I'm cross-posting this in here from the road forums. Sorry if it bothers anyone.

So I bought an old (mid eighties I believe) Miyata road bike at a garage sale. It's missing cables, handlebars, saddle and seatpost, but the lady sold it to me for $10! I am trying to get it ridable again so I can have a bike with gears, and I have some questions. I'm hoping that you ladies and gentlemen can help me out.

The components are old Shimano 105. They don't say 105, but they have the bow and arrow engravings. I think the shifters are friction shifters. Are these crap? Worth replacing? I would like to keep the bike original if possible (aka I want to spend as little $$$ as I can).

The other question of mine is about the rear wheel. It has a Heliocomatic hub, which I want to can. I have a Phil Wood rear wheel sitting around that I would like to use, but I'm having trouble finding a NOS 6 speed freewheel. Anyone know where I could find one besides e-bay?

Any other advice on fixing up an old road bike? I can work on bottom brackets and headsets and brakes and whatnot from building and maintaining my fixed gear, but I have no experience with derailleurs or shifters.

Thanks!

*At the same garage sale, I picked up a Shimano 600 eight speed wheelset for $2! She must have been pissed at her husband or something.

You might first measure the distance between the rear dropouts to determine whether the distance is about 120mm or 126mm. If the bike was originally a 10 speed with a five speed rear cluster the distance will be close to 120mm. If the bike was originally a 12 speed or more the distance should be near 126mm. A distance of 130mm or more indicates a modern bike that uses freehubs and rear gear clusters rather than screw on freewheels. After you know that you can locate a rear wheel/hub combination that is the correct width to fit between the dropouts. If you want the bike to have index shifting you have to acquire index shift levers with the correct number of detents (probably 6) and a derailleur that is capable of index shifting that will work with the shift levers. Index shifting came about around 1987. You cannot normally mix Suntour and Shimano derailleurs as the cable pull differs. Shimano 6 speed systems (levers and derailleurs) are often on e-bay. I'm patial to the 105. You will need to find a rear wheel that is made for screw on freewheels. Not so easy these days. Freewheels are currently available from Nashbar, Shimano, and a small company called IRC. I have been pleased with the Shimano units but not the others. The wheels and hubs will be your biggest challenge to locate because wheels are more susceptible to being damaged than any other part on a bike. Next susceptible is the rear derailleur. brasel

I forgot to mention the heliocomatic hub will not accept a screw on freewheel from another manufacturer. The freewheel used on the heliocomatic is unique to the hub design. Jellow Jersey in Madison, WIS, still carries some heliocomatic parts but the hub does not have a very good reputation. brasel

Not a bad price. I found what I believe is an '85 Miyata 310 at a garage sale as well. It has the "Golden Arrow" Shimano derailleurs and shifters as well, which incidentally were the precursors to 105. Look on the back and you'll find the 105 mark. The arrows weren't always painted gold, but the group has come to be known as that. Here's a Schwinn Paramount with a full group. They are competent parts, but are considered middle of the road at best. They do have some interest among collectors, as they were only produced a few years (I believe), but they don't command high prices. I'd stick with them if I were you, if you can bear friction shifting.

I wouldn't dump tons of money into this frame. It is maybe lower mid-range. I find the ride on mine to be a bit dead, as I believe the stays are some variant of high tensile, or many some manganese blend. However, it is a nice, solid frame.

From what I've heard, that's probably a smart move. What's wrong with eBay? Probably the best place to get them for a decent price. Harris Cyclery has some, as do some of the other vintage online retailers, but they tend to be a bit pricey. By the way, I believe the spacing should be 126mm...but I could be wrong.

Derailleurs are much simpler to adjust than bearing assemblies. See Sheldon Brown for help on derailleur adjustment - and pretty much everything else.

Good luck, and where are the pics?

Here's mine (still haven't cleaned it up yet):

No one has offered up a NOS 6 speed freewheel, but I think I have some used ones with life left. Do you want more info?

That's IRD, not IRC, that makes the new freewheels. (https://www.interlocracing.com/freewheelbreakdown.html)
I have one of their 7-speeds on an '87 Paramount with 130mm dropout spacing and it works well. I may buy a 5-speed for my 120mm Chris Kvale now running a Suntour Winner Ultra Pro 6.

www.qbike.com for a quick search of readily available parts. Try your LBS for a freewheel.

I had a 312 (same bike with index shifting from '86 or so) that was run over. I still have the bars and seatpost. PM if interested.
As stated, 6 speed freewheels can be sourced from several places. The Nashbar ones are made by Sun Race, and I've had good luck with a Sun Race 7 speed on another bike.
If your comfortable with friction shifting keep the 105 gear-they don't come much better in terms of function. BIIWM, I'd look around for a cheap old index RD (like a Light Action) and shifters and convert this bike to index 7.
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since I just came up on a shimano 8 speed wheelset, I think I'm going to convert it to 8 speed. Thanks for all the information!

8 speed will require 130mm OLD instead of your 126mm, but you can spread your rear stays each time you put in the rear wheel without resorting to a permanent cold set. I do it on one of mine. Your non-index RD may or may not work. Back the limit screws out all the way and check before you start changing cables.

I measured the dropouts, they are already 130, either the previous owner spread them, or it was built spaced 130. my 8 spd wheels slipped right in. I'm probably going to pick up a shimano 600 derailleur and dura ace downtube shifters off of ebay.

NO, NO, NO. If you use DA index shifters you must use a DA (7400? model-the one with the black panel) RD. 600 RD you can use the 105 or 600 index shifters. Sheldon Brown has a good article on DA compatibility here: https://sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html Or you can run them friction.

oh snap, thanks. they were the only 8 speed dt shifters I could find with a quick search.

Thanks again for all the information everyone, I don't know squat about road bikes.