Classic & Vintage - Suntour Blaze - wassup?

Was Blaze their lower-end stuff? Was it on par with Exage?

I'm wondering because I'm looking at a Miyata with Blaze components, it's an x14 model, but I don't know what x is. That is, is it a 914 or what?

Any clues?

Yes, low end.

They may be low end but appear to use the same basic castings as the "105" level Edge group. I have the latter on a old Trek and they work o.k. (as do most Suntour components).

Introduced in 1989, Blaze was SunTour's lowest (6th) raod group. It was typically used on models that were on the border of entry and mid-range. I'm not fsamilar with a Miyata X14. Two Miyata models that used Blaze were the entry level 112 and the low mid-range model 414. In the latter case, the first "4" in the decal used a different font and color from the "14", so this may be the model you are talking about. If you've got pics, I should be able to identify it.

Blaze has a couple of problems, based on the bicycles I've worked on. First, the Accushift index system works OK, but if the levers, derailleurs or freewheel wear out, they are not compatible with any other system and it is hard to find replacements, so you may have to replace all three components to retain indexed shifting. Secondly, the pivots on the rear derailleurs seem to wear at a much higher rate than normal. I've seen a couple of samples with this problem. They still shift OK, but look like they are about to self-destruct.

Oh, OK. It's a 414, it's just that I couldn't find any reference at all to a Miyata 414 so I thought he got the first number wrong. I could maybe get it real cheap but, I dunno, I've got so many bikes in the garage as it is. Thanks for the info.