crashg

Hi gang, I inherited a Miyata LeMans Criterium from my brother and trying to figure out what year it is. I looked through the Miyata catalogs online but didn't see any at all that were marked with either LeMans or Criterium paint or decals. I found a photo of its SunTour Cyclone Mark II derailleur online at the disraeligears UK site, which makes it look like a 1981 bike but no LeMans in the catalogs. 12 gears, 21" seat tube, the frame says Cr-Mo tubing, the brake grips are Dia Compe and brake mech says Gran Compe 400, crank ring is Sugino 52 M Type, and crank arms are Sugino AS. Most of the equipment matches the 1981 but not all and suppose some could have been replaced but wondering if it's pre-1981 or they just didn't have all the styles listed in the catalogs. I couldn't find the serial on the bottom of the bike but found two stickers, one with Japanese characters all around it that says 01918 and one on the main shaft that says LCR-540-K. Any help identifying the bike would be greatly appreciated! I can't post photos yet apparently since I just signed up and have to post 10 times before I can include "links" even though I'm attaching the photos, not linking them.

crashg

Since I have to post 10 times before I can post a photo, I'll keep adding details via text on the bike until I have 10 posts...

The gear shifters say Suntour, are metal with no plastic and have a hollow oval inside near the end.

crashg

Since I have to post 10 times before I can post a photo, I'll keep adding details via text on the bike until I have 10 posts...

Not sure if it's original but the underside of the seat reads: Ariake Aero Jaguar II, 7378 Japan.

crashg

Since I have to post 10 times before I can post a photo, I'll keep adding details via text on the bike until I have 10 posts...

There's a silver sticker on the front post with the silhouette of a flying bird on black and gold stripes, the Miyata name on the top, a gold cog on the right with a capital M inside it and LeMANS in white on the bottom.

T-Mar

It sounds like a foreign market model. Sometimes,they also did non-catalogued,limited run, special edition models. Cyclone Mk II, if OEM, should place it circa 1981-1986 and mid-range. Most of the components should have date codes on them which you can identify and decode with the information here: Date of Manufacture of Bicycle Components can be used to date a bike: component dating Typically the components are manufactured up to about 6 months prior to the frame.

I'm wondering if LCR-540-K is the model (LCR = Lemans CRiterium), size (540 = 540mm) and year (K=1982). Typically, Miyata of this apparent era would have a a seven character serial number (letter prefix plus six numbers) and would be stamped into the BB shell. Often there are two "inspection" stickers bearing a single letter, one of each side of the BB shell. I wonder if the actual serial number is under the sticker? We know Miyata used the same serial number location and format for American and European market models,so I'd expect it to be consistent for all markets.

crashg

Thanks for the info T-Mar! Finally found the serial I think. It wasn't at the bottom of the frame as most of the other Miyatas listed but was stamped into the head set just below the handlebars: M395055, which according to the Vintage Miyata bicycles blog is a 1984 model. I also found a two letter code on the inside of the front derailleur, AC, which according to the vintage-Trek components code page (thanks T-Mar) is also from 1984.

I guess this particular bike was not listed in the catalog and as T-Mar mentioned, might have been from a limited run/special edition model. My brother bought the bike somewhere in NC and it's been in my mom's basement until recently when I decided to take it out for a spin. Tires were flat but inflated well and the bike is smooth as can be. Unfortunately, I have a pinched nerve in my neck and can't lean forward and look up without my right arm falling asleep in about ten minutes, so I'll probably sell it. Not sure what to ask for it, but figure I might as well start high and work my way down. Any ideas of worth are most welcome. Still trying to figure out what model bike it is as it has some of the features from the Pro, some from the 1000, and some from other models. I've read that the catalog models are not the "defacto" of what's out there and sometimes parts items aren't exactly as mentioned. Going to try and measure the frame and see if that helps narrow it down. Thanks again for the input T-Mar! Once I get to 10 posts, I'll drop some photos on here.

crashg

A few more details in individual posts so I can get to the 10 post minimum and can post photos:

~21"/545mm seat post, 535mm head post to seat post

crashg

A few more details in individual posts so I can get to the 10 post minimum and can post photos:

Bike has Cr-Mo chromium-molybdenum steel) double butted tubing, Tange C-5 crown, and Tange New Falcon head set

crashg

A few more details in individual posts so I can get to the 10 post minimum and can post photos:

Sugino one-piece forged alloy crank wheel (52 M Type) and arms (Sugino AS)

crashg

A few more details in individual posts so I can get to the 10 post minimum and can post photos. Next one is ten but can only post 5 per 24 hours, so hopefully photos tomorrow!

MKS ESQuart 102 pedals and Nitto Universiade 105 handlebars and Nitto Technomic Aero quill stem

T-Mar

There had been a Miyata Liberty in the USA in the late 1970s but this is obviously not one of those based on the S/N. A quick check of a couple of Japanese auction sites found a few Miyata Liberty and one with the bird decal and mid-1980s components, though it's an upper entry level 650B ranndonneur type model (see pic).
The Criterium version would appear to be a step or two higher and road/race specific. Given the year and derailleurs your bicycle is probably the Japanese market equivalent to a 1984 Miyata model 710. It's definitely a 1984 model, as when they started producing the 1985 models in late 1984, they went to a double letter prefix. The S/N location is still curious, as there was one Liberty showing the S/N stamped on the BB shell and flanked by two inspection stickers, just like we see on the American models.

microcord

No, it's a domestic market model. I have its 560 mm 1982 brother, and a handsome bike it is. I ride it routinely (even if I wish the frame were 4 cm larger). Here in Japan, Miyata used the name "Le Mans" (I think always written "LeMANS") for many (most? almost all?) of their sporty bikes over a number of years.

T-Mar

Foreign or domestic depends on were you live. I clarified the bicycle's original market in my previous post by stating." Given the year and derailleurs your bicycle is probably the Japanese market equivalent to a 1984 Miyata model 710."

microcord

Oh, sorry, I missed that. Anyway, I was thinking "domestic from Miyata's POV".

microcord

My own Miyata LeMans Criterium (which I know is "Criterium" because it's so labelled on its top tube) has a serial number starting with "K" (i.e. 1982) and a sticker saying "LCR-560-I". "LCR" does seem to mean "LeMans Criterium"; but the significance of that last letter on the sticker ("K" for you; "I" for me) is a mystery.

T-Mar

Is your serial number on the head tube or bottom bracket shell and is it a 56cm frame? TIA.

microcord

The number's on the head tube.

Hmm, it had never occurred to me that it might not be a 56 cm frame. (How incurious I am!) Certainly the size makes it seem 56 cm, and a friend's 1979 LeMans something-535-something frame seems like 53.5 cm. I'll measure it later.

crashg

Finally able to post photos! Here's a few of the bike, stickers, et all . She's lovely and glad to see there are others out there!

crashg

Few more photos. Head set with serial and LeMANS sticker, Nitto handlebars, and Sudino crank wheels and arms.

microcord

Sorry for the delay, T-Mar. Mine is 56 cm (C-T).

The label on the head tube of crashg's frame is the same as that on mine. (I've seen at least one alternative design among other LeMANS (or should I say autres Mans). The LeMANS lettering is different from that on my frame, and it's widely used. (I've never seen another example with lettering like mine.) The "Criterium" sticker is different too. Mine has Suntour "Symmetric" shifters above the down tube. But the frame colors are the same, the serial number is in the same place, and the crankset and rear derailleur seem the same.

Your bike is lovely, crashg. Except for one thing. Please remove that side-stand. Believe me, I am not a purist, an "authenticity" fetishist, or somebody who takes "the Rules" seriously. But this is an atrocity. Please. Just remove it.

microcord

This is a police registration sticker. We're looking at it upside down. It appears to be stuck on top of a previous registration sticker. Anyway, the bike was registered in Ashiya (芦屋), a town in Hyōgo prefecture (兵庫県). The first two digits may be the last two digits of the year (western style); if so, then the bike would have been reregistered in 2001. However, the "01" may mean nothing at all.

crashg

Thanks microcord! And yes, I feel the same way on the kickstand. But it was handy when taking a photo

Anyone happen to have a guesstimate of what an 1984 710 limited edition LeMANS would be worth? Can't seem to find any others for reference. Thanks in advance. It's been fun learning about the bike, its history, and about all the original parts!

microcord

I hate to disappoint you, but it's not a limited edition. It's a Miyata "LeMANS Criterium"; where it was marketed (primarily Japan), "exclusivity" was never a sales point. If it were bigger, and if my own were stolen, and if yours were in Japan, I'd pay you JPY 50,000 for it. But that's a lot of ifs. Its real worth ... personally I'd say it's worth a lot more than a lot of today's bikes, if only because its frame is of steel rather than plastic; but mine is a minority POV. How much could you actually sell it for? That depends a lot on where you try to sell it, and more on how you advertise it and how good your luck is.

Incidentally, though mine is two years older than yours, its rear stays are 128mm apart, meaning that it would be very easy to convert it to "10 speed" (2x10) if I wanted to do so. I don't want to. But if you wanted to keep yours and modernize it, this would be easy.

T-Mar

The one big factor that has not yet mean discussed yet is the tubeset, Typically, I'd expect a double butted CrMo on a mid-range bicycle with Cyclone but then I also wouldn't expect brake safety levers, which would be typically found on entry level models.

microcord

On the seat tube, I think I see a sticker announcing the tubeset.

Perhaps a previous owner was persuaded that changing to these silly brake levers would make the bike safer; I don't know. I don't remember every having seen a Le Mans with such levers.

A friend is riding her Le Mans (1979, with provision for mudguards) in the longest course of Eroica Japan this weekend: 168 km, 3400m of climbing.