LesterOfPuppets

Even has a Flickstand installed! Sweet!

Phreon

Hmm. Looks like most of my bike parts didn't make it through the last two moves, except for a crappy Nishiki crank set (the Miyata will NOT wear it), some Suntour brake levers, a reasonably nice pair of ratcheting Suntour bar end shifters, Suntour Vx derailleurs, a set of bottom bracket caps and a quill stem. Looks like I'll need a complete group set. I see sets on eBay, but am not sure what will fit (work with the 130mm hub the wheels will be built around). And some are clearly removed from bikes that were upgraded. My knowledge is quite old. Will a modern cartridge bottom bracket set fit the Miyata for example? I know I need to stick with a quill stem if I stay with the (perfectly good) headset already on the frame.

xlbs

Yes, a modern english cartridge BB will fit, as will, almost, everything else. If you want to explore stem setups you can buy a threadless adaptor that will permit you to convert your 1 inch setup to 1 1/8 without having to find a 1 inch threadless fork and headset. If you are willing to do the work of finding the right "stuff" you can build this frame up into a truly fine almost modern bike without spending a fortune. I've done this with a couple of 20-25 year old frames, and they work just great.

AAZ

I have a '85 Miyata 1000. It is a terrific bike. I am modernizing it as well with brifters, new 130mm wide wheels, 9-speed.
I think it's worth it.

Good luck!

sonatageek

Glad it was still there and here's hoping for a speedy process of getting it back on the road (or some of those sweet sweet rail trails in that part of the state).

Phreon

It's probably going to take a few paychecks. I'm quite mechanically inclined, but in this case, I'm having Jim's Bike Shop (Cincinnati, OH) do the work. Been in business since 1977 and did all work on my family's bikes back in the day. I have absolute trust it will be perfect when he's done with it. Plus, he managed to not get rid of the frame over 7 years, so I really want to support this independent shop.

I'll head out later to talk to him about options, put a down payment down for the wheels. I'm not skimping on them. I'll report back later.

On a completely unrelated note, any clue how much my Dad's pristine Gene Lemle, "Lemle Lightning", under seat steering recumbent is worth?

Phreon

I went up to the shop with a bag of parts that survived my "garbage cull" to chat about getting the Miyata back on the road.


Since this bike has rim brakes, can't just use any rims. I put a down payment on wheels we expect to be in the $500 range. They're going to work up some choices for a pair of 36 spoke alloy wheels and we'll go from there.


I talked with them about the "lightly used" Shimano groupsets on eBay. He confirmed what I've read and suspected, which is when they work, they're great, but once they go out, they're a pain since they're not rebuildable/adjustable like Campy systems. Since I already have a really nice pair of good Suntour brakelevers and Shimano ratcheting bar end shifters, we'll go with them and NOS non-indexing front and rear derailleurs.. Fine by me, since I never had a problem with friction shifters. I also have a decent quill stem and will probably go with a new Nitto alloy drop bar.


This shop has been around since 1977. When I asked if he has parts available, he just grinned and said, "Oh, I think we have a few things lying around here we can work with". Im fine with that since I'm not interested slapping carbon parts on a 34 year old CroMo frame, just upgrading to alloy and lightening a bit where sensible.


The end result should be a subtly modernized bike that still looks more or less period or to put it a different way, not a Frankenstein with threadless stem, carbon wheels, brifters, etc. on a rather lithe vintage steel frame.

Phreon

What do you folks think about the Suntour Vx rear and Cyclone front derailleurs I have? They're dirty and sticky, but don't seem chewed up. Does the Vx have enough travel to deal with a 130mm hub / cog stack?

Phreon

The hubs will be Origin 8 RD series hubs laced to 36 spoke Velocity Dyad rims. Natural alloy color to more or less look correct. I've read some complaints about these parts, but they always seem to be under rather extreme conditions (uber-heavy touring, very wide tires, etc.). 98% of this bike's duty will be commuter and exercise.

jyl

I'm not sure about friction shifting a 9 or 10 speed cogset. Might be pretty fiddly.

Phreon

I'm probably going to stick with 7 or 8. I can't think of any earthly reason why i'd need more than 21 or 24 gears.

revcp 

I'm using a cyclone MKII with a 9 speed cassette. Very precise.

Phreon

The Vx GT has cracked jocky sprockets. And I'm told the Cyclone MkII front derailleur won't shift a triple set well. Since the drivetrain represents a fair bit of the bike's weight and is arguably the most critical performance piece, I'm considering newer options. I haven't ruled out the Vx though; it can be repaired.

revcp 

I'm using a Cyclone MKII fd on two bikes, both with triples. Whoever is telling you they don't work is wrong.

Phreon

I had a feeling about the Cyclone. Pretty sure it came off of a triple bike.

My '81 frame still wears the original Dia Compe 960 cantilevers. I've read a lot of conflicting info about converting to 700C wheels. Threads on this site say you just have to adjust the angle a bit, other sources say they won't work and to go with Tektro 720s, more info saying THAT won't work because of boss spacing. Anybody have the real scoop on this?

ramzilla

I've got an old 84 Fuji Del Rey with a bent frame that has the absolutely best groupset of Suntour & Sugino that would bolt right onto that Miyata frame.

Phreon

We're going to use the Vx rear and figure out the front. The shop was backed up, so progress is slower than I had hoped. It's time to think about the crank - given this is a touring bike, he mentioned a Sugnino forged triple as a good quality/price unit. Thoughts?

Thanks

Andrew R Stewart 

Wonderful story. A Miyata 1000 is a solid touring bike of it's era. My first best man and I did a great tour with him riding his 1000 back in 1984. A side note is the shop that never got rid of that frame. Much credit to them! The LBS business is so hard to make a living at (been doing it for 40+ years, I do know what I speak of). The need for storage space which costs rent every month so that these kinds of situations can have a happy ending is just one of the reasons that modern shops can be a cold experience. Glad you and your bike are getting back together. Andy.

Phreon

This is partially why I'm having Jim's Bicycle Shop do the work. I could have procured pre-built wheels cheaper, I'm sure, but this shop has been doing work for my extended family since 1981 and I trust their workmanship and experience implicitly.

They gave me a few lower cost options for tires (Marathon +, Gatorskin...), but given my intended purposes (exercise, fun/speed on crappy city streets, light touring), I'm thinking Marathon Supremes on the Dyad rims might be a good choice. I've read Gatorskins are light and tough, but suck on wet pavement - I consider this a safety issue. And the Marathon Plus's are tough, but heavy. Understanding this is not a racing bike, I am a "go fast" addict - mushy donut tires and I don't mix. Also, though I'm not a weight weenie, if I can shave a little off the original weight, it's a plus.

Phreon

It has been a while since I posted an update. It's starting to look like a real bike again! The reflective strip on the Marathon Supremes picked up my phone's puny LED camera "flash" like crazy... Who needs reflectors?

otg 

Very, very nice!

Plimogz

So sweet...
And, really, good on that shop for hanging onto it for you.
Great thread!

mstateglfr 

These were $500? I've built my last couple wheelsets, and from seeing this, looks like I'll be struggling thru text another one this winter for a frame build I'm planning.

Phreon

That was a rough quote to cover unknowns. It's looking like the whole bike is going to cost 600-700 or so. If you look at Amazon prices, the rims and hubs, w/o cassette, spokes or labor are $232. The wheels will be more expensive than off the shelf, but not by much.

Also, the original brakes work fine as-is. They just replaced the 30 year old Kool Stop Salmons with a new set. Unfortunately, my old derailleurs didn't work out with the modern cassette and chainrings. They'd shift, but required a lot of "overshift" to get the chain to move to the correct ring.

Basically, all the bike needs is pedals, a seat, the bars wrapped and final set-up. Personally, I think the Nitto Noodles look great on it. I'm pretty certain the bike came with black cloth tap on the bars - I can't think of a reason to change that. I'll never put that foamy tape on it, would look wrong. *Maybe* cork, but I'm not sure it's worth it.

To round it out, I need to see if I can find the old Zefal HPX frame mount pump the bike used to wear.

blakcloud

There is so much to like about this story. Your dad's bike, the original shop still open and remembers your father, to seven years of storage and still in the shop, now a rebuild of this classic frame. This is great stuff.

Now keep us posted on the rest of the build and photos from the drive side please.