frogger72

Thanks for this thread, my neighbour gave me her Miele from high school that had been in the basement almost 25 years in the red frame/chromed fork colourway, 1988 Tange 5, internal cable routing for the rear brake cable, Exage Sport rear derailleur so I guess it is an Uno. Needs some work but based on it being their low end bike I won't pour much time or money for parts into it.

frogger72

Many Nishikis I see for sale in the GTA still have the Pedlar decal on the seat tube. I see there is a Pedlar Bicycle Shop in Niagara Falls for over a decade now but I don't know if it is related at all.

onitsuka_luv

I'm located in Philadelphia and purchased my Miele about a month ago locally, it's mid-80's but not certain of model or tube set (help identifying would be appreciated). It appears to be a semi-custom build but there was a post in this thread mentioning some of the mid/upper level bikes of that era came with Campagnolo Athena and that's what this has. I updated to wider gear range with modern 13-28 cassette from the 13-21 that was on it, replaced the saddle with a semi-period correct remanufactured Selle Italia Turbo, and threw some cages and straps on the pedals. The only drawback was the oddly mismatched wheelset with different spoke count and only rear Campy hub, still a good deal for $400 in my opinion.

I've done a few short (20-30 mile) road rides on it but the I've never been crazy about the ergonomics of the older style hood/bar combo; this is going to be a city commuter bike for me so somewhat regretfully I'm going to replace the bars with something upright and turn the downtube shift levers into bar thumb shifters.

frogger72

You don't want to try it with some tektro aero brake levers (RL340) and a modern 25.4 clamp first?

onitsuka_luv

I considered that but having several drop bar bikes already part of me just wants this to be relaxed and upright. I wear a backpack to commute, that being it's main function upright is preferred too. I certainly won't get rid of any of the parts it came with.

T-Mar

The graphics are 1987 to 1989 but the Columbus decal is pre-1988. That should make it 1987 but Athena wasn'r released until the 1989 model year. In this particuylar case, I believe the Athena is correct and that Guvin was simply using up some old Columbus decal strock. The Columbus decal is that for their SL and SP tubesets but the frame size is small enough that it should be SL. This corroborated by the embosssed Miele stay caps, which were only used on SL/SP and SLX/SPX frames dueing this period. The 1989 Miele model with SL and Athena was the Latina.

onitsuka_luv

T-Mar, thank you so much for your help, what a wealth of knowledge! The previous owner stated it is Columbus SL but I wanted another opinion since they were not the first owner, frame size is ~55 TT and ~57 ST center to center measurements.

frogger72

I ended up doing the same thing this week with the Miele my neighbour gave me (instead of just tuning it and selling it) as I have a few lighter steel drop bar bikes already as well.. Just a "proof of concept" so far, I threw on the quill stem adapter and some old 90s mtb stem/bars and brake levers from my parts bin on it. Bar needs to be cut about 4cm down to 540mm. Ordered cheap friction shifters from here https://www.ebay.ca/itm/174769444184

P.S. Kickstand is going when it is "done"

onitsuka_luv

That looks great! I splurged on a bunch of new parts, went with a super wide 700mm set off Nitto bars and moved my Campy shift levers to the bars using Velo Orange thumb shift adapters.

gthomson

Fellow Torontoians or anyone else interested in joining, I think our time has come! we have waited now for 2 years to live life again and I believe this summer is our time. We should meet somewhere in the Toronto area and have a massive parade of awesome vintage Toronto bikes. A ride along the Martin Goodman trail would make sense and then we could all gather in one of the parks along the way for a meet and greet.

Let's try and get this planned by setting a date and then flush out the details closer to the date.

DMarcy

Third try. Apparently I can’t post photos. System keeps saying I can’t post links, so I try again. Finally read email.

So, anybody able to help me ID a bike I can’t post photos of? I’m sure I can’t post my email addy either but I’d love some help.

Cool thread. Thanks in advance.

Darren

T-Mar

Welcome to the forum. Your ATB is circa 1987-1989. During this period all the Miele ATBs were called Aries, with a numercial designation to indcate the level. Unfortunately, many of the orignal components have been changed, notably the front cantilever brakes and shifters. The rear U-brake is a Shimano model, as opposed to SunTour but that only narrows it down to about a dozen models over the three years. Please post photos of the drivetrain. If the crankset and/or derailleurs are OEM, then that would be the biggest clue to the model. The serial number may also help to narrow the year. Photo assist...

markk900

FWIW - my Aries 500 is my daily go-to do everything bike - trail ride on Sundays, grocery store, unwind ride in the evening...... Don't know why but I love that bike. Pretty much totally stock except a Brooks saddle which makes the bike really comfortable.

Mine does not have a chrome fork and as T-Mar says there are upgrades but all of the components I can see are slightly higher grade than mine. Mine has the Exage Trail group for the most part; I have a nutted rear axle and not quick release.

WelcomeSir

I've been looking at this thread for a while now, I am amazed at T-Mar and Miele Man's knowledge and bikes!

Check out my profile as I just made a new post containing ALL of the Miele pages from MyTenSpeeds since the page is no longer accessible unless you scan the Webarchive. Maybe soon after 10 posts I can show some pictures!

I have a 1986 Miele Beta Ishiwata 022 with Shimano 600 6207 in "gun metal grey". I converted it into a modern 9 speed with Shimano Sora and it is my favourite bike ever.

I also had a 1985 Miele Beta Tange 900 (with a Tange suited orange colour) that I got as a frameset, which I believe had the same 600 group as the Ishiwata from some hard to find google images. I switched the Sora groupset back and forth between the two but later kept it on the Ishiwata. I've since sold it.

I also just got a new beaut, a 1988 Miele Gara 88 with Shimano 600 Ultegra Tri-Colour and Columbus Cromor in "Watermelon Pink". Despite the great shifting pearlescent colour I will be repainting it to a more "shock red". Does anyone have knowledge on drilled Aluminum handlebars being a safe modification? I hear it's common but I may switch them since drilled bars don't really make me feel confident having on a more racing style bike that may have more riding stresses put on them (I'm a very lightweight rider, but strong). They are drilled in the thickest part in the middle, as well as right in the curve of the brake levers. 4 holes total in Cinelli Giro d'Italia bars #64


Also, I will replicate the decals entirely for the Gara 88, and looking around I think inkjet/laser printed and UV clearcoated waterslide decals may be the best way to go since there are no exact copies of what I want on ebay/velocals. Any input or ideas?

All the bikes posted here look great!

T-Mar

In the very late 1980s, Cinelli started factory drilling their handlebars for aerodynamic brake cable routing. Only the reinforced centre section was factory drilled, The bend had to be owner drilled based on their preferred lever position. Regardless, the factory drilling indicates that Cinelli believed there was no reliablity issue. The practice was also widespread among the professional teams. I had a 64 handlebar on one of my competiton bicycles, on which I put in excess of 100,000 km, with no issues.

I still have a fair collection of NOS Miele decals and may be able to set you up with a correct set, less the model decal.

WelcomeSir

Thanks for the reply and valuable info @T-Mar

The bars I have appear to be home drilled due to the crooked positions from each other and having never been filed smooth. I may still use them as it seems more common than I thought.


As for the decals, I may do a few "trial runs" with my own methods just to see how it turns out for use on other bikes as well. I would really appreciate it if there was a way to get those from you, but I will let you know since the project is on hold for a summer bike tour I'm going on soon.

Thanks!

b50pepper

I just picked up a Miele Gara with all 600 tri color for $160US. It is in excellent condition except the rear rim sidewall has split where it.looks like someone made an error trying to true the it. It wasn't even a bent rim. I need to find a replacement rim and would love to find an exact match. In need of 32 hole, Ambrosia Durex clincher. Any help is appreciated.

gulencocuk

Here is my Miele Beta SE with its original paintwork. I recently upgraded the groupset to Tiagra 4700 and managed to do it with the original 126mm spacing with Sheldon Brown's '9 cogs of 10' trick on a pair of Araya rims with Shimano Exage freehub body (from a Fiori Roma I used to own). I still keep the original Shimano 600 groupset and Ambrosio rims in case I get an impulse to restore back to original

It was a favorite back then, and it's still being ridden in at least half of my rides. The next upgrade most probably will be the innicycle headset by joejack951

Markoshawn

Hi all, does anyone know if the BB threads on these bikes are English or Italian? Going to strip my Elite and was considering a cartridge style BB. Thanks for all of the great info and photos.

gulencocuk

My Beta SE is italian threaded. I would bet that an elite is italian threaded, too. However, to be sure, you should look at the markings on your bottom bracket. 36x24: italian, 1.37x24: british

MieleCall

Wow, some really nice-looking bikes here!
Is anyone interested in selling their Miele's? I'm looking to replace mine. The frame recently broke and loved this bike to bits. I'm not 100% on which model it is, as the stickers were removed before I got it, but based on the rear brake mount and brazed-on front derailleur mount, it's most likely an Elite.

Anyways, if anyone has one for sale around a 58cm, I'd love to take a look! Preference for a white one, but open to all colors!

cooperryder

I've had this Miele mtb for about two years or thereabouts. I think it is an Aries 650 model. It was for sell on the local CL and I wasn't familiar with the brand but from the pictures the angles looked very relaxed with a fairly long wheelbase which is what I like so I bought it. I've changed out quite a bit and it's proven to be a very dependable and comfortable urban cruiser type bike. I do quite a few grocery getting errands on it.

markk900

cooperryder : I have an Aries 500 that I got for free from the trash and its become my everyday bike for city riding....something about it makes it almost effortless to ride in the city. Looks like your has a few component upgrades from mine but seems to be pretty similar overall.

cooperryder

Free is good.
I think I paid about 100 perhaps 120 US dollars.

I work on my own bikes and have a good parts stash so the mods didn't cost a great deal.

As I've aged I find it more comfortable for me to have the bars up higher.
As you can see from the picture they are pretty high.

I used a knock off tall dirt drop stem and the bars are Sunlite North Road with at least 3 inches of rise.

It just works well for me with this set up.
You described it well with almost effortless.

Amongst around 7 bikes this one gets the most miles.

Last November I was convinced by two folks I regularly ride with to do an all day ride.

I picked the Miele because of the comfort.

We rode from about 9AM to 7PM.
We rode slow as we always do , took frequent breaks and about an hour lunch.
Mileage total at the end of the day was 72 miles.

We all were elated to have accomplished that many miles.
70 miles was the goal as one rider had turned 70 that month.


I kinda had my doubts at the beginning but great weather and constant encouragement amongst the group really helped.
The comfortable Miele also was a big factor.

I guess one could say it was underbiking not being on a road bike for that distance.

We were very tired at the end but one of those good tired feelings.

We are thinking of trying another all day ride this fall when good weather and schedules synch up. I'll probably take the Miele again as it inspires confidence in me since I did it once.

janthenat

Non-Torontonian, but a Miele owner here… picked up this Toscana 300 hybrid frame last year. My first aluminum frame. Fixing to build it up as a gravel bike. Now, I just need to see how fat of 700c tires I can fit…