pigiron

Hello All,

I have a Miyata 718a and was wondering if someone could tell me something about it. There's one detail I'm very puzzled over. On the underside of the downtube there is a single "water bottle" like braze-on - but there's only one hole so obviously it's not for a water bottle cage.

The bike has braze-ons for a rack which is exactly what I was looking for. My ideal bike would've been a steel lugged touring one, but . . . . This Miyata is aluminum (alumnitech). Any thoughts on how this bike might handle a load? Thanks.

willzz

i had one too.. great bike..
but traded it..cuz it was too small for me..
tmar knows about this bike.. if he sees this post..

pigiron

Looks like a nice bike. Not too crazy right now about the color (white with neon accents). Yes, that tmar fella seems to know his stuff. That name kept popping up when I was searching through the posts looking for info.

T-Mar

The single braze-on accepts a holder for compressed air cartridges. This feature was common on many of the mid and high range Miyata in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This was a nod to the triathlon crowd with which these models were popular. Unlike road racing, triathlon did not allow outside assistance for punctures, so carrying your own spare and means of filling it was necessary. The compressed air cartridges filled tires much more quickly than a pump, so they were a competitive advantage.

The 718A was built for for year only, 1999. But don't get the idea it was a failed concept. It got an extra cog and evolved into the 721A for 1990.

The concept of the 718A was to add a triple chainring to a lightweight, reponsive frame, thus permitting the avaerage cyclist to tackle big, long hills, without sacrificing high end performance. These bicycles are particularly well suited to rides like hilly centuries or for average strength cyclists who live in hilly country. At a claimed weight of 21.5 lbs, there is no arguing that the 718A is not a light bicycle.

The main triangle is aluminum which is bonded to a steel rear triangle. The presence of rack braze-ons on the seat stays indicates it was intended to carry a load, but I can't say how much load. I suspect it is somewhat less than a grand touring model and more along the lines of what you would carry during a century. Maybe a some rain gear, a change of clothes, your food and some basic tools. It would also make a great performance oriented commuter.

I doubt heavy loads would cause frame failure, but they may adversely affect the handling. Remember, this was still a light-weight performance oriented bicycle, so the steel in the stays is proably lighter gauge than what you would find in a grand touring model.

I trust this helps. Given that this bicycle has a known model year, it would be appreciated if you would post or PM me with the serial number for my database. TIA.

pigiron

Thanks t-mar. That's some great info. I'm assuming you meant to say that it was only available in 1989 and not 1999. It was a tad heavier than what I was expecting for aluminum. I didn't get a chance to hunt for the serial number this morning, but managed to snap these pics.

T-Mar

Yes, 1989 is correct. I was in too much of a hurry to make my dentist's appointment and did not proof-read my post.

Actually, I consider the 718a to be on the light side, given it's era and level.

pigiron

What was the line-up in '89? I actually thought at first that the components had been stripped and replaced with a mountain group. The cranks and derailleurs say shimano mountain lx - perhaps later renamed just "lx"? Did the 718a then originally come with this mountain lx group?
serial no: QU51658

T-Mar

That is the correct group. In order extend the low gear, Miyata had go to a triple crankset and derailleurs with large capacities. This meant using an ATB oriented drivetrain. The brakes, hubs and shift levers should be from the equivalent Shimano road group.

FYI, I went back and looked at some similarly priced road bicycles from the same year and checked their weights. Here's what I found:

Schwinn 564 (aluminum frame ) - 23.3 lbs
Lotus Excelle (steel frame) - 24 lbs
Miele Alfa (steel frame) - 24 lbs
Peugeot Nice (steel frame) - 24 lbs
Cannondale SR 400 ( 1990 model - aluminum frame) - 22.5 lbs
Trek 1100 (aluminum frame ) - wt not specified

I'd have to say that the weight of the 718A is quite favorable, especially when you consider that it has the weight disadvantage of a wide range, triple chainring drivetrain.

BTW, thank-you for the serial number.

Hooch

I picked up one of these today

jhamiltoncpa

I found one of these locally.
Excellent bike.

frpax

Tell us more! Show us pics! C'mon man!!!

jhamiltoncpa

OK, I'll post some pics. I also recently acquired a Miyata 912. Another great bike. Too big for me, I'll prb sell it. My garage is starting to look like a bike museum.

OldTC

Hi -


Found this thread with info on my 1989 Miyata 718a... I am orig. owner, haven't ridden it at all in about 15+ years and just got it tuned up at local bike shop. They guys at the shop really liked it and wanted to buy it from me...anyways this thread indicated you were keeping track of serial numbers. Mine is:


RA65717


Hoping this helps your database and thanks for info - neat to see comparisons on this thread that this was decent lightweight bike when I got it.

The Golden Boy 

That's great that you're dropping by and contributing to the knowledge base here. Thank you very much!

I don't know if anyone is actively maintaining a serial number list- but just having it out here is a good thing.

I hope you are able to get out and re-enjoy your bike- it sounds like it was an upper tier bike!