Picked up a dirt cheap Miyata touring bike yesterday. It needs a lot of work and has clearly been off to war, but I think I can get it ready for another battle. I couldn't test ride it due to the crappy wheels and tires it had on it, so I put the wheels on it from my 1984 Miyata 310. Only then did I see what a comfortable bike it is to ride! Can't really ride it until I get some new brake and derailer cables on it.

I'd guess it is a 200 level touring bike from the late 70s or early 80s. It has a triple chainring, Deore LX RD, Hi tensile fork, cantilever brakes front and back, SR Apex cranks.

Also, I have a couple of questions besides ID.

1) I couldn't get the derailer cable to attach to cable fixing nut, even when I detached the shift lever and pulled out the cable beyond the area that is frayed. It seems as though the bolt is stripped in the first revolution. Is this just a case where new cable will attach just fine, or am I going to have to remedy the fixing nut?

2) Any reason why I couldn't put a 7 speed megarange freewheel on there? It has a 6 speed now. The bike has 126mm spacing.