cauthon

Hi!

I picked up an old 10 speed Miyata from my roommate when he moved, and I'm trying to get it in decent shape. I'm hoping to use it as a commuter bike and in a sprint or olympic distance triathlon at some point next year. I'd like to take it apart, clean it thoroughly, grease and lube all the pieces that need greasing and lubing, and replace anything that's necessary.

Where I'm at:
This is what the bike looks like currently. I've already picked up replacement brake and shifter cables and housings, new handlebar tape, and new brake levers. I also already have this degreaser and some Boeshield T9, which I've been using on my chain the past couple months.

Where I'd like to be:
I'm honestly not sure where to start, so any and all advice would be much appreciated. However, I guess my main questions come down to the following.
1) Is there a good walkthrough on doing a tear down and clean anywhere? I've checked out Sheldon Brown and park tool and found a lot of good stuff on maintenance of specific parts, but didn't find anything on taking the whole thing apart.
2) What else do I need to do this? I know I need to get grease, but I'm not sure which kind to get or which parts need greasing and which need lube.
3) Would you guys mind taking a look at the bike and seeing if anything visibly jumps out at you that I should fix? Rear derailleur is a little funky, rear brakes are weak, and the drive train is a little grating, but I'm hoping replacement cables will take care of the first two and a good cleaning/greasing will take care of the third.
4) What's the best way to clean rust spots off old wheels? And axles too, for that matter?

Thanks!

Andrew R Stewart 

4- ferris oxide means you have steel in your wheels. Don't worry about your axles. Sand off the rims. Or better yet replace the wheels with ones that have Al hubs and rims.
3- Taking a look at the bike isn't possible with any REAL understanding of the mechanical movements, if the bike's not at hand. Bring it to the LBS that you get along with and offer them a few $ to walk you through it.
2- Grease is lube. Just thicker. So where one uses grease, thick oil, thin oil and is some what subjective. But a common approach is to use grease on heavy loaded places. (bearings, slip and press fits, clamps and binding bolts). thick oil for cables, chains, pivots. And thin oil for the same but with a trace less build up over time. REALLY the take away is the cleaning and re lubing ant not the brand of lube.
1- I have no recommendation for a service book. But there's nothing wrong with doing one portion of the bike at a time. The total picture might overlap basic maintenance, frame work, paint and finish work and collectible value vs making it work judgments. I doubt that one text will cover all that you might put into play. Andy.

FrenchFit 

Salicycle acid for the rust, simichrome for cleaning/shining the chrome, rubbing alcohol or simple green for cleaning everything else, Phil's Grease for the bottom bracket/steerer/hubs, you probably want to replace the chain regardless (I don't but I'm weird). I've done 3 or 6 Miyatas, it's easy but time consuming. I admit, yours is sort of nasty.

I would stay away from brass wool or steel wool, it scratches surfaces even if you use it gently. You will need a free wheel removal tool for your freewheel, a crank puller to remove the crank..and you may need an old cup wrench to remove the bottom bracket if you don't want to scratch it, spoke wrench, and cone wrenches for the hubs. No big deal, these tools are not that expensive though it will take a little time to acquire them. Park Tools might be a logical source.

Instructions - they are on the internet, Sheldon's site, and frankly, nothing is ready hard - common sense will take you a long way. Find an article on repacking hubs, tensioning spokes.

As to condition, not sure you can tell too much when it's that dirty and un-maintained. I think you find the real problems as you go. Just don't rush, it's a long march if you do it right, and you can't do that much that's permanently wrong.

Upside? Here's a '72 Miyata that's my daily commuter during the last 4 years:

WMcCready

Follow tips here or, go on you tube, find out how to safely use Oxalic Acid ( wood bleach) this will fix rust issues on frame, rims spokes. Look into Frame saver if you will keep bike as your's for a long time. Visit local library for bike maint. books, Use Digital camera to take still's of disassembly so you have record on re-assy. of sub- assy.

FBinNY 

As they say "a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". A complete build or teardown of a bike is simple the end result of a bunch of discrete operations, such as install bottom bracket, install headset, adjust derailleur, etc. So instead of looking for a single comprehensive manual, look for help with each job as you come to it.

As for the sequence, most mechanics work from basics out to details. This is mainly because it's imposed on them. After all you can't adjust a derailleur unless the cranks, rear wheel and chain are installed. I start by installing the bottom bracket and cranks, then the fork/headest bar and stem. Then I prefer to assemble the drivetrain next followed by the brakes, and save all the adjustments for last, except for taping the bars which I don't do until the bike is finished.

Tearing down would br roughly the opposite.




[h=3][/h]

woodcraft

This series from Park Tools gives a great sense of what's involved, and some tips on the challenges of removing stubborn parts.

https://www.parktool.com/blog/calvins...ng-older-bikes

Bjforrestal

How much $ you looking to spend? Are you sure it fits? Reason I ask, is things like bike stands, cone wrenches, basic tools like hex sets, metric set of wrenches, freewheel removers, etc cost $. If you plan on continuing to use these tools, or already have most of them, great, but if its a one time shot, pay the $ to have it done. If the lbs seems crazy steep for price, check Craigslist for a home mechanic who can do an overhaul. Ask for references. Even I run into wtf moments on teardowns and rebuilds and I have done quite a few. Not as many as most of these guys, but apx 15 bikes and I am still googling, asking, going to the lbs owner buddy I have, and still have to buy or borrow new tools here and there, etc. if you want to overhaul it yourself because you think you can and want to save $, you probably won't. If its going to be a thing you want to get into or again already sort of am, dive in and everyone here will help you along the way. Depending on your experience, mechanical skill level, ambition, willingness to drop down the greenbacks for everything from a possible replacement bottom bracket to who knows what else. Also, ask why this bike. Seriously, there's no such thing as a free bike in this condition, especially if you have to start from scratch. I am not trying to discourage you, just want to bring in the economics side of it . Also biggest investment to make a rebuild actually fun is a bike stand. I can't believe I did so many builds without one. It saves so much time, so if its going to be your thing like it is mine, get a stand. But ask yourself the hard questions first and do all of the math, include tools, grease, cleaners, you get where I'm going. Could be way way cheaper to find a vintage in great mechanical condition and you can learn by maintaining it. Or again, have someone else Get it going. That's how I got started, commuting and hating to have to pay someone else to do a 10 minute fix I could've been capable of doing with the right tools and knowledge. If you dive in, good luck and keep the updates flowing.

cny-bikeman

You will find if you read my posts that I don't couch my advice, and this is an example. If you paid more than $50 you have already wasted a lot of money (and I only have it that high because the fenders are nice). I would not recommend throwing more at it. The rust and spoke corrosion tells me you will likely find other problems due to the effects of weather, salt and neglect. In most places you can find a very satisfactory road bike for $100 to $150, and you will spend way over that to get yours to good condition. The rusty steel wheels are the biggest problem, as they will either stop poorly or grab in the rusty spots, and there's a good chance the spokes are frozen. Add to that the very dirty (cheap steel) hubs and chain (which is likely worn) as well as poorly sized and bent up cable housing and you have some large expenses even before tools. I know large frames can be hard to find, so maybe find a good set of older wheels (another challenge) to swap out. If you have a bike co-op near you absolutely use them as a resource. That's all for now.

Finally, disabuse yourself of the idea that tearing down a bike teaches you a lot of useful skills. Even enthusiasts do bearing overhauls relatively rarely.

cauthon

Hey everybody, thanks a lot for all the advice. I wanted to do this project to a) get this bike into decent shape at a reasonable cost and b) learn some skills and move towards being able to do regular maintenance and potentially a build. It sounds like this particular bike won't be the best for either of those goals, so I think I'll start looking around for something in better shape.



Fenders didn't come with it, I paid $40 for them after getting soaked too many times during a Boston winter. The bike itself was free, I've dropped around $30 on replacement cables/housings and handlebar tape already, and probably $15-20 on degreaser and lube. Thanks for the honest advice, I'm obviously too new to be able to judge whether the condition is worth the cost of repair.



This bike is solely because I picked it up for free, I wasn't expecting the total cost of parts to stack up so high and so quickly. The economics side is definitely what was driving my interest, but I decided it would also make a really cool project and repair is something I'd like to learn more about. Thanks a lot for all the advice, I think I'll end up replacing the cables since I already have them and just look around for something in decent shape on the cheap end of things. Probably keep this around as a beater or sell it to recoup a bit of the cost on parts.

Phil_gretz

Remove and keep the fenders before selling.

You can still do the maintenance prior to selling it. It'll secure some value on the used market (don't invest in costly parts, though) and will gain you experience with the necessary tools. cny-bikeman's honest advice is sound. Only you know whether you intend to become a bike hobbyist mechanic, or would just like a decent bike to ride around.

Many of us started by maintaining our own bikes as teens...in my case, Nixon had just been re-elected and the Beatles were newly broken up.

cny-bikeman

A build is something to consider when:
1. You know exactly what you want or are willing to put in many hours filtering down the options.
2. You are able to determine that you will gain something from having what you want equal to the time and expense required.
3. What you want to build cannot be closely duplicated by making changes to a stock bicycle.

I was in the biz for over 20 years and at one point owned a mobile business, so could purchase wholesale. In all that time I did not build a single bike from scratch, but had bikes for which I still have fond memories. When my Cdale was stolen and I was in a low income period I combined a Schwinn Voyager 11.8 and a Motobecane Super Mirage into one bike. When I had money again I bought a dedicated touring bike and changed out pedals, saddle, bars, stem and had a spare set of "fun" wheels for far less than a build would cost, especially after selling the traded out parts.

Retro Grouch 

How tall are you?

That's a tall boy bike. Unless you're on the tall side you'll probably be better off finding a bike frame that fits you better before you put very much money and time into this one.

cny-bikeman

+1 I had mentioned the tall frame before as being hard to find but did not clarify if it actually fits you. It looks to be a 25" frame, which means you should have a 34-35" inseam (jeans size) for it to be an appropriate size for you. If you can pedal as the saddle sits now and still have a slight bend in your knee at the bottom of the stroke you're good to go as far as size. Otherwise I would not even recommend it as a beater/errand bike.

Previous downsides I had not mentioned before are the stem shifters and brake extension (suicide) levers.

cauthon

I'm a bit over 6 foot. I've been riding it for 6 or 7 months now in roughly this condition, and I've felt that it fits me fairly well with the seat as is. That's mostly why I was interested in refurbishing it; it fits and has been working decently for me.

Yeah the stem shifters are a bit annoying but manageable. I had found a pair of Tektro RL-340s on Amazon for around $25 with shipping, but I'm holding off on them while I look around for something in better shape.