I just bought a 1985 Miyata 1000 ($225 Craiglist find, 50cm frame). It was probably sitting in a garage for 20+ years, and it took a good solid day to get it cleaned up and running. Everything on the bike is original and in good condition (the frame itself is in pristine condition).

That said, I'm not crazy about the gearing and I am definitely not enjoying the friction shifting but I think if I put bar end shifters on the bike, shifting will be easier. I have been reading about gearing, but I'm not sure what kind of gearing is set up on the bike. The front derailleur says "for half step gearing" and the chainring is 50-42-28 with a 14-28, 5 speed cassette. I have been reading up on half-step gearing but am not sure if the gearing is half-step, or perhaps alpine? Regardless, it's not a gearing setup that I am familiar with and I am having trouble getting my mind around it.

Right now, I'm debating between keeping the bike mainly as is, and sourcing bar end shifters that will work with a 5 speed cassette (any recommendations?), or changing up the gearing and replacing the cassette with a 6 or 7 speed cassette (if it will fit?) and upgrading to index shifting!!! Will that also require changing the derailleurs?

Any recommendations on what I should do with the bike highly appreciated! My intention is to use the bike for touring, eventually.

Cheers!

What you have is not half step gearing. Half step gearing would be something like 49/46/28 or 50/47/28. With half step gearing, most of the shifts are happening at the rear, unless there are hills, when you shift on the granny up hill and the big down hill. I am not a big fan of half step, but there are people who swear by it.

As far as the rear cog goes, if I was building a long distance touring bike (and you got an excellent one) , I would look for a 7 sp rear freewheel, with at least one bail out ring (like a 34T) and add an RD that can shift that (most long cage 90s Shimano RDs can do that.) This set up with your 28 granny up front works pretty nice on nasty long hills. To make this happen, you got to use friction and the suntour barcons are probably the best way to go. And, since you live in San Fransisco, you would love that 34 with those hills

Another thing is that you might want to think about is changing the bar into a moustache or flat bar. Barcons will work on a moustache bar. If you want index shifting, you might want to look into putting MTB parts. In my long distance bike I am riding a 46/36/26 front with a 12-28 7spd, with a flat bar (bar ends and aerobar) and MTB index shifting components. I find that to be a very happy combination for long rides (for me) and still having decent gears to speed a bit if I feel like it, plus the set up to ride in the aero position down hills (or when drafting behind someone) and just glide...

Miyata 1000...one of the greats!

https://2.bp.blogspot.com/_whtVpXkKwl...0-h/img085.jpg

You'll need a 28 in the front, and a 65 in the rear to ride up Stockton St.

I like the idea of indexed 7 speed bar cons on that.

Thanks! These are great suggestions.

Ha! Luckily, I'm equipped with a bike map that shows all the grades of every street in the city along with several routes that avoid hills. Its possible.

If you are planning on using this for loaded touring, I would seriously consider upgrading to STI. When you're carrying an extra load on the forks, it's really nice to have the shifting incorporated into the brake lever and not have to remove the hands form the bar. That said, I'd be looking at least 7 speed, and changing out the cassette and body to HyperGlide.

EjustE's suggestion of an ATB bar with extensions and ATB shifters is another option worth considering, and likely less expensive.

Lots of talk of these bikes in this forum (not that the folks here aren't being very helpful):

https://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/MiyataSpecTour/

Bob

Picking up where T-Mar's suggestion leaves off, you might want to consider a modern touring bike. The Miyata 1000 is a highly collectible touring bike. I've seen them sell between $600-$1000 on ebay, depending on condition. Admittedly, some of these figures predate the world's financial meltdown. But you're in SF, and used bike prices remain strong there.

Unless you are intent on touring with a vintage rig, and before you make extensive (and expensive) modification, you might consider selling or trading for something more modern.

What do you guys think of this value?

https://humboldt.craigslist.org/bik/1591566722.html

Whats this 618 worth?