Classic & Vintage - Anyone familiar w/ Miiyata ??

I recently came into possession of this frame and I can't figure out
what this is...I can't find hardly any info on this brand on the net, and apparently
is not distributed in the U.S. yet and I can't read Japanese

It looks like a tour bike..it has 2 sets of bracket holes for water bottle cages,
and a bracket at the back to possibly hold an airpump.

I saw some info on Sheldons website, but I would like to I.D. this bike,
perhaps he knows...just guessing from the numbers stamped on the
bottom the last two are 97 so that could be the year.

QS36797

57 cm frame

68 mm BB

Any Ideas ??

http://www.geocities.com/dave80909/miyata1.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/dave80909/miyata1.jpg

What do you mean japanese? It says RidgeRunner Team right there on the top tube. Miyata RidgeRunner team. It's a mountain bike.

Are you in actual posession of this or looking at it online?

hmmm..could be

yep..it's under me covered porch

I was thinking that ridge runner sticker was just a promo thing.
The guy that gave it to me got it for working at an event of some kind.
Seems a bit light for a MB...but don't know

I couldn't come up with anything with that model on the net.

Miyata imported bikes to the US from the seventies to the early '90s, when the rising yen priced them out of the market. Even their cheapest bikes were good, and their upper tier models as good as any production-line bike and better than most. Their big claim to fame was that they rolled their own tubing, and offered double and triple-butted tubesets on relativily low-priced machines.
Ridgerunner Team, eh? Nice bike! Team and Pro were their top two series.
Top

There's a decent amount of info if you just google it. This guy has apparently the same year bike:

http://www.uzzah.com/miyata.jsp

So I'd say 1990 (maybe 89) is a good guess. Tmar would be able to tell you for sure most likely but it looks like it's about a '90, and yes, it's a mountain bike, those brake posts won't accomodate a 700c wheel.

It says- " spline triple butted" near the seat post...then it has a "Ridge Runner Team" sticker
toward the head.

also says "Co-mo" on the front forks..

It weighs all of 5.5 # pounds

There's a decent amount of info if you just google it. This guy has apparently the same year bike:

http://www.uzzah.com/miyata.jsp

So I'd say 1990 (maybe 89) is a good guess. Tmar would be able to tell you for sure most likely but it looks like it's about a '90, and yes, it's a mountain bike, those brake posts won't accomodate a 700c wheel.

Uhhyup... I think thats it I think....

Thank you..I googled the crap out of it last night and couldn't
find diddly...

and yes, it's a mountain bike, those brake posts won't accomodate a 700c wheel.Wondering here, how can you tell that from the photo?

Wondering here, how can you tell that from the photo?

I can't. I can tell because the ridgerunner is a mountain bike that takes 26" wheels.

Thanks for the info. I'm still kinda new here, BTW :) re: Fahra fawcet thread.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. You guys are talking me into
doing something with this thing. I liked the way it looked in that guys picture.
And I've never had a frame this light before.

I have enough MTB's so I'm thinking more of a road
oriented hybred...26 " x 1/4" tires, or so, perhaps ??


Ideas are most welcome.

(forgive my spelling, I'm bad at it :) )

I think you should give up on such a hopelessly outdated piece of iron and send it to me for proper disposal:D
I have one of their 700c hybred bikes (a Triplecross) and see no reason that a similar package couldn't be built around 26" wheels.
Top

Thanks for the info. I'm still kinda new here, BTW :) re: Fahra fawcet thread.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. You guys are talking me into
doing something with this thing. I liked the way it looked in that guys picture.
And I've never had a frame this light before.

I have enough MTB's so I'm thinking more of a road
oriented hybred...26 " x 1/4" tires, or so, perhaps ??


Ideas are most welcome.

(forgive my spelling, I'm bad at it :) )

The bike is a good bike but the only issue is the rear brake. If you look at the picture on the uzzah site, that bike has a U-brake on the back. U-brake bosses are different from cantilever/v-brake bosses. If you are lucky, the bike is an 88 or 89 and has cantis. If not...well you can find u-brakes and at least it's not mounted under the chainstay;) You might want to take it to a shop that has an old mechanic (not young kids 'cause they won't know anything about it) to make sure.

The bike is a good bike but the only issue is the rear brake. If you look at the picture on the uzzah site, that bike has a U-brake on the back. U-brake bosses are different from cantilever/v-brake bosses. If you are lucky, the bike is an 88 or 89 and has cantis. If not...well you can find u-brakes and at least it's not mounted under the chainstay;) You might want to take it to a shop that has an old mechanic (not young kids 'cause they won't know anything about it) to make sure.

Take a closer look at the picture - you can clearly see the canti bosses on the seatstays. U-brakes were mounted under the chainstays. There should be no problem.

Thanks for the info. I'm still kinda new here, BTW :) re: Fahra fawcet thread.

Now I'm trying to figure out what to do. You guys are talking me into
doing something with this thing. I liked the way it looked in that guys picture.
And I've never had a frame this light before.

I have enough MTB's so I'm thinking more of a road
oriented hybred...26 " x 1/4" tires, or so, perhaps ??


Ideas are most welcome.

(forgive my spelling, I'm bad at it :) )

What are the frame measurements, and would you consider a trade, I have a few bikes that may interest you., Including a Miyata 912 Fuji team, and many others.

Take a closer look at the picture - you can clearly see the canti bosses on the seatstays. U-brakes were mounted under the chainstays. There should be no problem.

He's referring to the other ridgerunner team in the link I gave him- it has a u-brake on the seatstays. So it's possible those are u-brake bosses, though they don't look like it.

U-brake bosses sit about even with the center of the tire; V-brake/canti bosses are below the rim. Quickly throwing a 26" wheel in there would solve this dilemma. If it is a U-brake, the old XT brake would probably be correct. I have one on my bmx, have had for almost 10 years. If not, the bmx world still uses U-brakes due to their durability.

Here's another Miyata site: http://vintagemiyata.iwarp.com/photo6.html

The frame in question is from 1989, as suggested by Tim J. As for the brake bosses, they are cantilever. Miyata U-brakes were mounted under the chainstay. The exception was 1990, when they offered seat stay mounted U-brakes on only the 16" frames. BTW, the Ridgerunner Team was 2nd from the top of the line during this era.

The one thing that strikes me about this frame is the large size, probably the 22.5". Rarely do I see any of this caliber in such a large size.

The frame in question is from 1989, as suggested by Tim J. As for the brake bosses, they are cantilever. Miyata U-brakes were mounted under the chainstay. The exception was 1990, when they offered seat stay mounted U-brakes on only the 16" frames. BTW, the Ridgerunner Team was 2nd from the top of the line during this era.

The one thing that strikes me about this frame is the large size, probably the 22.5". Rarely do I see any of this caliber in such a large size.
So any Miyata mountainbike that has a u-brake on the seatstays is a '90 and 16"? I ask cuz I spotted one recently.

What are the frame measurements, and would you consider a trade, I have a few bikes that may interest you., Including a Miyata 912 Fuji team, and many others.

I'll consider it. However I had a dream about it last night...It may be my destiny to build
this bike, hmmmm I dunno ?? :)

The thing that is most constraining to me right now is my cash flow situation.
Disability, lack of work, and impending ankle surgery are my biggest problems
right now...

The right offer may pry this thing out of my clutches :)

The brakes are no problem..the bosses have the little gusset with the 3 holes in em for
calipers, and is appropriatly off-set to accomadate the 26" rim (I threw one on there
just to check) They are an identicle set up front and rear.

The frame length is 57 cm (centerline BB to top of the seatpost) or 22-1/2"

The BB is 68 mm

Take a closer look at the picture - you can clearly see the canti bosses on the seatstays. U-brakes were mounted under the chainstays. There should be no problem.

Some were and some weren't (look at the picture on the uzzah site...I'll wait ;) ), it depends on the make of the bike. Also, from a poor picture on a computer, I can't tell if the bosses are canti or not. They don't look that different but one can't tell positively from the camera angle.

So any Miyata mountainbike that has a u-brake on the seatstays is a '90 and 16"? I ask cuz I spotted one recently.

That's the story, according to my literature, but I can't explain why. It seems strange because they dropped the chainstay mounted U-brake at the end of 1988 and used cantilevers across the board in 1989. Then in 1990 the U-brakes pop back up, but this time on the seatstays and only for the 16" models!

Greg Herbold wun the 1990 UCI Downhill Worlds on a 1990 RidgeRunner Team, what makes it the 1st UCI Downhill Worlds winning bike as 1990 was the 1st year for the UCI Worlds.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f152/Elev8k/rr1.jpg

Page 2 (http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f152/Elev8k/rr2.jpg)

Page 3 (http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f152/Elev8k/rr3.jpg)

Do todays downhillers still carry a pump with them? :D

I have two European 1989 Koga Miyata RidgeRunner's. They are yellow with panther print. The forks differ: It is lugged/brazed on the European one. Agile, light & fast bike - awesome rides!

- Melvin

What is the story with that rear wheel?

Very interesting spoke pattern on that rear wheel.

nope thats not spokes but ribs within the
Tioga Tension disk (manufactured by Sugino)
it's a spoke protector of maximum proportions.
(well its a good guess!).

Marty

If we can see through it to the tensioners (and that's what logic suggest to me that they are), then why can't we see through it to the spokes themselves?

I don't know if we can actually see through it, might be
either faded or reflection of high spots when pic taken?

I don't know, I'm making this stuff up as I go along.

marty

There are no spokes under the covers. The geomotric design is actuially kevlar rope that provides the support. It's laminated into plastic/resin discs. The metal buttons that see you spaced around the edge are the attachment points. The buttons had special fasteners that connected to the rim via the spoke holes and tensioned the kevlar.

BTW, thxs for bringing back memories of the 1st UCI ATB World Championships. :cry:

I remember those. Tomac rode with one too. I seem to recall it was supposed to have some sort suspension qualities but it may be that I misread something and it's been incorrectly stuck in my head ever since, cuz it certainly never made sense to me.

What was the point of it?

The discs were popular primarily with the downhill racers. The big advantage in that application was the decrease in aerodynamic drag over three dozen wind churning spokes. The design also provided better damping on rough terrain, reportedly because the rope pattern dipersed the impact better than spokes which translated more into the hub and onto the frame. Finally, the discs deflected branches which often got caught in spokes. On the last point, there was a mesh imbedded in the resin , to incease durability. If you were a top category rider like herbold or Tomac, it also provided lots of billboard space for your sponsors.

The benefits were offset by a big negative. It was VERY expensive, as least initially. I seem to recall the first models being around $700 US!!! And that was just for the discs. You still had to provide your own rim and build it up!

I'm not old enough to be a fogey, but thems were the days. Innovation today is all concentrated in suspension design, back then you had things like that wheel, the v.a.p.o.r system (that downhill pneumatic shock steering assist thing), elevated chainstays, suntour's beast, and other weird things that would be around for about a week. Plus there just seemed to be more... I dunno, juice flowing. Things weren't so refined and developed to death. There's more variety in bikes now in that there's more specialized disciplines, but the "old" days of 10-15 years ago had a lot more charm. As far as mountainbikes go, that is.

Far out! Still a very attractive pattern, though. Not $700 attractive, of course, but attractive.

I'm not old enough to be a fogey, but thems were the days. Innovation today is all concentrated in suspension design, back then you had things like that wheel, the v.a.p.o.r system (that downhill pneumatic shock steering assist thing), elevated chainstays, suntour's beast, and other weird things that would be around for about a week. Plus there just seemed to be more... I dunno, juice flowing. Things weren't so refined and developed to death. There's more variety in bikes now in that there's more specialized disciplines, but the "old" days of 10-15 years ago had a lot more charm. As far as mountainbikes go, that is.

Frankly, I didn't much "charm" in fly by night operations and under-engineered concepts that didn't perform or broke within a month. Like any hot market, there were numerous fly by night operations and I knew far too many cyclists that got burnt by the latest big thing.

There were only two innovations where I jumped into the water early - SPD and the Syncros bar end extensions. My road experience had already convinced me of the legitmacy of both concepts. In fact, a friend and myself were already competing on some of the less technical courses using road shoes with Look pedals.

BTW, you don't have to be old to be a fogey. The simple fact that you have even a mild level of appreciation for the old stuff automatically certifies you as a member of the club. Welcome aboard Fogey TimJ!

That's the story, according to my literature, but I can't explain why. It seems strange because they dropped the chainstay mounted U-brake at the end of 1988 and used cantilevers across the board in 1989. Then in 1990 the U-brakes pop back up, but this time on the seatstays and only for the 16" models!

16" Miyata Mtn. bikes used U-brakes for heel clearance. Larger frames, with different geometry, had adequete hee clearance for conventional cantilevers.

BTW, thxs for bringing back memories of the 1st UCI ATB World Championships. :cry:


What's up with the comment? I presume you were there in some capacity? I bet there's a worthy story there.