I recently purchased a touring frame that I am having trouble identifying and would like to tap into the collective knowledge of the forums. I've looked through countless catalogs, photos, and serial number lists but haven't really found anything that narrows it down. I've felt close but then notice a minor detail that differs (fork crown lug shapes, lack of front rack braze-ons, etc.) from the example.

The friend I purchased the frame from thinks it is a 1984 Miyata 1000 but wasn't quite sure. As you can see below, the frame has been powder coated at some point so no decals remain. It is a 54cm frame that fits 27" wheels. The front spacing is 120mm and the rear spacing is 126mm. There are three bottle mounts. The serial number is M6-G2241 (see picture below for location). Any ideas or help would be most appreciated!

No front fork braze ons for a rack = not a Miyata 1000. Front rack braze ons are not really a minor detail. Most brands mounted them on their higher end touring bikes and omitted them on the lower end ones. I think the 1984 Miyata 1000 had clamp on shifters, not shifter bosses. Also, the 1984 Miyata 1000, the rear derailleur cable stop was on the TOP side of the chain stay, this frame is on the bottom.

Is that a hole in the head tube for a headbadge? Miyata used decals, so that is another issue, but any remaining rivet hole pattern will help with the ID!!!

Three sets of bottle cage mounts is a good sign!

There's an entire thread on Miyata serial codes (only tells you the year). So if it adheres to that pattern, you will know that piece of the puzzle.

also a vote for not a 1000, seat lug is not right and neither is the bridge for the housing stop to the rear brakes. It's a nice frame though.

Lotus, I think.

I think you purchased this off the local forums. I posted over there, I'm pretty sure it's not a miyata. The serial number seems like it's in line with Centurion's serial numbers:

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=1#post2208689

Based on that, I was thinking it was an 86 Centurion (or another brand that was manufactured by Centurion).

Edit: Just saw the above post, looks like Lotus could be a match too since they used that serial number scheme for a year or two: https://vintagelotusbicycles.com/serial_number_chart.php

The lack of mid-fork lowrider bosses rules out a lot of mid-80s touring models that had three bottle cage mounts. I wonder if the fork was a replacement? Curious that it only has one set of rack/fender mounts at the rear dropouts too.

Whatever it is, it looks like a pretty nice frame. I'll be interested to see what everybody else has to say.

My shop had a quite small Lotus touring frame hanging on the wall for a while; I base my thinking off that frame. The rear triangle treatment seems identical, and I remember thinking it was odd the fork didn't have rack bosses.

The double bridges on back and cantilever posts say mid 80s Japanese. I'm with the others here in thinking it looks Like a Lotus.

Welcome to the forums. The serial number suggests 1976 or 1986. While the presence of shifter bosses and three sets of bottle bossses point towards 1986, it's curious that it lacks a pump peg and low-rider bosses on the fork, which were fairly during this era, espeically on bicycles equipped for triple bottles. The presence of the plastic BB insert for cable routing has be leaning towards 1986 tough, given that it's a repaint, some of the fittings may be additions, so 1976 is still a possibility. I'm amazed they didn't remove the plastic insert fro the rerpaint! The most distinctive and probably OEM features are the vertical dropouts and the bridge for the rear bake cable housing stop. I concur that it's not a Miyata. Assuming 1986, it's also neither Centurion nor Lotus. The serial number format is incorrect, in addition to several frame characteristics. What brand and model are the dropouts? Have you determined the BB threading?

There are two rivet holes in the head tube, one of the left and one on the right. After looking through a bunch of Miyata serial numbers, this one definitely does not seem to match their formatting.

Hello fellow San Diegan! I did indeed purchase this off of our local forums, from Mark P. I believe he purchased it at Velo Cult originally, before they left us . I must have missed your post, but thanks for the information. While the serial number seems to be pretty similar, I haven't been able to find a model that looks like this. It's strange that there are only one set of rack/fender mounts on the rear dropouts, but two sets on the front. Although I am certainly no expert, I'm leaning toward the fork being original as the steel/lugs seem to match the rest of the frame, and the canti bosses are the same as on the rear (three pinholes on outside, see photo from seller below with different brakes):



Thanks! Much about the frame screams mid-80s Japanese to me. The vertical dropouts and brake bridge are throwing me off as well. Another thing I noticed is that there are no identifying marks stamped anywhere, such as the seat stays or fork crown, aside from the serial number on the bottom bracket of course. No brand/model on the dropouts either. I will check the BB threading when I get home from work. Is there a good way to do this without actually trying to install a BB?

Overall, I wasn't terribly concerned with the brand/model when I bought it. If it turns out not to be a Miyata, which it seems to be heading in that direction, I will certainly not be upset at all. I mostly just wanted a solid, well-made touring frame, which this seems to be. Bonus points for the brown powder coat! That being said, I'd still really like to figure out what it actually is, both for my own curiosity and to know what I'm working with or to be aware of any issues when I start to build it up.

Hello and welcome!

I forgot about those unique canti bosses! I actually have an 85 Univega Metroprix mixte which has those too. That's a similar frame in style since it has front and rear rack mounts and cantilever bosses. Mine has forged rear dropouts with adjuster screws and double rack/fender mounts though. Based on the decals, it was actually made in Taiwan instead of Japan, so that one wasn't made by Miyata.

I just checked and it has the same format serial number, like M5-A3333. Based on this and the use of the same canti mounts, I might guess it's an 86 taiwanese-built Univega. That would explain why the VC guys thought it was a miyata frame if they had it before it was repainted and assumed miyata built it for univega.

Anybody know which Univegas from 86 were built in Taiwan? Or who they were built by?

The forum has many examples of mid-1980s Univega grand touring bicycles, however few members post the serial numbers. However there are a couple of confirmed 1986 Gran Turismo with Miyata serial numbers. They have short but horizontal dropouts and the bridge does not match the OP's frameset. They also have low-rider mounts. There was also a higher Specialissima grand touring model, but presumably it would have been made by Miyata too.

The serial number on the OP's bicycle is similar but not identical to Merida's, a Taiwanese contractor who built for several major brands in the mid-1980s. The yen was sharply revalued in Spetember 1985 under poressure from the US government. This made Japanese manufacture less economical and many brands moved manufactuiring from Japan to Taiwan. Presumably, Taiwan was unable to handle a mass transfer, so it was phased in, with the smaller profit margin, entry level models being in the first wave. I would expect the 1986 Univega sport/touring models to have come from Taiwan.

Below are some not-so-great mobile phone photos with some more detail.



Of note are the 'C' stamped on the bottom bracket to the right of the plastic cable guides and a chain hanger braze-on on the right seat stay near the dropout. Please let me know if any additional photos would be helpful. I'm still stumped.

Definitely not a Miyata or Univega if you hadn't already ruled those out. EDIT: I'm referring to Univega Gran Turismo, & Miyata 310, 610, and 1000. I added after reading mainstreetexile's post below.

Does anyone know the Panasonics well enough? The rear cable stop bridge does not ring a bell. Good luck figuring this one out..........

FWIW, that cantilever brake hanger/stop bridge, and the weird/outside cantilever mounts, and that fender mount hole, and the serial number scheme seem to exactly match the ones on my aforementioned "Made in Taiwan" 1985 Univega Metroprix:





Here's an example of the men's version from 85 with lots of pictures: https://www.ebay.com/itm/85-UNIVEGA-M...29724?nma=true

It's not a Panasonic. The serial number format is incorrect.

Could it be a later Metroprix updated with additional bosses prior to the repaint? It might be worthwhile to compare things like seat post diameter, chainstay length and wheelbase length.

Here are some quick measurements:

Chainstay length: ~47 cm
Wheelbase length: ~105 cm
Seatpost diameter: 26.8 mm

It's reassuring to see a 26.8mm post. That size was common to all Tange CrMo sets from Tange #5 right up to Tange #1. So, it's at least respectable tubing. There may be a Tange stamp and date code on the fork's steerer tube. This won't provide any more clues to the bicycle brand but may add to the confidence in the tubing and date.

Fuji Touring Series IV had a similar brake cable stop bridge, when they didn't have cable hangers from the seatpost bolt... I don't know about the rack mounts in back, though; they might have been added later. The points on the front of the headtube lugs look similar on the Fuji. But the Univega Metroprix sure does have exactly the same bridges on back. My vote would be Metroprix with rack mounting barrels added later.

The plot thickens... it looks like the fork is actually hi tensile steel. You can't see it well in the pictures below, but there is a stamp on the steerer tube that says "HITEN 155 x 374". I also weighed the frame and fork (with the headset still installed) and it came out to about 7 pounds. Could it be a replacement fork (which might explain the lack of a low rider rack boss)? Could the whole frame be hitensile even if the seat tube is 26.8mm? I am thoroughly confused now.

Damn, son! It's a bike! Build it and ride it and if it sucks, sell it down the road. Life's too short to stress about details.

its a raleigh alyeska or wyoming

oh no wait no it isn't those had raleigh engraved into the seat stay caps... other than that it looks exactly like one

Hi Kynikos,

I know that this is old but for what it is worth. The serial number is the 1986 format of Merida of Taiwan.

In 1986, brand names were switching Japanese suppliers for lower cost suppliers, usually in Taiwan. I have seen Miyata brand name frames from this period made by Dodsun of Taiwan. I have seen Univega brand name frames made by Merida.

To me this suggests that your frame may be for Univega. I do not know the Univega models.

Get some stickers Made up with Your Name On them and just build the thing up and dont worry about Brand names ..

Like Ralph Nader says about Growing up Corporate,. Are you a Marketing victim?