1983 Miyata 610
 

Here is my 1983 Miyata 610, a former CragisList find, back on the road for it first post-renovation voyage---two-day, 125 miles round trip from New Orleans to charming Mandeville LA. Found the route on www.joeybike.com, a great resource for cycling in NOLA. Bike performed like a champ! New bars/stem (Nitto), pedals (MKS Grip King), barcons+rear derailer (Ultegra), crank (Sugino), and brake levers (basic Tektro). Photo is on the Tammany Trail portion of the route.



http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=248129

Here is my 85 Nishiki Cresta in Town bike mode. Not a great photo.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=248133

My Miyata 610 on the road for the long weekend...

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-v...0/DSC05138.jpg

:
Since we're posting Miyata 610's, here is mine from 1982

http://i254.photobucket.com/albums/h...ata610027a.jpg

Mine is an 82 too. With sidepull calipers aswell. Bit unusual for a tourer but I find them good enough.

It that a Suntour V-GT I see? If it is, we've a similar set up. :)

Yes, nicer pictures of the Univega on flickr here, along with other classic bikes I own: http://www.flickr.com/photos/9038813...7627565447735/

That second Miayat looks an awful lot like the Nishiki frame from the same erra.
One, we just built today for a friend.
http://liveoncenjoy.com/SMF/MGalleryItem.php?id=582

That's an affirmative, spurious.
(My only issue with the 610 as-tourer is that it's too fast to take in any of the scenery! ;) )

My '83 Miyata 610. Apologies in advance for pic taken from the wrong side of crankset. :o

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/6...uringsetup.jpg

Looks like we're having a 610 love-in here. :beer:

Here's my Univega, Found in my friends basement and I just cleaned it up and put a new wheel in the front.
All I know is it's a nuevo sport.
http://i48.photobucket.com/albums/f2...a/IMG_0854.jpg

Looks good. How do yo find the barcons? I damaged my left DT shifter when I got knocked off my bike and I yet to decide to replace them with another set of DT shifters or go to barcons....


Load it down with some stuff and that will slow her down. Or maybe my engine isn't as good :P

Great bags (incluidng the seat bag), and great stainless steel thermos---what brands??

I stumbled upon your pictures once while searching for photos of Univega's similar to mine (Specialissima). Our bikes our outfitted very similarly, only your paint looks muuuuuuuuuuch better, and I really like that front rack. My VO rack sits about 7/16 or 1/2 an inch above the fender, which isn't bad, but it's not as low as I would like.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...07copycrop.jpg

*Note: I touched up the scratches and chips in Photoshop. The paint looks a lot worse in person. Normally I wouldn't do that, but with the sun directly on the frame, it looked especially bad in this shot. :(

Your Univega
 

Really nice build. I just don't get why people pay thousands of dollars for touring bikes when you can do a perfectly good job like this for a fraction of the cost. You can go anywhere and do anything on these 80s Japanese tourers. Good job!

Thanks! Really the only things I don't like about are:

1. Horizontal instead of vertical dropouts. Horizontals were by far the norm back then, but vertical dropouts would work so much better with the fender.

2. Not enough tire/fender clearance. 32mm tires with the fenders is an awfully tight fit, and many times I've wished for larger tires. Still, I'm glad I can at least fit the 32s on there.

I'd like to have a brand new frame with similar geometry but clearance for 650b x 40+mm tires and big fenders, but I just can't justify the expense when this one does so well, even if it's not 100% ideal.

Edit: I can't remember if I ever posted this bike in this thread, and I no longer own it, but it was also a fine machine. It was just a little big for me, and since I already had the Univega it was sort of redundant, so I sold it to an employ at the LBS. But it was a nice looking bike, and a pretty nice ride, too.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v2...N0009small.jpg

I later added Gilles Berthoud fenders and Nitto Campee front and rear racks, but sadly I don't have any pictures of it with that setup.

Maybe you could find a 80's/early 90's MTB frame to do a 26" build? Similar to 650B and also similar geometry to touring. Should be some cheap fun.

Good suggestion. Some more information on the subject... http://blog.adventurecycling.org/201...d-touring.html

I recall Chris posted that he made those bags or had them made.

I did just that but went with 650Bs on the MTB frame. I had to run some oddball V Brakes but it works great.

I recently revamped my Bob Jackson World Tour to make it more suitable for loaded touring. Installed a triple drivetrain with lower gearing, Tubus Cargo rear rack, Nitto front rack and my old B17 saddle. Looks almost too purty to load up with panniers and gear.

nice build! Bob Jacksons are so classy, and good choice on the Sugino crankset.

My recently completed Miyata 1000.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...d/photo4-3.jpg

Bags and saddle bag are Cristóbal & Co. The s.s. thermos is from Trek.

This was my first bike with bar-end shifters and love' em! I recently finished building a new touring bike and installed bar-end shifters on it, too.