JacobLee 

So I’m making coffee this morning, and I tell my wife, “I gotta quit looking at Craigslist during the cocktail hour. I see cool bikes I don’t need, and it always seems like a good idea to contact the seller.” I had woken up in the middle of the night thinking of an excuse to back-out, but she said, “If you go get the bike, could it be a christmas gift from me? I didn’t get you anything cool!” I absolutely agreed that it would be a great gift! She handed me seven twenties. So cool.

I couldn’t tell the exact model from the ad, but it looked tidy and well modified, so I figured it would be a fun intro to Miyatas. Turned out to be the early 80’s 610 with plain tubing and no canti’s, but the Dura-Ace centerpulls would be interesting, I figured.





Shimano 600 hubs and Akai 700x25 rims



Texas!




Almost didn’t notice the chainstay protector!



Happy Holidays!

Hobbiano 

That's a great Christmas present!

Cougrrcj

Looks like a barely-ridden one at that! J=1981-built -- could be '82 model with that high serial number, but checking against the catalog, the 81 had center-pull brakes, 82 were side-pull, ... Neither had Shimano hubs, much less Dura-Ace center-pulls... Damn, I'm stumped here... Check out the Miyata catalog pages here https://www.ragandbone.ca/Miyata/miyata_selector.html

Hobbiano 

The color (faded) and the decal on the seat tube makes it look like an '82 model. I think the crank looks right but other parts don't match up with the catalog.

JacobLee 

Yeah, it’s like someone found an unridden 610, then fixed it up the way they wanted it, and... didn’t ride it. The wheels are a 700 conversion, so not original, and who knows where they got the dura ace brakes. I understand they are nothing special, just sort of cool. Also has a Suntour Blue Line FD (with black sticker), so there has been a lot of parts shuffling.

JacobLee 

Maybe it was a victim of the Texas sun. Could be my photo. Again, lots of parts shuffling. Can’t imagine why you’d replace so many parts on a bike that wasn’t ridden much. Oh wait, I do it all the time!

viperocco

I have uttered these words too and I also started buying my wife bikes! Merry Xmas!

Spaghetti Legs 

You have a good woman there. Reminds me of the time I bought a fancy used carbon Colnago with 11 speed Campy Super Record. I told my wife I was going to sell the parts and put 10 speed on it to offset some of the cost and she told me a nice bike like that should have the latest parts.

I’m a little jealous about the bike. I’ve been looking for a bargain bike to fully fender and rack up for a grocery getter. A 610 like that one is on my search list. Enjoy!

bikemig 

I like the bike; nice find and interesting parts mix.

JacobLee 

Thanks! I certainly wasn’t looking for it, but for $140 what’s the harm? I had tried to tell myself that I would only buy bikes that I found at garage or estate sales, so I feel like I’m sorta slipping into the rabbit hole with this one. At least my better half facilitated it!

Still have the fancy Colnago?

JacobLee 

Thanks! There was a shop in Portland called Velo Cult that closed a few years ago, and this looks like something they might have breathed on a little: VO fenders, swept bars wrapped in cloth, brass bell. But they probably would have tried to sell the customer on a 650b swap. Who knows. I have another bike in my garage that belongs to a friend; he spent a small fortune having a bike gussied up by Velo Cult, then never rode it. The beautiful Compass tires rotted away in four years sitting under a patio cover.

thumpism 

Nice gift and nice giver! Be sure to post a pic of the shop sticker in that thread.

JacobLee 

Thanks!

It’s in there - Freewheel Bicycles, Austin, Texas

thumpism 

I meant in this thread.
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ickers-20.html

davester

Very nice! For seven twenties you stole that bike.

JacobLee 

I know! It was listed for $150, but I only had 20’s, so he took $140. I guess I should have given him $160, but that might have been awkward.

Spaghetti Legs 

Wow, that’s a great deal! I wouldn’t have thought you could get a bike that quality for that price in Portland. Still have the Colnago EPS. I ride it when the legs don’t feel like muscling the old steel up some of the bigger climbs around here.

JacobLee 

That’s a looker.

Yeah, I responded when it was the second listing, so I guess I was first. I fully expected someone to offer more, but I guess there’s still some magic waiting to happen on CL.

Hobbiano 

Take a look at this 610 restoration. It shows the original components closely. The frame is a perfect match to yours.
John's Bicycle Restorations: Jose's 1982 Miyata 610 Restoration

JacobLee 

Thanks for the links! I think 82 is correct. BL derailleur seems like the key. The tubing sticker is missing from the frame, but if it’s butted, that’s great. I guess the fork and stays are hi-ten, but I’m not complaining!

JacobLee 

Dug into it a little bit.



I dig the look of the northroads bars and shellac tape, but I’m never going to cruise that way. These are Nitto B119’s.

The 28mm Pasellas were bitsy looking, and I had a pair of 35mm t-servs, so I threw ‘em on. There’s room for more, but I think these will play nice with the fenders.

Rear dropout spacing is 126. Is that correct for the frame? The swapped wheels have an MF-6207 freewheel, so I need to deal with that.

The V-GT Luxe has a bent cage. I have two that are bent. Why couldn’t they put a full cage on both sides. What happens when you bend those back? Bad things?

Anyways, lots of fun!

leftthread

Faded? I've started using Meguiar''s Ultimate compound on bike frames. It really brings the paint back, like a black Centurion with haze, much better than the other stuff I was using.

Classtime 

Looking good with 35s. Many a Sat. or Sun. I've been driving to pick up a bike while wishing my offer of the night before wasn't accepted. One time I pulled over and made the call to back out.

JacobLee 

I’ve been very fortunate to have a string of cold, rainy days with nowhere to go and no work to do, other than tinker in the garage with the Miyata. Covidise!

The more I pick through it, the more I’m convinced that it was unridden as a result of modifications that were never really sorted out. A six speed, 700c wheel swap, was the big one, but then the crank has had the 47 tooth middle swapped to the outside, with a 36t middle and a 28t granny cobbed on. Both derailleurs were bent to some degree. A floppy and too long UG chain had been installed.



I repacked all bearings, ruined then rescued the 600 freewheel, rebuilt and straightened the V-GT luxe, cleaned and lubed the chain, etc. The V-GT had so much twist in the parallelogram that it made bad noises in the lower gears. I swapped in an xc sport to see if it made things nice. Chain comes off the middle ring and goes to granny in the big (24t) rear cog.

So, lots of fun! Less of a steal, more of a value in terms of problem solving opportunities on these dark days. I’ll whup it!

Spaghetti Legs 

Looking good.

Interesting rear dropouts. I guess I’ve seen the spacers like that before but always assumed they were used in lieu of threaded adjusters. I see your dropouts don’t have the back side threaded holes. Is there an adjustable component to the spacer? Are they hard to find thingamabobs if one gets a bare frame like this?