Originally Posted by pigiron
What was the line-up in '89? I actually thought at first that the components had been stripped and replaced with a mountain group. The cranks and derailleurs say shimano mountain lx - perhaps later renamed just "lx"? Did the 718a then originally come with this mountain lx group?
serial no: QU51658
That is the correct group. In order extend the low gear, Miyata had go to a triple crankset and derailleurs with large capacities. This meant using an ATB oriented drivetrain. The brakes, hubs and shift levers should be from the equivalent Shimano road group.
FYI, I went back and looked at some similarly priced road bicycles from the same year and checked their weights. Here's what I found:
Schwinn 564 (aluminum frame ) - 23.3 lbs
Lotus Excelle (steel frame) - 24 lbs
Miele Alfa (steel frame) - 24 lbs
Peugeot Nice (steel frame) - 24 lbs
Cannondale SR 400 ( 1990 model - aluminum frame) - 22.5 lbs
Trek 1100 (aluminum frame ) - wt not specified
I'd have to say that the weight of the 718A is quite favorable, especially when you consider that it has the weight disadvantage of a wide range, triple chainring drivetrain.
BTW, thank-you for the serial number.