Originally Posted by
RiddleOfSteel
From what I've ascertained it is because the frame pump went there (along the seat tube). Touring bikes adopted the second bottle cage on the underside of the down tube, which makes sense when one believes the seat tube is for the pump. By the mid-'80s we saw the pump peg on the head tube / upper head lug as a second bottle cage was added to non-touring bikes. So yeah, it does seem weird, and it's present on my '82 720, but I like it since I get the two bottle capacity while also having a frame pump in a place that allows me to shoulder the bike up and down stairs easily.
That makes enough sense regarding the frame pump.
I will likely start my own thread about this bike but since im here right now:
This is an ‘83. Is the flexibility issue when fully loaded on these as bad as a few posters have made it seem here? Is it remedied enough by packing low riders up front?
If I swap this to 700c should 32mm and fenders fit fine?
My partner has a 1986 Miyata 210 but this 720 is like new with a few upgrades (indexed shifting, Deore dx drivetrain) and it fits her. She also prefers the look of it. We can only keep one and I’m sure it will be the 720 but there is some concern about fully loaded performance with the reports of it being too flexible.