divemaster1

Hello, I joined this forum because I recently got back into riding a bike to take advantage of the great paved trials in the area. Since I am 40 something I wanted an "old school" 10 speed. I bought one sight unseen thinking it would be a knocked around huffy or something like that because the price was right. It turns out that I now own a 1976 Miyata Liberty that I know very little about. I want to show this bike every ounce of respect it deserves as well enjoying the incredible ride. If you can be of help I sure would love to hear from you!

reg

what i learned is pretty easy, summarized as:

-economics are the same for old cars- you will never get your money back fully.
-do not delay the full resto job. it just gets more expensive if you keep riding without doing it.
-lbs's workmanship is poor, cheaper to buy the tools you need, even if its a "one time" fix. cable cutters are a good example. (I went from no skill mech. to knowing more than a bike mechanic out of necessity, youtube helps.)
-everything is dry and old so strip the bike to the frame and clean fix/lube with new bearings, hoods, seat, cables, tubes, tires, tape including headset.
-something will always be screwy and cost more than you thought.
-you will not stop at one bike
-your first bike will probably be an expensive learning curve, that curve may not decrease with more bikes.
-your first bike probably will not fit, or cost you money to fix the fit with a new stem or seatpost.
-keep your old parts
-if you can, buy a new 700c wheelset with nice tires and hubs early on. velomine is good. its going to cost for a truing, new tubes, tires on the old wheelset anyways.


The reason you will do this is because old bikes have style, and the are better built.

sonatageek

Post some pictures so we know where you are starting from. Don't go crazy, just clean it up, fresh grease for the bearings (and adjustment) and new rubber and cables. It might not even need all of that to start, depending on what maintenance it may have had over the years.

It the bike has 27" wheels there are still some nice tire options available. The Panaracer Pasela (or the TG version) are popular as folks generally think they ride well and they look good on classic bikes.

Good luck and welcome.

Dave Cutter

Restoring C&V bicycles.... is the hobby within the hobby (of cycling). It's a true pleasure to wrench these old bicycles back to the near-work-of-art they are. You are a very lucky man to have stumbled onto this.

divemaster1

Thanks sonatageek, I will take some photos to get some input. Yes the bike as 17" Araya rims and thank you for the advise on new tires, she needs them.
Dave Cutter, Yes I am truly a lucky man for having this bike. The only reason I bought it sight unseen is because I trusted the seller completely. What I didn't know was what an amazing bike I was getting, but he did.
Thank you all for the warm welcome.

divemaster1

Here are a few images.

sonatageek

That is going to clean up nicely and it looks to be in good shape.

bikemig 

This is in nice condition for its age. You will want to overhaul the bike and replace all the ball bearings. Grease, unlike wine, doesn't get better with age. I'd replace all the cables and the housing as well. These dia compe brake pads will be a nice replacement for the old ones: https://www.amazon.com/Dia-Compe-Grey...ia+compe+brake. I'd get new tires as well. I'd replace the chain as well.

divemaster1

Does anyone know the hierarchy of the Liberty Model?

TallRider

I'm commenting on this thread because I have an old Miyata that I picked up at a campus auction in 2002. I've ridden it as commuter, then fixed-gear rain bike, then commuter again, and am now building it into an allroad bike to keep in Seattle, because of the excellent fender clearance. I suspect my frame is the same model as this Liberty.
* "E" serial number indicates 1976 model, and "LIBERTY" in the same font is barely visible along the NDS side of the head tube. I could never read it, but seeing the decal on the brown bike makes me sure of it. Same font.
* same headbadge and "1024" sticker, and brazed-on downtube cable stops to pair with the Shimano bar-end shifters
* same SR Apex crank and Shimano 600 rear derailer
* mine was a different color, off-white
* mine had Gran-Compe sidepull brakes, although they may not have been original to the bike, whose 1x5 setup indicated some alterations

The frame has an oddly high bottom bracket (which is why I used it as a fixie for awhile) and a short top tube (typical in large bikes produced at that time) but has a really nice, springy ride, despite being made out of 1024 hi-tensile steel instead of cro-moly.