AlbertaBeef

Somebody locally is selling this bike with "Black, repainted miyata frame" ... at first I didn't think much of it, but after looking closely, I'm thinking it might be a Miyata 1000... or a 610... really hard to tell...

... Can anyone confirm?



The only weirdness is they've taken off the small chainring and made it a double instead of triple... that's a little odd...

Creme Brulee

i don't think the fork on my 610 had lowrider mounts... it looks good! get it if the price is right you won't be dissapointed.

badmother

I am looking at a similar one locally (slightly smaller). Looks like a 1000 to me, including lowriderbosses and that thingy on the chainstay to keep thae chain from making dings in the chainstay. I would get it if price is not scary.

Edit: Oh yes, and the canti brakes!

dmpstrdvr1962

The only difference from the 1000 to the 6 touring series are the components I believe. I own a 615gt Miyata, currently out to paint, after installing S&S couplers. A word for all Texas residents, Southwest Frame works in Dallas, Has done two awesome paint jobs, one a Tomassini repaint after repair of the rear stays, and a full repaint on an Eddy Mercyx, for a freind. Both jobs awesome. These guys are craftsman, and artist.

guzziee

Can't go wrong with cantis, looks like there's an engraving on the seatstay

rogerstg

It should read "Miyata." The fork should have similar stampings.

It still doesn't answer if the frame is splined (preferred) or not (IMO, run of the mill steel frame). For that, the OP would need to remove the bottom bracket to see the splines.

cycle_maven

Looks more like a Univega Gran Turismo to me. The chain stays are slightly shorter, the rear wheel is 36-spoke rather than 40 and there are no bottle bosses for the third bottle cage underneath the downtube. Doesn't preclude a 1000, depending on the year, but it looks suspicious. Check the serial number to find the year the frame was made (first letter- M is 1984, N is 1985, etc.) then check the components against those listed in the on-line Miyata catalogs. Also, 1000's had 700c wheels and 610's (and Univegas) had 27" wheels for a few years.

Still a fine Miyata-made frame, even if it is a Univega. Triple-butted chrome moly with "mangalloy" forks and stays. I sure like mine...

mikemowbz

Or one could also make an educated guess based on the components (if original) and assortment of braze-ons (also varied year-to-year). With the help of the old Miyata catalogs, which some helpful Forum-member posted a link to for me when I was doing some similar research a while back, it may be possible to determine both whether it is in fact a Miyata 1000 and approximately what year, if so. I seem to recall that they switched to the splined tubing for the 1000 sometime in the middle-1980s, but you'd have to check the details yourself or wait on someone a little more sure of themselves for any confidence on the matter. If you'd like to look at the old catalogs:

https://www.miyatacatalogs.com/

rogerstg

At best it's just a guess, and considering this bike has a double crankset instead of a triple, I wouldn't put much stock in that one's education.

cycle_maven

Crank is a triple with the inner ring removed...

mikemowbz

How good of a guess one can make depends on how complete a picture is painted by the componentry, of course. I wouldn't put much stock in one or two components matching manufacturer's spec for a particular year, but if everything fits, it's surely better than a mere guess (not definitive, but not worthless data either). As I mentioned, it's worth considering that stuff along with the particular assortment of braze-ons on the frame. As for the components, I agree that "if original" is a big qualifier. And with the amateur repaint, it wouldn't be surprising if components have migrated and been replaced. I'd still look.

Opening up the BB and checking for splines is pretty foolproof, I reckon. That said, most sellers I've encountered (and this came up for me just last month with a Gardin frameset here in Montreal) aren't super enthusiastic about partially disassembling the bicycle prior to cash payment. So that might not be an option in this situation.

In any case, whether the tubing is splined or not may or may not be a great concern to the OP. An older 1000 is still a pretty decent bike if the price is right.

As the OP notes, it is a triple minus the granny ring, not a double. I almost missed that myself.

rogerstg

I don't disagree with anything you wrote and apologize for sounding so grumpy (noted after re reading my post). As you wrote, the right price is key because from what I've seen, the triple butted splined chromo 1000s are worth more than double the earlier versions.

realestvin7

Nice, whatever it is.

mikemowbz

This is true.

No worries, I take your point about the potential unreliability of using componentry to figure out years/models. No offense taken.

And I have heard that some people put a lot of stock in that splined tubing, to the point of driving up cost/value significantly. Based on the catalogs, I guess that would put the (post-) 1985/86 ones in the 'more valuable' category. 1986 is the first year that explicitly lists the 'splined, triple-butted' rather than 'triple-butted' tubing listed in '85 (vs. Tange Champion DB in '81, Miyata DB '82-4). It's also my understanding that the later ones - which are, for the most part, the splined ones - have a better contingent of braze-ons (low rider braze-ons appear on the fork from about '84 on, from what I can see; third set of water-bottle bosses date around the same time, I think), so that might be an additional factor in folks seeking out the later ones. Too bad about the paint in this case - these bikes were produced in a very limited range of colours, so that could have been another (admittedly unreliable) point of information. Maybe there's some some original paint showing somewhere?

Forum member randyjawa really seemed to like his double-butted early-to-mid 80s 1000, from what I gather. Always liked his site!

I very nearly bought one that was likely an early 1980s a while back, but missed out in the end. A fair bit of what I'm recalling here is based on Forum discussion when I was trying to date that bike.

Of course, this one might not be a 1000 at all. The 610 did have low rider mounts later in the 80s (like the 1000, early examples don't, while later one do, at least judging by catalogs). And I don't know about the Univega possibility mentioned above, though I would note that Univegas seem to be a lot less common in Canada than the USA, not to say that they don't crop up. Stamping on the stays, given the seller's claim that it's a Miyata frame, might just read 'Miyata' (there's something stamped there)...but who knows. Differentiating between 610 and 1000 is certainly something for which those catalogs will be helpful.

I suspect that black paint hurts financial value a fair bit, regardless. So perhaps this bike is of interest more as a potential rider than a flip?

And if it's cheap (or simply reasonable), and it fits, there's not much to hold back on. Only AlbertaBeef can say.

realestvin7

Any update?

Watchbird

That is a 1988 Miyata 1000. 1988 is the first year they used that chunky aluminum block on the headset as a front cable stop. The 1987 models and before had a thin stamped metal cable stop. In 1988 the 1000 and the 615 both had 700c rims with a 40 spoke rear rim. Only the 1000 had the low rider bosses in 1988. The 1989 Miyata 1000 got a 7 speed Shimano cassette.

Recent sales on eBay: 1987-$416.91, $540.00; 1991-$406.98, $515.00, $610.00

This one is definitely less desirable than any of the above because of the repaint.