Miyata Info

I don't know much about Miyatas, but for some reason they keep showing up. Unfortunately there isn't very much comprehensive information about them on the Web.

Miyata is a Japanese marque, related to Panasonic and Univega. They were great values in their heyday (early- to mid-1980s), with high-quality Japanese lugged steel frames and good Shimano or Suntour components. They are best known for their touring bikes, though their other models are quite good, too.

They're still around, very popular in Europe under the Dutch Koga-Miyata banner. But the rising Yen forced Miyata out of the US market in the early 1990s.

Miyatas aren't very collectable, at least not in the States. (One notable exception: the Miyata 1000, which is still considered one of the finest stock touring frames ever.) They don't have the racing heritage of De Rosa or Bianchi, or the rumpled style of Raleigh, or the eccentricity of Bridgestone. They're simply very unpretentious, well-built and well-equipped bikes.

100/110

This was the bottom of the range. Chromo main tubes, hi-ten stays, available in both men's and mixte styles.

210

This was a touring model. Mine (maybe a 1985?) had decals indicating it was built with Miyata's "triple-butted" tubing, though the 1984 catalogue says the 210 used straight-gauge tubing. Dia-Compe cantilever brakes and Shimano triple drivetrain. I had one built in the mid-80s (it was my first "real" bike); it was metal-flake light blue with dark blue decals ("MIYATA" down the dt, "two-ten" in script on the top tube) and a real head-tube badge. It had a Shimano drivetrain, with a clamp-on downtube friction shifters, a Sakae "Signature" triple (110/74 BCD) crank (50/42/28?), 5-speed cluster and long-cage rear derailleur. It came with narrow randonneur-type bars (OEM?) and suicide levers. 36/40 spoking in front/rear. Frame details: Braze-ons on front and rear dropouts (no low-rider braze-ons in front), cantis front and rear, horizontal rear dropouts, one bottle braze-on, rear rack braze-ons, and flat-top fork crown. It had a very smooth ride, but at the cost of a not-very-stiff drivetrain.

It's possible that the Univega Viva Touring used the same frame and fork as the Miyata 210--and that checks out, given the '84 Miyata and similar-vintage Univega VTs both had similar tubing and braze-ons--though examples I've seen of the VTs were built with lower-end parts.

310/312

This was a mid-range "road racing" model, with Shimano 105 throughout. I have both a champaign/burgundy 310 from 1983 or 1984 or so (which turned out to have a bent frame--luckily it was free) and a black/silver 312 from a couple of years later (probably 1987). The 310/312 had a shorter wheelbase than the touring models, but still plenty of clearance for fenders and wider tires. Sometimes it's referred to in newsgroups as a "sport-touring" model--a comfortable rig for day rides and commuting.

Description from the 1981 catalogue (from an iBOB posting by Ian Kersey)

Frame Size: Men's 19 1/2", 21", 23", 25"; Ladies (310S, staggered type) 19 1/2", 22"
Frame Materials: Miyata Cr-Mo tubings, cutway lugs, Miyata GT ends
Front Fork: Miyata hi-tension steel tubing with forged ends
Head Set: Tange MA-60
Handle Bar: SR CTD, alloy, with artificial suede tape
Handle Stem: SR AH, alloy, extension: 60mm (19 1/2" frame), 80mm (21", 22"), 100mm (23", 25")
Brakes: Dia Compe #500, side pull, with quick release and self centering device, hooded levers with rubber pads
Derailleurs: Sun Tour VX (front). VX-S (rear), with PDL-M shifter
Cluster: Sun Tour Pro-Compe, gold, 14, 17, 20, 24, 28 teeth
Chain: KEC, 1/2" x 3/32"
Crank Set: SR SI-5DRG-AH, 52x40 teeth, 165mm (19 1/2", 21" frames), and 170mm (22", 23", 25") alloy cranks
Pedals: SR SP-450, alloy
Tires: Miyata, 27" x 1 1/8", gumwall, high pressure, 90 lbs
Rims: 27" x 1 1/4", alloy, narrow type
Spokes: #14, UCP, with brass nipples
Hubs: Sunshine, alloy, small flange, front with quick release, rear with blind nuts
Saddle: Ariake 77P-17, anatomically styled, vinyl top, padded
Seat Pillar: Nitto, alloy, 26.7mm dia. x 230mm
Extras: Alloy spoke protector, CPSC reflectors
Colors: Blue, Burgundy, Black
Approx. Weight: 26 lbs (23" frame) [note that a pen and ink comment in my catalog says "19 1/2 (S) is approximately 25 lbs"]
Original retail price (penned into the catalogue): $254.95

1983 model: metal-flake champaign with burgundy HT, fork and decals (MIYATA up dt, "three-ten" on tt) single braze-ons f and r, "aero" dt shifters (mounted on a boss on the top side of the dt), slanted fork crown, decal on HT, and no pump peg. This one has Shimano 105 throughout, with non-aero levers (no suicide levers) and flush-mount single-pivot Shimano calipers.

1987 model: black with silver HT and fork, burgundy decals ("MIYATA" up dt, "312-competition" on tt, and triathlon icons on chainstay) and cable housing. This one has a pump peg on the HT, and Shimano 105 drivetrain with 6-speed indexing rear. Dia-Compe aero levers and Shimano single-pivot calipers. 144bcd Sakae "Signature" double cranks (52/45) and Miyata-badged stem. It's not nearly as pretty as the earlier 310. Shots of this bike are here.

512 Competition

This was a higher-end road bike than the 310/312, with more "aggressive" geometry.

610

This was another touring model, one step down from the 1000. Butted chromo tubing throughout. Specs from the late '70s (eBay auction):

Fork: Hi-ten
Frame: Butted, w/pump peg
Crank: Signature SP-350, 52t large ring
Rear cluster: 5 speed
Rear derailleur: Suntour V-GT Luxe
Shifters: Suntour power ratchet
Rims: Araya
Tires: 27 x 1-1/4
Brake caliperss: Dia-Compe 610 (Note early models had center-pull instead of cantilevers)
Brake levers: Dia-Compe w/suicide levers
Handlebars: Sakae Randoneer
Stem: Sakae
Saddle: Ariake 7378

710

A mid- to high-end road bike. Early models had Suntour parts, including an odd 3-wheel rear derailleur. Probably uses the same frameset as the 910. Specs (from an eBay auction):

Rear derailleur: Suntour LePree (3 pulleys)
Front derailleur: Suntour BL
Chainrings: Sugino AT triple (170mm)
Rims: Mavic G40
Tires: 1-1/4" Irc Durotour
Bars: Sakae Road Champion
Brake calipers: Dia-Compe G
Saddle: Avocet I

912

Miyata's high-end road bike, with Shimano 600 components.

1000

This was considered the finest, lightest off-the-peg touring bike of its time, with splined, triple-butted Chromo tubing. Some report the 610 to be stiffer than the 1000--probably a bit better for loaded touring.

1997 model had a mix of Shimano 600 and Deore XT parts (600 DT shifters, XT derailleurs).

Alumicross

A cyclocross frame. This model is probably from the early '90s. Kind of an odd duck: standard-size (not oversized) aluminum main tubes, (probably) with aluminum head tube lugs, bonded to a (probably) steel bottom bracket and seat lug. Seat and chain stays are steel, with the seat post binder bolt holding the seat stays to the seat post lug. I'd lump it in with Raleigh's Technium frames--which also used a combination of steel and aluminum tubing bonded together. Chromoly steel fork, cantilever bosses, internal rear brake cable routing (boo!), no built-in rear brake cable housing stop (boo!). Fender braze-ons front and rear, but without a chain stay bridge. (There is a threaded fitting in the rear of the bottom bracket shell, between the chain stays, though I'm not sure how you'd be able to squeeze a fender in there.) Horizontal dropouts spaced at (I think) 126mm. (The one I've seen had a 7-speed drivetrain.)

This looks like a purebred cyclocross racing frame, not a multi-use frame like a Bianchi Volpe or Surly Crosscheck.

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