squarenoise 

San Xavier Mission! I grew up right down the street (Los Reales) and know all too well about those dog packs, hahaha! Beautiful bike!!!

fliplap

Coronavirus has effectively killed randonneuring and touring for awhile, so I stitched up some new portage, a mini zipper front bag and a tool roll, for closer-to-home adventures.

polymorphself 

Whereabouts is this trail? Any good info online about riding out there? I'm not far.

fliplap

That's out at the McDowell Mountain preserve, at the campground. There's really only one road that goes out there, but it's relatively pleasant.

67tony 

I don't often see threads about Koga-Miyatas, so here's my '92 Exerciser.
Although it's on the lower end of their lineup, it's still a really nice-riding bike.

JaccoW

Nice bike, it's exactly because there wasn't a Koga-Miyata specific thread that I started one with a good bit of background information here: Show us your Koga-Miyata!
Come and post it over there.

Scottybigs 

Sounds like we reached similar challenges — shorter rides, and rando bag half empty. I still wanted to make use of my front rack, and then I realized that this old Velo Orange croissant saddle bag actually works great strapped down on the rack. It has a pretty firm back plate to keep it flat against the rack.

LucasHartong

Here's my 1990 World Traveller. Nearly full Shimano Deore DX group and Wolber rims. I'm still working on the finetuning, as I just got her.

fliplap

I've wanted to try out an ultra-wide double for randonneuring. I've had this NOS 175mm Sugino PX sitting in the parts box for a bit so I tossed it on with 46 & 28T Sugino chainrings. I'm surprised how well it handles the 18T jump between chainrings. While I was at it, I moved to a 10sp rear by switching out one of the bar ends and the rear cassette

polymorphself 

Alright we’re definitely neighbors

JaccoW

Nice, that should offer a pretty comparable setup to what you had with the triple right? Even the chainrings without pins and ramps still work quite well with big jumps like that. It can just be a bit rattly at times.
I want to try the Pro-5-Vis cranks with an 43/26 in the front (17T difference) with an 11-speed in the rear. The chain should fit but there is a risk of it falling in between the chainrings. Some modificitations should make that possible though. But everything up to 10-speed chain should be fine.

P.s. Which reminds me, and you've probably seen them already but, I recently made high-res scans of the 1989 Koga-Miyata Brochure and technical specifications brochure which includes this bike.

fliplap

This bike lives in full touring guise now, I ditched the flexy 50.4 Sugino PX and narrow spaced 10s and went back to the 46-36-24 triple paired to a wide, 11-34, 9s. I also picked up a lightly loved 36h SON28 and built a dynamo wheel for it. I haven't had time to wire a tail light, but I did get the headlight and USB charger done for a recent tour. I'll knock out a post about that later




While the frame has internal routing, the fork isn't designed for a hub dynamo as the bike shipped with a bottom bracket generator. However, for whatever reason, the fork blades have vent holes both at the drop out, and at the crown. With appropriately thin wire I was able to snake 2 leads through the fork.

Here you can see where the wire enters the fork blade. I designed and 3D printed a quick release connector similar to the one used for Shimano hubs, though it's hard to see in this photo. Since newer SON hubs can run in either direction, and the rack's light mount is on the right, I chose to utilize the non-drive-side fork leg. The wiring I used is 22awg "Tefzel" (aka ETFE) wire. This stuff rocks for running through tight spaces as it has a thin, tough, non-stick jacket that won't snag or hang up. Still getting 2 wires through 2 tiny vent holes wasn't easy.



Getting the wire through the fork blade was a multi step process

First I used a length of cleanly cut 4mm shift cable with a 1cm, 90deg kink put in each end. The 90deg kink was key. The cable was inserted at the dropout end and pushed it up the fork blade until I could just see the tip of it glinting off a flashlight pointed into the crown end vent hole. I then twisted the drop out end of the cable, which caused the 90deg kink inside the fork blade to wind up and spin. After a dozen spins or so, the 90deg hook caught in the vent hole and I pulled it through with needle nose pliers

Because the vent holes are so small, the usual method of tying or shrink wrapping the wire to the cable wouldn't work.

Instead I tied a doubled length of strong dental floss to the other kinked cable end and carefully pulled it through. I used a doubled piece so I'd have a backup strand if the first one broke. I tied the floss to a doubled length of wire, and slowly brought it to the top. Here you can see the wire exiting the top of the fork blade, and both going into, and coming out of, the fender.



The end entering the fender, exits at the front and connects to an Edelux II with 2mm banana connectors embedded in a custom 3D printed connector.



The wires routed above the fender and under the fork crown terminates at another copy of that connector that allows a Sinewave Revolution USB charger stored in the rando bag to be quickly disconnected and moved to another bike.

polymorphself 

Looks perfect. Short tour planned? What size tires does it take with fenders? Up to 35’s I’d guess?

Any specific reason for moving to that rack to accommodate lower riders rather than keeping the rondo rack you had and adding a separate low rider rack?

Was the change back to a triple for the more heavily loaded rides you’re planning? The double wasnt going to cut it or you just didn’t like the feel?

Next time you’re around downtown shoot me a DM so I can see this thing in person!

fliplap

Already took the tour, just need to sort through the photos. I might be able to squeeze 35s under fenders, but realistically 32s are the better fit. The bike is wearing 32mm Paselas in these photos.

I went back to these racks because they’re the factory racks, are perfectly fit to the bike, and I like the light mounts. While Blackburn style low riders don’t have a great reputation, the Koga Miyata interpretation is much sturdier, with thicker tubing and extra reinforcements.

The change back to this triple was partially about gearing, but I do have the parts to setup a 50.4 triple. The larger reason for going back to the factory crank was that the Sugino PX, paired with those Sugino rings, was miserably flexy and I didn’t enjoy riding it.

I’d ping you next time I was in downtown PHX, but I actually moved to Colorado earlier this year, so I’m unlikely to find myself there for coffee anytime soon 😉

fliplap

As somewhat expected, the original aluminum low rider rack eventually cracked. I replaced the front with a Nitto Campee and moved the M-18 to the rear for a small trunk bag. Here's the (rather dirty) bike on a recent Katy Trail out-and-back tour.

polymorphself 

Still loving this bike and still obsessed with the bags.

This was probably touched on up thread somewhere- but geometry wise I’m guessing this bike actually lives up to the randonneur name and handles very well if not better with a front load?

EDIT: Went back and looked, you said even the geo is spot on for an M1000.

GhostRider62

Could have been owned by a military member but could have been owned by an American working locally. I lived and worked in Erlangen then and actually had a bike stolen in front of that exact shop. I owned a Miyata 912 and toured on it, pretty good bike. I wish I had either your model or the Specialized Expedition. Anyway, very nice bike you have there.

Rooney 

I looked through the thread and couldn't find any info, so excuse me if it's already been answered: What are the bags used in the 7/17 post as well as today's?

polymorphself 

I’m almost positive they are all custom made by the OP. I asked in another thread some time back if he was taking orders but he wasn’t .

fliplap

As noted in the above post, sewing is a hobby of mine and I have a (bad?) habit of making new bags somewhat seasonally.

The green panniers were nice for short trips, but I've wanted to carry more stuff for a more “luxurious” bike camping experience. When the original rack failed, it made for a good excuse to plan an easy tour, and make some new, spacious, front panniers. On this trip I carried all the usual suspects, but also had room for a chair, hammock, and plenty of headroom for food and beer. The panniers hold ~20L each, which is still a bit smaller than the 25L of Gilles Berthoud or Waxwing’s camping panniers.

As to if the bike was is most suited for a front load: Maybe? It doesn't seem to suffer from being heavily front loaded. I've observed considerable shimmy with too much rear load and speeds above 30mph or so. I’ve had the big panniers above 40mph without any shimmy at all.

polymorphself 

fliplap do you have a Flickr, Instagram or anything else where you showcase your sewing? Also, cool blue lug sticker.

Rooney 

Very cool! I love the design of the small green front panniers — so simple.

Also, this photo is incredible and inspirational. Definitely saved for referencing later.

polymorphself 

Does the Nitto Campee utilize the mid fork mounts when the pannier supports are attached?

kingston 

Do you need a special sewing machine to make bike bags or will a regular one do? I'm asking for my wife who has an old Viking Freesia 415 and wants to know if she can use it to make bike bags for me.

fliplap

I do not. it really is just a hobby. I make stuff for myself and my family. I'll occasionally make stuff for close friends if they want something relatively simple, and are cool with the fabric I have on hand.

Unfortunately not. It has little "optional" posts that attach to the cantilever studs to provide stability. I did one short tour without utilizing the cantilever studs and, while rideable, it isn't fun. This version of the Campee rack is actually intended for 26" wheeled bikes, but after some careful measuring I decide it would look and function better than the 700c version on this bike.

I honestly don't know a ton about sewing machines. I've only owned a couple. Bike bags are usually made of many layers of heavy fabric, thread and binding that traditional dress making machines won't handle. While you don't need anything in particular you'll find some work to be impractical without a heavy duty walking foot setup. Anything will get you started, but it might be frustrating, and might ruin the machine.