# Miyata project...ID help and questions



## Dale Alan (Jun 14, 2015)

I picked this up yesterday and would like to know what I have but there is only one decal. I searched but can't get a positive ID . My pics are bad but hopefully good enough for now.It is quite a mutt,but I nnoticed they came with a mixture from the factory. It has Dura Ace FD and RD,Nitto stem and bars,Shimano 600 arobesque DT shifters,600 seatpost,DiaCompe GC levers and calipers...a real mutt. The fork is Tange w/ Miyata stamped dropouts.Rear dropouts are stamped Shimano. For some reason I don't have a pic of the whole frame. Any help would be appreciated,seems to be a nice bike. Not sure if this old body fits on a 58cm anymore .


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## Dale Alan (Jun 14, 2015)

Maybe another clue,not sure if these are period correct. I do know my feet will never go in them. Those days are gone.


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## T-Mar (Jun 14, 2015)

It's a 1981 Pro Miyata, 2nd from the top of the line. While the serial number is from 1980, we know it is a 1981 model because it uses Miyata's proprietary tubeset. At the time, Miyata was the only bicycle manufacturer who produced their own CrMo, butted tubing. Mentioned components, despite the odd mix, are OEM. However, the pictured pedals are not. The Look pedals didn't debut until circa 1986 and OEM would be Shimano 600AX. Did it come with the 600AX Dyna drive crankset?


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## T-Mar (Jun 14, 2015)

Here's everything you need to know:


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## Dale Alan (Jun 14, 2015)

Wow,that is great info. Everything I needed. I wish the decals were still on it,it was a sharp looking bike . The crank is new to me,had not googled that one yet. I have the drive side but the non-drive was replaced with a 105 .I have a nice Sugino crankset I can use instead.I appreciate all the info. I thought the pedals were too new,they will find a new home. I have hopes  of riding this bike once I rebuild it. Not sure about the 58cm part though.


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## T-Mar (Jun 14, 2015)

Dale Alan said:


> Wow,that is great info. Everything I needed. I wish the decals were still on it,it was a sharp looking bike . The crank is new to me,had not googled that one yet. I have the drive side but the non-drive was replaced with a 105 .I have a nice Sugino crankset I can use instead.I appreciate all the info. I thought the pedals were too new,they will find a new home. I have hopes  of riding this bike once I rebuild it. Not sure about the 58cm part though.




The frame is actually a 60cm but it measures out closer to 58.5 cm, due to the Dyna-Drive crankset and pedals. The pedals used a non-standard, very large diameter, very short axle, that permitted the bottom of the sole of the shoe to be in line with the pedal axle. This provided a very stable foot platform compared to a standard pedal, where the sole is ~1.5cm above the axle axis. It kind of hard to imagine but it really did make a noticeable difference and some riders, like Alexi Grewal, continued to use the Dyna-Drive crank and pedals after Shimano dropped the system due to poor public response.

Of course, the crankarms also had the non-standard pedal holes, so it kind of hard to imagine that you have an OEM drive side crank, unless it has one of the special adapaters for 9/16" pedals. The problem with the adapters was the increase in the Q-factor, spacing the pedals farther apart, which causes problems with some riders knees.

If you look at the frame's BB shell, you'll see a 60DD stamp. That means it is meant for a person who normally rides a 60cm frame, but because it was Dyna-Drive (DD) equipped, Miyata shortened the seat tube by an amount to correct for the Dyna-Drive system.


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## Dale Alan (Jun 14, 2015)

Thanks for explaining all this,very interesting combination this bike is .The crank does have the adapter.I was wondering about stepping out the pedal with the adapter. It has a recess that allows the pedal to be seated deeper I was guessing that offset the issue. I will surely be putting my Sugino crankset on it.


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## Duchess (Jun 14, 2015)

Cool info. I have a 1000LT, which has some unusual features as well (the proprietary butted and rifled tubing, radial tires, and Biopace). Miyata was an interesting company.


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## vincev (Jun 14, 2015)

Nice find with high end components."Bike Forums" Is also a good site for any road bike info.


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## T-Mar (Jun 14, 2015)

Duchess said:


> Cool info. I have a 1000LT, which has some unusual features as well (the proprietary butted and rifled tubing, radial tires, and Biopace). Miyata was an interesting company.




Miyata were arguably the best of the mass volume manufacturers during the 1980s. They cared enough about quality control that they established their own tubing mill. Theoretically, this allowed them to tailor the tubing to suit the designers needs, rather than having to compromise the design by using a standard tubeset. They were also the only Japanese manufacturer during that era to sponsor a professional, European based cycling team to test their designs in a harsh, real world environment. That sort of dedication to producing the finest possible bicycle showed up in the final product, regardless of the price point. Miyata were well manufactured, reliable bicycles.

A lot of this stems from the pride of Miyata having manufactured the first Japanese bicycle in 1890. They held a prestigious position in the Japanese industry and maintained it for over 100 years. Thier reputation was so high that Eddy Merckx chose them as a manufacturer of his private label brand and they were reportedly the first brand considered by Greg Lemond for his comeback after this shooting accident. Too bad that they turned him down, otherwise they would have had his a Tour de France win to their credit.

The Miyata 1000 is arguably one of the most desirable grand touring bicycles of the 1980s. You can't give Miayta too much credit for the BioPace and radial tires, as they weren't Miyata inventions and a lot of companies were specing them, but the STB (splined triple butted) tubeset introduced in 1986 was one of the best tubesets of the late 1980s.


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 14, 2015)

Miyata is still making bikes today - they're just not exporting them.  The rising yen in the 80s eventually priced handmade Japanese bikes out of the US market.  
Taiwan-made Japanese brands continued for awhile, but eventually even those couldn't compete with US-made bikes.  
(today,  you virtually can't afford a US handmade bike and of course all the US brands that rose in the 80s are China-made bikes now)
Good thing about Taiwan, though, because currently handmade Taiwan frames are the best buy in quality steel bikes


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## T-Mar (Jun 14, 2015)

bulldog1935 said:


> Miyata is still making bikes today - they're just not exporting them.  The rising yen in the 80s eventually priced handmade Japanese bikes out of the US market.
> Taiwan-made Japanese brands continued for awhile, but eventually even those couldn't compete with US-made bikes.
> (today,  you virtually can't afford a US handmade bike and of course all the US brands that rose in the 80s are China-made bikes now)
> Good thing about Taiwan, though, because currently handmade Taiwan frames are the best buy in quality steel bikes




While Miyata dropped the USA market circa 1994, they survived in Canada through 1999. Meanwhile, Koga-Miyata in the Netherlands was still building bicycles for the European market using Asian frames sourced though Miyata. Circa 2005, Koga-Miyata starting being imported to the USA in limited quantities. About five years ago, Koga-Miyata changed their named to Koga. I'm not sure if this involved a severance with the Miyata but Koga bicycles are still being imported to the USA on a very limited basis and are available via mail order.


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## T-Mar (Jun 14, 2015)

vincev said:


> Nice find with high end components."Bike Forums" Is also a good site for any road bike info.




Yes, there is a large knowledge base for road bicycles at Bike Forums in the Classic & Vintage group, particularly for the 1970s and 1980s brands. They are also a very friendly group.


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## Dale Alan (Jun 14, 2015)

vincev said:


> Nice find with high end components."Bike Forums" Is also a good site for any road bike info.




Thanks Vince,It has been awhile since I have been to Bike Forums .I will take a look around.


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## T-Mar (Jun 15, 2015)

Duchess said:


> Cool info. I have a 1000LT....




I went back and took a look at your 1000LT. FYI, it appears to be a 1990 model, as opposed to 1989, based on the decals and colour. It's probably a 1990 model built in late 1989. The serial number will tell us for sure.


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 15, 2015)

not to offend anyone - great close-up photos - but I like to see stand-back photos that show the frame and fork geometry


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## T-Mar (Jun 15, 2015)

bulldog1935 said:


> not to offend anyone - great close-up photos - but I like to see stand-back photos that show the frame and fork geometry




Pending an OP picture, the catalogue picture and geometry diagram in post #4 should give you a good appreciation of that.


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## Dale Alan (Jun 15, 2015)

A couple of cell phone pics of the geometry. I put a torpedo level on the top tube to get it  level,camera is close to level.


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## bulldog1935 (Jun 17, 2015)

T-Mar said:


> Pending an OP picture, the catalogue picture and geometry diagram in post #4 should give you a good appreciation of that.




gee, you think?

Dale, thanks for the photo effort - those are always really helpful for identifying the bike design and intended use


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## Dale Alan (Jun 22, 2015)

I have everything cleaned and ready to go back on. I decided to go w/ the Sugino instead of the Shimano crankset . I would never be happy with mis-matched crank arms,and I am not into the Dyna Drive concept. I have always enjoyed the late 70s early 80s Japanese bikes,this one has been some work but well worth the effort so far.


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