smurf hunter

A good friend had been sitting on a an early 1980s Miyata 210 tourer for more than a year. I believe he got it for a song at a rummage sale and gave it to me rather than risking some hipster "fixing" it if he listed it on Craigslist.

I haven't gone over this bike in detail, but did some laps around a parking lot. It appears to be in good order and all original, save for an adjustable stem and the saddle.

While the adjustable stem looks hideous and probably adds weight, it may be a strange blessing in that I can dial in my ideal stem angle before purchasing a quill stem of appropriate size/angle.

The other "todo" item are the wheels. front spokes are badly rusted. The good news is I have built about 8 wheels myself, but I don't have the budget to throw all new wheel components at this bike right now. The wheels are true and seem to roll ok. I may rebuild the hubs, but aesthetically those spokes are bugging me. The rims have little wear and look good.

Even if I'm willing to spend the time and money to rebuild the wheels, that opens can of worms of questions:

1) do I stick w/ 27" wheels? With canti brakes, it shouldn't be a major undertaking to go 700c.
2) do I stick w/ a freewheel?

I really don't have any need to modernize the drive train, but from a maintenance perspective, a freehub+8spd cassette might have some conveniences. I suppose a parallel argument could be made for a cartridge BB, but no reason to worry about that until it wears out. This is a touring bike, and I'm happy to stick w/ friction down tube shifters.

One day, if I'm bored and have resources I might do something fancy, but in the near term I want this to be a light tourer/rando bike.

Any advice is appreciated.

Iowegian

Nice friend!

First off, if the bike has been little used and sitting for a year you really should clean and re-pack ALL the bearings. No need to wear out a hub or BB due to old grease.

Canti's are actually more sensitive to wheel size than center or side pulls. Try putting a borrowed 700c wheel on and see if you can get the brakes adjusted. Nothing wrong with 27" wheels except for a smaller tire selection.

In your area you could probably find a decent 27" front wheel for $10 or so. Save the old wheel for a rebuild or until you find new spokes. The rear spacing is probably setup for 126mm or maybe 120mm. An 8-spd cassette hub uses a 130mm spacing. Not a deal breaker but something to keep in mind.

I'd recommend just cleaning and lubing everthing and riding it as is. Upgrade as things wear out or you get tired of various aspects of the bike. Patience is key to getting good deals and it sounds like there isn't much that needs attention now except for the bearings and front spokes.

SoreFeet

I was able to get the brakes to adjust for 700C wheels on my 210. I used kool stop salmon pads. Good luck. A wider rim will allower easier adjustment. It's hit and miss depending on the rim.

grinningfool

Here's my 210, which I bought for ten bucks at a yard sale. I've made a few upgrades.
I plan to upgrade to 700c wheels when funds allow.

jtgotsjets

Honestly, I don't see the point in converting to 700c on this particular bike. A 210 is low enough in the product line that it's exactly the kind of bike you ride as is, if you ask me.
Also, even if you can get the brakes to hit a 700c rim, you're still going to be compromising braking performance. The brakes just aren't going to be hitting the rimm at the designated angle.

smurf hunter

GrinningFool - what racks are those? I really like them. One of my hesitations is loading this up with hundreds of dollars in accessories. I already have a Brooks B-17 special I thinking would suit this bike.

Iowegian -

Good tip on repacking the bearings. I have experience packing shimano hubs, and these appear to be similar enough. I think I've got all the tools for the BB and hubs.
Only rebuilt a couple loose ball BB, but know the process

I'll take some photos later this week.
Thanks

jtgotsjets

The front is the Nashbar front rack (or one of the generic rebrands [debrands?]). If you're patient, Nashbar puts them on sale fairly often. I think the Nbar ones only come in black though—they sell silver ones on eBay. I had one on an IRO Rob Roy before I sold the bike—I liked it a lot. Perfect for smaller beer runs. I would suggest against getting the matching Nashbar bag for it though—mine never fit properly and was kind of an awkward shape anyway.

No idea what GrinningFool's rear rack is, although I've seen them before.

grinningfool

They're both very inexpensive non-branded racks purchased on ebay. Certainly not rugged enough for loaded touring, but fine for commuting or perhaps credit card touring. Like you, I didn't want to invest a fortune in this bike, so I looked around for bargains and used parts.