigh a ton. For that reason, I'm thinking Panaracer Paselas are durable enough for your touring needs. You can get lots more durable (heavier) tires if you're worried about fixing flats, or you can get more supple (expensive) tires if you want the best ride quality.

My '81 Miyata 1000 had the previous generation of Cyclone derailleurs on it, so my WAG is yours is a year or two newer.

I'm another not-so-huge fan of the SR Apex crank. It's beautiful, sure, but I'd rather get down to 28 or 26 teeth on my small ring (mine has a 34T small ring), and I don't "get" the half step plus granny alpine gearing setups, even though I've tried to use them the way you're supposed to.

Prowler 

I have a similar outlook. My 87 Voyageur has 50-45-26 which worked quite well on the GAP last summer. 70lbs plus me on a 25 mile upgrade going west and a 125 mile upgrade returning east. Glad to have it. But for my normal tootling around I prefer "a triple" vs a half step plus granny. So my other tourer is an 84 Fuji Touring Series, stock with 50-45-28. I swapped in a 110BCD 40t middle, vs the 45t, which suits my style well. Of course the FD shifts it easily and the 10t difference between big and middle is what my other road bikes have. I'm happy.

OP, great choice on the M 1000. I'm now quite fond of mid80s tourers. Enjoy.

illenvillain

Just ordered some Panaracer Paselas like others have suggested. Had to get them on eBay cause everywhere else the size and colour I wanted was sold out.

The Golden Boy 

I don't know about the early/mid-80s versions of the M1000, but my 1990 M1000LT is more stout, however, much stiffer and more suited to "load" than my earlier bikes.

My secret theory is that in the early-mid 80s the top of the line tourer was often the most expensive bike for a make- To justify that expense, premium tubing was used, partially to keep the weight down, but also to add prestige. I think by the end of the decade, premium steel tubing didn't carry the prestige that it used to; I think partially because of this, weight became a little more a residual of the purpose of a bike- rather than a liability of tube set.

Salamandrine 

RE: Trek 720 vs Specialized Expedition vs Miyata 1000

IMO assuming all things equal as far as accessories, the 720 and the 1000 weighed around the same. The Expedition was a little heavier, as I recall, being optimized for road and trail.

I actually have some pretty direct experience since I worked for a Trek and Specialized dealer in the early 80s and owned the Univega branded version of the Miyata 1000*. I've ridden, assembled, sold and worked on all of them, for all practical purposes.

The 720 was the most expensive and generally thought of as the grail production touring bike at the time. Spec wise, it was Reynolds 531 DB tourist gauge IIRC. Forged tips, great paint job. Lots of euro parts on it. Spec changed by year. It's a quality machine, but a dedicated touring bike. Wheelbase was long, and I felt they were kind of a truck like ride. That's not necessarily a bad thing in a touring bike.

The 1000 frame was made from Tange Champion #2 , which is equivalent to the tubing set of the Trek. Being drawn cro mo, it's more akin actually to Columbus SP. Also with forged ends. The parts on it were top of the line Japanese stuff of the period, for the most part. Frame weight would have been pretty close to the Trek. It felt much more like a racing bike if you got up and stomped the pedals. In fact you could have raced it with some light sew up wheels.

The Expedition, was as best as I can recall, a slight notch down from these two above bikes in price. It's kind of hard to tell what it was made from because Specialized use proprietary "Specialized" tube sets. Pretty sure it was Tange of some sort, maybe not Champion. It was sold at the time as a sort of cross between a touring bike and a cyclo cross bike. It had 700x35 tires, the first production touring bike to come with them that I know of. The Sequoia was the traditional touring bike.



* The Miyata 1000 and the Univega Specialissima really were the same at the time. There were minor differences in parts spec. The 1000 came with racks, the UV had better pedals, and it had Nitto bar and stem, etc.

The Golden Boy 

Wasn't it you who said something to the effect of 'we sold 10 Expeditions and 5 Miyata 1000s to 1 Trek 720?'



Wouldn't you consider the Sequioa more 'sport touring' with the short(er) wheelbase, Superbe side pulls and more race oriented components with a triple?

Salamandrine 

Maybe I said something like that. Depends on the time period. By the time the Expedition came out, we were mostly selling Rockhoppers and Stumpjumpers really. The Expedition was a lower price point bike than the others, and got a little coolness boost for being very slightly mountain bikey. So because of those two things it was the bigger selling bike, but not really by that much. If I said that I was exaggerating. I can't really remember the retail prices anymore, but the Sequoia I believe cost at least a couple hundred more than the Expedition. (??) If anyone has more accurate recollections I'd love to hear them.

I tend to say a lot of dumb things.

Not 'sport touring', it was "performance touring". Yeah, you could say it was a sport touring bike, sort of. IMO it was in fact a real full touring bike, but it seemed to be targeted at weekend warriors. The front end IIRC was 72º, chainstays were like 44 or 45. It had a triple obviously, and 3 bottle braze ons. That 3rd bottle is usually meant for stove fuel and really only required for full touring bikes.Yeah, it had (mid reach) side pulls, but that was not that long after side pulls on a touring bike were normal, as weird as that sounds now. You could have done loaded touring on it, but the people that bought them tended to be sport touring types that wanted a nice comfortable road bike with a triple. People who actually planned to go bike camping went for the Treks...

bikemig 

I bought a Trek 720 when I worked in a shop. I still own that bike. It does have a bit of a truck ride because of the long wheel base. I rode that bike across the US in '96. That long wheelbase works great if doing a "traditional" loaded touring set up (2 bags in the rear, 2 in the front on low riders). The idea was that it let you center the rear bag over the rear hub (or a little in front). The bike handled very, very well under all conditions including coming down a mountain side. I thought the bike was rock solid coming down at 40-50 mph on a mountain.

I also now own a 1986 Cannondale ST 400 which has pretty much the same geometry (42 inch wheelbase). I'm running 700 x 32c tires on it. I prefer how the Cannondale rides unloaded. That frame is stiff and the bike rides more like a racing bike even with that long wheelbase.

illenvillain

Was looking for a Brooks C17 on eBay and there were a few auctions ending in a few days, then took a look on good old Craigslist and got one barely used with box for 65$. This is coming together nicely! Still looking for some advice on touch up paint.

Salamandrine 

A lot of bikes from this era came with a little bottle of touch up paint, the kind with a brush in the cap. There's probably a dried up one for your bike somewhere...

What I would do is try to find an automobile paint color that is close to that blue. Seems like at least a few cars have been painted electric blue. When you find a similar paint code, get one of those little touch up bottles with a brush in the cap, they are still around, or a paint pen. You could also ask a body shop to set you up with a perfect match, but that would be more costly.

uprightbent

I don't think it's an 89', here's my 89, they had the Miami Vice graphics