Commando

Question about stands.

I’ve just finished my long overdue 1988 Miyata Valley Runner build.

This model has a chainstay u-brake, so the usual spot to fit a stand is out. I previously had one of those stands that clamps to the chainstay and seatstay near the rear axle, but aside from being ugly, they’re not the most stable due to being at the rear instead of near the middle.

Are there any nice alternatives?

Korina

We'll need to see pics of the bike. Um, to help you find the right kickstand; yeah that's it! That's the ticket!

Commando

😂😂 yes, I haven’t taken any decent pics yet, but here’s a couple to tide you over

merziac

Very nice, I'm gonna recommend you put some Oury grips on there to maintain the badazz MTB vibe.

Korina

@Commando, you are SOL; the only place to put a kickstand is on the stays. It's that or carve yourself a stick to brace it up at the bottom bracket. Sweet build, BTW.

Commando

Damn, but I thought as much. I can't find one that looks nice, which is a real shame.

Thanks for the compliment

Commando

Thank you. Yes, those are temporary grips, and Oury is on my list of ones to check out. This was a bare frame a couple weeks ago until a friend insisted I get it together to enter the ATB class in a vintage mountain bike show he was organising. I had a rough idea of what I wanted and built it out of bits I had laying around. The only thing I bought specifically for the build was the tyres the day before the show.

Doug Fattic 

Commando, nice bike and build! I've enjoyed the bikes I've built for myself (including the frames) for around town and bike trail riding use. I built one frame with a kickstand attached to the seat and chain stays and found it worked well enough for me. Of course you have to cut the length of the leg so it leans at just the right angle. Since you have no choice where to put a kickstand you might try one again that attaches all the way back and make sure it is the right length.

I also recommend you rotate your handlebars so the grip part is pointing a bit down instead of up. That way you don't have an uncomfortable wrist bend but rather they are straight to your arms.

Korina

^ ^ ^ Good catch on the handlebar.

Commando

Noted on the bars. Still lots of work to do on this build, I finished it the night before the show and rode it for the first time in the carpark after unloading it. I don't even think I'll be using the XT derailleurs on it, they were just the cleanest I had in the parts bin. It shifts fine on the work stand and I've managed to adjust the stops so the chain doesn't come off, but I'm not sure it's ideal. I hope to take it for a shakedown cruise sometime this week to get a feel for it.

th3realmckay

Big fan of that stem! I've got one at home, waiting for the right project.

th3realmckay

I've got some of these on mine. I cut the flanges off of my set. They're wicked grippy and I get comments/compliments all the time!

th3realmckay

Commando

Thanks mate, I was real happy when I realised it was the right size. I've had that slingshot stem for years waiting for the right bike.

Commando

That's a beauty!

ollo_ollo

Fisher HK II

Fisher Hoo-Koo-E-Koo

Chicago Al 

Here are a few pics of a project that I have not yet gotten to. It's a Univega Ultima Pro, from 1984 or 1985 I think, all original but the tires and probably saddle. As you can see, it's been rode hard and put up wet, for many years. It has scrapes and some rust on them, and there is paint splatter on it that I hope might yield to rubbing compound. I have done nothing to it yet. (But seatpost and stem both are free---I checked!) I picked it up in Tennessee during a road trip, kinda wrk101-style, thinking it would be a great project for a midwest rails-to-trails kind of bike, then that kind of shifted to the back burner. Maybe this is the year!
I've not been active working on bikes, or on here, for several years, and I'm not the wrench many of you are, so I will have some questions.
Starting with: what kind of bars can I use with the slingshot stem? I'm looking to replace the flat bars with something with rise and a bit of turn-back. Will any old nominallly 25.4 clamp-size bar have enough 22.2 pipe on either side so the stem will grab it?
Your thoughts (and prayers!) welcome.

daywood 

Looks like a fun project! I might take the stem to a couple of community bike shops and dig through their bins of riser bars to see if what if anything fits between the clamps. I am rebuilding a bike of the same vintage that is all original except that somewhere along the way someone replaced the slingshot stem and original bar with a more typical mountain bike setup. I thought about acquiring a slingshot stem to make the bike “whole” but decided I’d be able to get a better fit for me if I used a quill adapter, riser stem, and wide riser bar. The slingshot stems are really cool looking but it does seem to me they box you in a bit ergonomically. Good luck whichever way you go.

cooperryder

Your Miyata looks very nice.
Paint looks about perfect in pictures.
Enjoy.

cooperryder

I've been enjoying my 94 Gary Fisher Hoo Koo E Koo a lot once I got the bars up to suit my old back.

cooperryder

This 1982 Trek 614 frame really came together nicely and it's now one of my favorites.

Yesterday, Sunday, was perfect weather in the Dallas,TX area and it performed terrific on a 50 miler, my longest on it so far.

Pompiere

I have an interest in this too, as my Schwinn Sierra has the same stem. I can only pass on what I have heard, because I haven't actually done it yet. One, as you said, is to use a standard bar with the clamps on each side of the center bulge. The other was to find a motorcycle bar. I don't know if they are standard spacing, but I saw once where a guy found an alloy motocross bar on Amazon to replace the steel one on his bike.

Commando

Thanks mate, I love the colour. There's a few rust spots but overall it's really good nick, especially for its age.

DQRider 

I have two bikes setup this way:

`84 Trek 850


As you can see, the bulge fits perfectly within V of the slingshot stem. And it provides a perfect spot to mount a bell.

`84 Dawes Ranger


On this application, a Sunlite Northroads Touring bar IIRC, I had to use hockey tape to get a good solid mount, as it seemed the leverage of the pullbacks and the O.D. of the tubing at the mounting points weren't quite compatible. I briefly considered filing the flats on the stem, but the tape worked just fine.

Hope this helps.
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Chicago Al 

Thanks Pompiere and DQRider! DQ, that exactly answers my question. And BTW, your bikes and pics here are an inspiration.