JaccoW

I picked up another Koga-Miyata again. In fact, I got my hands on a large stack of brochures and I have started digitizing them in this thread. Somebody help me.

Background info & history:
1999 wasn't the greatest year for Koga-Miyata.

Sure, they celebrated their 25th anniversary but you could tell they were innovating for innovation' s sake.
Their FullPro-C had a weird bent downtube for no clear reason, the SuperWinner was a Y-frame roadbike and their TerraLinerAlloy-S had a rear suspension system that explains why there are no examples alive today. And we don't speak about the SilverAce commuter with its 3.5kg (7.7 lbs) boat anchor Sachs Elan 12-speed hub...

Still it wasn't all doom and gloom. By the late 90's butted aluminum frames were starting to take over the higher end lugged steel frames for their weight savings. Which meant higher-end butted steel frame technology was coming down to the lower end models.

In that era there was the Koga-Miyata Adventure. A midrange (insofar Koga-Miyata had any midrange bikes) hybrid designed for long days in the saddle in hilly to mountainous terrain. A 17.8 - 105 gear range. Some light touring perhaps? Basically the kind of bike you would take with you on vacation.
The 1999 model comes in a men's, mixte and stepthrough model with double butted tubing, Shimano Nexave groupset using a Megarange 11-34 cassette, V-brakes, fenders, bottle dynamo lights and a chainguard that covers the front derailleur for the mountainbike triple.
60cm frame size and a stated weight of 15.5 kg (34 lbs). Price was €1031 at the time or about €1538 ($1836) in today's money.

It wasn't always like this though. When the Adventure model was introduced in 1986 it was a cross between a mountainbike and the randoneur/touring bikes of the time, though one could wonder if the narrow 28-inch 28-622 tyres were the right choice for off-road adventures. The 1987 year took it to the other extreme using 26-inch 50-559 tyres. And the 1988 model year is one of the first (and only) production bikes I've seen in that era that came with 650B wheels. No clue how wide they were as "Wolber New Profil 650B with reflective stripe" really isn't enough to find anything nowadays. Google draws a blank at least. My best guess is a 37-584 tyre but that isn't based on anything but a hunch.

Then there are a couple of years where there are no new models by this name. Until 1994.
The bike is reintroduced as a Trekking/Hybrid with Hardtlite FM-1 STB triple butted oversized tubing. First with 32-622 tyres but later with 37-622, which is a very common size in the Netherlands.
It's basically your standard hybrid with a wide range of gearing that gets the yearly update in components and a new paintjob.

But now in 2021 we realize hybrids are excellent candidates for gravelbike- or light touring conversions. Sure they might not be as stiff as full-blown tourers but a (hopefully) lighter frame can serve me in what I have planned for this bike.



The bike:



As found

It's a hybrid. Still a pretty nice one though and in excellent condition. I don't think I have had the pleasure of working on a bike where the paint was still this nice.
My mind was triggered once it was pointed out to me on another forum I frequent that an 8-speed rear hub can fit an 11-speed cassette and even some 12-speed models. I've always wanted to try building a 1x setup but thought 11-speed was not enough. Not enough range or steps that are way too big.
Compared to the 2x11 setup on my Koga-Miyata "Graveller" a 12-speed 1x drivetrain comes really close though:



So my plan is to strip it down, clean it and see where my mind takes me. Especially in this time of hard to come by components I'm in no rush and it wouldn't be for me either. It's too small for me.

Anyway, let's strip it down!

My other threads/projects:

• 1977 Gazelle Tandem - 650B conversion with drum brakes
• 1969 Gazelle Super Licht - One of the first derailleur models by Gazelle
• 80's Batavus Randonneur GL - 64cm frame
• 1992 Koga-Miyata "Graveller" + 1993 Koga-Miyata WorldTraveller - 66cm frame
• 1995 Gazelle Lausanne 'Mixte' - 57cm frame
• 1996 Koga-Miyata SilverAce - 63cm frame drum brake commuter

bikemig 

This will be a fun build. My first good bike was a Koga Miyata. I've always liked the bikes.

JaccoW

So for today I went for a simple strip so I can clean the bike later and to see how all the components are doing.

There are some fun evolutionary Shimano parts on here that did not stand the test of time in the marketing department but they were probably pretty clever ideas.




The Koga-Miyata logo on the downtube


Curious V-brakes with an anti-lock mechanism



The drivetrain


Needle bearing + ball-bearing cartridge headset


Handbuilt by Koga


Hardlite FM-1 tubing


Composite SKS fenders with wiring for lights inside


Plenty of clearance


Stripped bike

JaccoW

And to finish the day, a couple of high-res brochure scans:






All three models side by side:

JaccoW

Nice. What kind of bike/model was it?

bikemig 

I don't remember. It was a road/touring type bike from the early 80s. I did take that bike on a tour from Finland down to Spain though. That was fun.

cudak888 

That's a great looking starting point, Jacco.

While I can't help but rage against vertical drops for an NL market commuter bike (I want IGH hubs with no tensioners, dammit!), I can still appreciate the oddball approach from Koga. Doesn't look like the front fork has that much fender clearance, but the V-brake studs do open up the options for a delightfully interesting build.

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

-Kurt

nlerner

I love the practicality of the details, but that weight! What accounts for it-frame tubing? Wheels? Lead reinforcements?

cudak888 

The Nexave triple and adjustable stem can't help.

-Kurt

JaccoW

The fenders, chaincase, frame lock and rack probably account for at least 3kg (6.6 lbs). And like Kurt said, the Nexave parts aren't the lightest either.

I'll probably strip it down to the frame later this week to measure the weight of the frame + headset. But IIRC the WorldTraveller in 66cm was about 1 kg (2.2 lbs) heavier than expected by some. It is supposed to be relatively lightweight double butted tubing but the post 1990-models all have oversized tubing which makes it both stiffer and heavier than the 1988 model for example. That one was 13.5kg (29.7 lbs) with all kinds of similar accoutrements.

It is certainly one reason why I want to strip and rebuild this bike.

JaccoW

Thanks Kurt. While I agree something like an 11-speed hub would be fun on here derailleurs simply are the most cost effective way in most cases to get a wide range of gears. If I ever manage to digitize the post-2000 brochures I expect to find some nice IGH examples.

I wouldn't be surprised if the frame was suspiciously similar to the Traveller. The fork at least looks very similar. Wide enough for a 40mm tyre without fenders but mostly fit for 37-622. The current thinking is a 1x11/12 drop bar setup so I can coax a friend into coming with me on gravel rides. He is less than enthused to do this with his current road bike.
But really, it depends on my budget and some of my other projects. The WorldTraveller needs to be kicked into gear if I want to turn it into a fancy rando bike before next year and the Gazelle tandem is also high on my list. But next to that I have some home improvement to do as well so it's a balance.

FrederickRasmus

What is the status on the Adventure? I'm looking for inspiration as I just got one myself - in mint condition! First I thought about using it as an everyday bike, but the frame is sooo light and cool looking in ruby red with some glitter in the paint, that I think it needs to be my new gravel/touring bike.

JaccoW

Still hanging in the shed. Last year I wasn't all that inspired and had different things on my mind so it's still a 'project'. The parts shortage is still an issue here as well.
Maybe this year will be different.

That sounds like an awesome colour! Do share your build once you get your posts up to 10.

JaccoW

I might be picking up a 66cm 1996 model this week for a fellow member.

JaccoW

So I picked up the 1996 Adventure in a 66cm frame yesterday for our tall Swiss forum member @tomhaegler . We got it for a good price but failed to see the dent in the downtube. The seller apologised and fixed it with us but it's still a gorgeous colour.
Wine red as it's called in the brochure but not the purple we see up there, but a deep luscious red. Gold lined pink decals.

Just like the 1999 it has a Hardtlite FM-1 double butted chromoly frame and feels surprisingly light. The specs here say 15.3kg (33.73 lbs) for the 60cm model but you could probably get that down quite easily with some lighter parts.


(Click for full-size)






Drive Side shot


Non-drive side


Head badge


Rear brake holder


Front shot


Top tube red after a quick polish and wax.

Aivazovsky

FrederickRasmus Bikeforums.net wouldn't allow me to reset my password for my account. Like. Something was wrong with the reset link they sent me, so I created a new account.

I got the exact same bike. Just in a size 56. This looks in mint condition as well! I bought mine off an 86 year old Dutch guy for 120 euros who thought it was about time to get an e-bike. I'm gonna build it as soon as I finish some other bikes taking up my space. I feel like I want to have a total clean work space and no other bikes to be done with, when I start building up the Koga Miyata Adventure. It's so nice, everything gotta be perfect.

RiddleOfSteel

Thanks, @JaccoW , off to marktplaats.nl I go again!

JaccoW

Hit me up if you find something. I have now sent bikes to Switzerland and the US, one more across the ocean cannot be that hard.

RiddleOfSteel

This is a dangerous offer, even if I'm paying for all of it...... hehehehe

JaccoW

So I found out my girlfriend fits this bike as well... meaning I have two people I know that I am trying to drag off their road bikes and onto something a bit more off-road.

Time to do some testing tonight to see if the rear hub really does fit an 11-speed MTB cassette. But if it does, then 1x11 starts looking like an interesting setup: 42T x 11-51T for 23-107 gear inches range.

Shimano Deore 11-speed derailleur with a giant rear cassette would make this a pretty sweet and cheap gravel bike.

JaccoW

Guess I have part of the cockpit sorted.

Still had a pair of brand new Tektro RL520 V-brake compatible drop bar levers lying around from a failed experiment with drum brakes and drop bars.
The handlebars are from a Koga Beachracer, same ones as the blue version that's on the Graveller.