WGD

My 1984 1000 looks a lot like Badger Bike's, but with a smaller frame. I found it in a bike shop in suburban Norther Virginia in the mid 90s. I wasn't expecting to find anything worth buying but I had lusted after one of these for a lot of years. I saw the "Miyata" decal and looked right past the mattress seat and the bomber handlebars. It looked like someone had bought it, set it up for their mom, then put it away. It had very few miles on it. I casually asked the guy behind the counter how much he wanted for it. When he said ""$150" I nearly choked. But I hid it well and offered him $100 cash. "Sold." I paid up and took it out to my car as quickly as I could. A Brooks B17 and a pair of Nitto Randonneur handlebars and I was all set. It did not disappoint. I have since altered the gearing a bit as a concession to my advancing age. I found a NOS Shimano 14-34 5-speed freewheel somewhere then swapped out the chainrings for 48-38-24. It's just about my ideal touring bike.

I thought about naming the photo "A Tale of Two Mi(y)atas."

Oddly enough, I found my 1993 1000LT a couple years later in another bike shop about 10 miles from the first one. Sadly, I had to cough up $150 for the '93...

bargo68 

This is a 1981 Miyata Gran Touring that I bought as a frame on eBay. All parts were cannibalized from a 1979 Centurion Super LeMans and a Univega Alpina Pro.

1981 56 cm Miyata Gran Touring double butted CroMo frame with 1024 hi-ten fork and Tange Falcon headset and Sakae Laprade seatpost. From eBay.
Sakae Randnnr bars and SR forged stem from Centurion Super Lemans.
Suntour Barcon bar end shifters from the same Centurion.
SR Apex 52/40/28 triple crankset from eBay.
MKS Quill pedals with Christophe straps from Centurion.
Suntour AG tech front derailleur from Univega Alpina Uno
Suntour AG tech rear derailleur from Univega.
Diacompe 980 cantilever brakes from Univega.
Suntour Tran-Z gold 14-30 6 speed freewheel from Centurion.
27 x 1 1/4" Araya rims laced to Suntour sealed bearing hubs, 40/36 spoke from eBay.
Soma Ta-Bo saddle from Salvation Army.

RamAlaRag 

Does anyone on here with a 56cm frame want to measure the top tube and seat tube for me? I have a lead on a very cheap original owner 86' in about a 56cm, I usually ride a 54, so I was just curious.

thook

how tall are you?

RamAlaRag 

5'9"

thook

i'm a long legged 5'6 and change and ride a 56cm triple cross (also a miyata with very similar to touring geometry). it measures 55cm center to center at the seat tube and 55cm center to center on the top tube. iow's, if you're 5'9, i'd venture a really good guess that frame you're looking at will fit you....provided you have the leg length to stand over it. my fit troubles are a short torso. so, i utilize shorter stems and sometimes shorter reach bars to get things to fit....ie. bigger frames. i can't see you having that issue, though

RamAlaRag 

Great, I appreciate your help. I have the leg length, if my math is correct I'll take a ride on the 56cm soon (maybe a week or so), and report back! Cheers.

bargo68 

My blue Miyata Gran Touring pictured above is appx. 57 cm c-c seat tube and top tube. The standover with 27 x 1 1/4 Vittoria Saffiro tires is 33". I am 5' 10" with long legs and I have an inch or two of clearance over the top tube. Unless you have really long legs, 54 cm sounds more appropriate.

thook

you said above, though, it's a 56cm . so, yours would actually be more of a 58cm, then....measuring center to top, that is

i recall from the catalog i could find my triple cross being tagged as a 56cm. i guess it gets down to how measurements are made and sizing is considered. but, if that miyata he's looking to is a 56cm center to top....or even center to center...on the seat tube, i would say it should fit him even if on the larger side of frames for a given rider. 32" of stand over is the largest i'll go, but then with shoes i'd have about an inch of clearance. my schwinn with a 56cm top tube i can ride with an 80mm stem and 75mm reach bar just fine. 54cm frames even i have a hard time getting bars up to saddle height with standard quills. i have to use a riser

bargo68 

Indeed, the Miyatas of that time had frames that were measured in inches rather than cm's. My frame is a 23", with the seat tube measured from the center of the BB shell to the top of the seat tube. Appx. 58.5 cm. The next size down is a 21" and that would be slightly less than 53.5 cm. I'm not sure what year Miyata started using the metric system to measure their frames, but at 5' 9" tall, a 32" standover still seems too big. Of course, every body is different, yada yada, but safety and comfort being top priorities, I would say err on the side of more standover.

thook

mine is an '89. as you can see, the frames are in metric and jump in 2cm increments from medium to large sizes. and, they have to be measuring from center to top on the seat tube because, again, my frame measures 55cm c to c square.

so, yeah...i can see where the year of the frame/how it's measured and the sizing increments would certainly make a difference. to jump from 21" to 23"? wow...yeah, that's a big difference! kind of a bummer, really. a 21" frame is on the small side for my longer legs. a person at his height of 5'9? seems even smaller

1" of SO clearance is safe enough for me on a road bike. as for comfort, long as the handlebars can come up to the saddle and i can balance over the bottom bracket, there's comfort. in which case, 54cm to 56cm frames work for me. to each his/her own, for sure, though.

2Fer

Very Informative thread, and a nice group of photos! Here’s my 58cm 1000 that I’ve customized to fit my riding style here in the Pacific Northwest. I bought if from the original owner, and swapped out some of the original components, which I have saved in case a future owner wants to return it back to original.
I’ve noticed that most of the postings of the 1000’s in this thread don’t have the original racks (except Brewster II’s, which is looking good!). What year did Miyata eliminate including the racks as standard equipment?
2Fer.


Carridice Nelson longflap saddlebag. Rivendell Sackville front TrunkSack.


Original factory OEM front and rear racks and reflectors.


Michelin Hi-Lite Road 27x1-1/8 Kevlar bead folding tires


Non-Original: Tektro Brake Levers, Salsa interrupter brake levers, Suntour bar-end shifters, Nitto Technomic stem, Velo Orange elkhide hand stiched bar wrap


Suntour Cyclone GT derailleurs, Suntour 32-14, 6-spd. freewheel (non-original), Sunshine Gyromoste hubs, Araya 40-spoke rear wheel, 36-spoke front.


Suntour XC Comp cantilever brakes (non-original) with Cool-Stop pads. Zefal Competition pump


Brooks Champion Special B-17 saddle


Vintage Schwinn Paramount chrome fenders

bargo68 

^^^ Those fenders are DIALED IN!!^^^^^

tacreamer

Interesting, I saw a few of the custom Blackburn racks of submitted 1000’s, perhaps you’re referring to when Miyata discontinued both front and rear racks as stock option?

Sounds like a good project for you to pursue.
Nice specimen.

Cheers!


“Very Informative thread, and a nice group of photos! Here’s my 58cm 1000 that I’ve customized to fit my riding style here in the Pacific Northwest. I bought if from the original owner, and swapped out some of the original components, which I have saved in case a future owner wants to return it back to original.
I’ve noticed that most of the postings of the 1000’s in this thread don’t have the original racks (except Brewster II’s, which is looking good!). What year did Miyata eliminate including the racks as standard equipment?”

2Fer

Bargo68...that’s a mighty clean ‘81 Gran Touring frame. Nice build!
I was lucky to find the set of fenders that fit so well with little fitment issues. I think all I had to do was crimp them slightly at the chainstays. Radius to tire was spot on.

Tacreamer, Nice ‘84! Paint looks as good as ever....
Yes, I should have stated front rack. Your rear rack looks original to me, am I correct in that?

2Fer

prairiepedaler

Ah.... the Rockies by bike. The great Canadian experience

BrewsterII

2Fer

You are correct, my front and rear racks are the original racks that came with the bike as new.

Ironic that I'm using the same Suntour XC canti's and B17 Special saddle as you.

These are pretty special bikes in my book. You did a great build on yours!



This is a previous picture during a rebuild, and yes, my handlebars are not adjusted yet.

BikeWonder

They are great bikes. I'm fortunate to have my 82 and 91 to compare a lot of the time. They're fun bikes and you guys are doing a great job at making them look awesome.

fliplap

I wonder if anyone has any information that would indicate that the Miyata racks were built by Jim Blackburn, versus being copies. My Koga Miyata 1000-derivative came with factory branded racks and while the front rack is similar to the Jim Blackburn units, the rear and the lo rider racks are quite different.

The lo riders specifically are wildly different. They're made of much thicker tubing, have additional re-enforcement and are symmetrical vs the asymmetric design of the actual Blackburn units. I stuck them on the scale for giggles and they're a full 4oz more per side, not that it matters when touring.

You can see the difference, particularly in the area where the racks attach to the drop out. You can also see that the Jim Blackburn (I assume?) unit tapers more aggressively in the rear, where as the Koga Miyata unit has the same angle front and rear.



I noticed this as I was sewing new panniers for a tour. I have both racks on different bikes, they're exactly the same dimensions except for that taper, so I made the panniers for the symmetric rack. They fit just as well on the blackburn ones, they just hang over the edge a bit, like rectangular panniers would. Said panniers pictured below. I'll get around to posting shots from the tour eventually.

BikeWonder

the silver JB front rack was from my 1982 Miyata 1000. I attached it to this one but later sold it. However, when I purchased all three of my Miyata 1000s (including the one you mentioned), they came with their original blackburn front racks, though I believe the 1982 one was switched out at some point (the bike only had one owner before me).

The 1982 used this silver one and the 1989 and 1991 used a black front rack with a mid-fork attachment.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but all three my Miyata 1000s had custom made rear racks specifically for the bikes. I tried using them on other bikes but they would not fit.

I believe they might have been supplied by JB. The later models were only branded "Blackburn."

Sorry if I digressed, but I hope I clarified something.

fliplap

Indeed you did. The Miyata factory racks being stamped Blackburn would certainly indicate that's where they came from. I wonder if Koga Miyata had a different supplier, all of my RandonneurExtra's racks are stamped Koga Miyata.

Front and rear:


The low riders too


Then again, Koga Miyata was just really into branding. They even had their fork crowns stamped KM

prairiepedaler

Too small for me (and 2500kms away)

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...l#post21101705

BrewsterII

Bargo68

I think your bike is earlier than a 1981 ........ as mine, per the specs, has a Chro/Mo fork. Your 1024 fork places it more in the 1979 range.

garryg

My 1985 i believe. Picked up last week. Have not even given her a preliminary clean.I think it is mostly original except perhaps the RD.

bargo68 

DAMN YOU, EBAY!!!!

I was wondering about that.. Also, tapped for only one cage.