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It's hard to even find pictures of this 1992 Miyata Elevation 8000 Ti MTB on the internet. So here is the pre-cleaned up version, just as I got it. It has a few upgrades from stock including a Rock Shox Magnesium fork that seems to actually still work, Cook Bros crank with (said to be) titanium BB, really nice brakes that I haven't positively identified yet (Ritchey pads). The rear derailleur is ridiculously worn and it needs new decals, but aside from that I think a good cleaning and overhaul and a little paint touchup, will put her back in action.

pastorbobnlnh 

Looks great! Should be a fun project. I've seen those brakes and they remind me of Pauls, but I don't think they are.

Does it have a small shock between the top of the seat stays and the seatpost collar?

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No, I read about that shock somewhere but this doesn't have it. Funny part: CL said "20lbs as it sits".

OT - are you anywhere close to New Hampton?

KonAaron Snake 

Very cool...ti is awesome for stuff like this because scratches are a thing of the past and no worries about corrosion. Are the tubes bonded together in a lug? The miyata ti road bikes were bonded and I've seen about 2-3 for sale that had popped tubes. I'm not sure how aggressive I'd want to be.

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Yes, Ti tubes bonded into aluminum lugs. I have read about a few having bond failures, and the Raleigh Techniums of the same era also had some issues like that. But this one seemed to be solid as far as I could tell, and I can promise you with all confidence that I will not ride it aggressively. At all. Ever.

I'm curious though, of the ones that you saw, was there a common failure point; and was the failure visibly obvious without applying considerable stress to the bike?

KonAaron Snake 

They had different tubes that had popped out...and it was typically pretty obvious. I'm not trying to scare you, or disparage your new toy, it's just not something I'd want to be on at high speed, or on technical terrain.

Italuminium

No! send it to me! beware of Elev12k coming for your 8k

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If I get a 12K with screws and duct tape around one of the lug joints, I'll know what happened!!

RFC

Really a great find. Ti MTBs are simply the best. I wouldn't worry much about separation. While not purely a myth, it falls within the same category of C&V parinoia as exploding cr forks. Go ride the hell out of it.

KonAaron Snake 

I think this flippant post is a bit dismissive of a real issue. I have seen over 4 years 3 of them with popped tubes. That concerns me. I use CF forks, and, to date, have not had a problem (and really like them in fact), but I've also seen several broken CF forks in my LBS - they sell CF bikes, but would be the first to tell you that the forks can fail. No - they don't spontaneously combust, but you're foolish if you think they don't break and if you don't check them for damage with some frequency.

RFC

It's Friday. Chill out.

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I agree with all of you!
I know that bonding was a real issue in this bike era.

As far as I know, the failures were still a small enough percentage of bikes sold to warrant caution but not paranoia. And I really am not hard on my bikes. In fact, I don't really like getting them dirty. That's partly why I haven't spent much time on mountain bikes. The first time I bought one I would go for a two hour ride and spend four hours cleaning the bike!

KonAaron Snake 

^^ Sounds smart! I don't really know what the percentages were...I'd imagine low or there would have been recalls and more direct knowledge.

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What I really want to know is...who made those brakes???

RFC

Correct. No recall. Also you have real, first order data. That bike has been ridden and probably ridden hard. Are the bonds still sound? If so, not much to worry about. I've never seen a Miyata Ti MTB, but I have seen the road version. Very cool frames. I suggest you post your pics in the retro sections of the MTB forums. They will love it and probably have some real information.

https://forums.mtbr.com/vintage-retro-classic/

https://www.retrobike.co.uk/forum/vie...8a39bb81a3545f

due ruote 

Very cool find. What crank is that? It looks a little Fred Flinstone, in a good way.

RFC

+1. I like it. And it looks like it could double as a survival weapon.

RFC

Here is the catalog reference for your bike.

https://www.miyatacatalogs.com/2007/1...alog-1993.html

sauze

Aww man I want a Ti MTB so bad! Very , very neat , I'm in for more photos.

cyclotoine

I have seen those skewers before too, I think they're Ti. The BB doesn't look like Syncros from the one peak I can get at the lock-ring but I have a Ti BB of unknown manufacture that has plain alloy cups too. That is a very cool bike. Many companies made a cantilever like that, but I don't recognize that one. Onza, Ritchey, WTB, Paul and avid all made cantilever brakes with a similar clamp to round post type of design but I have not seen these before.

cyclotoine

they're called "Pipe Dream" by Gravity Research

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gravity-Re...a984568&_uhb=1

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It is a Cook Bros. You can get the down-low on it at https://mombat.org/MOMBAT/BikeHistory...Cook_Bros.html

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This guy's ebay post says they are "highly sought after". I wll have to follow his auction to see how highly sought after they are! I do like the design, I think I like it more than modern V-Brakes.

Chris_in_Miami

Very cool find, lots of high-end parts on that bike!

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I'll post more pictures after I get a chance to clean it up a bit. It looks to me like it should clean up nicely.