Koga-Miyata (bolted stays) decals - Any ideas???

[Elev12k]

The black TerraRunner combines a SkyRunner front triangle with a more economical Hardtlite steel tail. It is a upper-midrange bike. I gave the one in the pic to my father as present for his birthday. I still have another.

It could be your bike is a TrailRunner, but it is a guess. I don't know the Japanese line up.

Your bike is for sure a 1991 model. It is the reworked edition of the 1st generation Miyata bonded MTB frames. Modifications for MY91: tapered stays and slimmer dropouts (with al and carbon tail). Reworked, slimmer bracketlug with intergrated chainsuckteeth. The frame was now ready for a 1.125" headset and 73mm bracket, instead of 1" and 68mm. Rear spacing went up from 130 to 135mm. The gear cables were moved to the toptube. Seatstay bridge and brakebosses were bolted to the tail instead of welded (with al and carbon tail). A fitting for Miyata CO2 cartridges was added.

A completely new frame was introduced in 1992.

 

[Elev12k]

Koga-Miyata SkyRunner for '91

 

[neo_pop_71]

Detail shot

Hey-

I finally got around to tearing down the bike and cleaning the frame. Thankfully, it cleaned up nicer than I was expecting but I still do not care for the colors. I spoke with my painter and we're going to paint the frame after getting it mediablasted, he thought it best to stay away from chemicals and avoid any heat (i.e. powdercoating). I really like the carbon with the black lugs but I also really like the dark tubes with the polished lugs. It'll be a difficult choice but I'm so pleased to have the opportunity to customize one of these great frames!

I'd like to hear any of your suggestions for colors, c'mon now, let's hear 'em...

 

[Elev12k]

Personally I would think 2 or 3 times before deciding to repaint it.

Current paint is original and reflects the fashion of the early 90s. Apparently Japanese liked it even louder, but everywhere neon was full in fashion. On a side note: the colours remind me of Zunow Hummingbird. A Japanese roadbike gem.

Moreover the paint looks in quite good shape to me. Your Miyata's paint is of a very durable nice quality. Due to envirionmental concerns a new paint will chip much more easily.

Finally there is the complications that could arise with cleaning and respraying. I do not know how the guides on the toptube behave for example. Probably you will have to paint them after cleaning. The extra care will possibly also involve extra costs.

On cost: polished lugs, individual tubes in contrasting colour etc. - unless you want to do a lot yourself or have friends with the skills it will set you back quite a lot money.

Maybe you can tone down the loudness a little by replacing the purple fork by an early Rock Shox, Manitou or a Tange Switchblades and keep the purple example as spare. Invest the money you save with not painting in XTII or DX parts and some Ringle/Syncros/Onza. Have decals made. Remember also Greg Herbold raced loud bikes. It was part of his character/image and he could race to victories with them.

If you decide for a repaint I would advise candy pearl pink with glitter dust.

 

[Elev12k]

Re: Detail shot

I really like the carbon with the black lugs

I will give a more accurate description of the paint as the pic doesn't unveil everything: the tubes in the main triangle show carbon structure indeed. The lugs and tail are finished in a very deep black, but what you can't see in the pic is that the paint has tiny glitter particles.

 

[neo_pop_71]

Paint hesitation...

I never gave the colors a chance until you reminded me of the Zunow Hummingbird, I'd forgotten all about that bike!. A team member on my college cycling team had a Zunow, he was a transfer student from Japan who was studying in the states. That bike was a gorgeous piece of artistry and you're definitely right to call it a gem!

I suppose I could swap the fork but that would be a shame because it's a goodie, nice and light weight and the welds are perfect. If I could line up some purple bits that would be pretty great. God, the price of anything Ringle boggles the mind! I'd spend more on those choice bits than I did on the bike!

BTW, any idea what type of steel was use in the stays or the fork? The fork sticker reads "HI RADIUS MIYATA Absorptive Fork" but does not indicate what type of metal.

Thanks for the help and the wise advise regarding a repaint!

Cheers!

-D-

 

[Elev12k]

To give readers not aware of Zunow an idea of where we are talking about >>

http://velospace.org/node/14837

The steel used will be Miyata's own Hardtlite high quality steel. Triple butted and possibly with the spline reinforcements. Yes, welding will be neat. I know that from with my own welded forks and frames: I do not recall seeing an al frame with welding as neat as my TrailRunner.

Trying to match violet parts with the fork sounds like a good idea. I think with creativity you can really make this project work.

Ringle is expensive indeed. There are NOS Dia Compe brakes in violet available online through various shops and they are not expensive.

 

[neo_pop_71]

Illusive purple bits...

Well, I struck out on my quest for some tasty vintage purple bike bits... granted it hasn't been very long but all I've managed to find is some low line Kalloy Uno stuff on Ebay. It's all NOS, stem, bar, H2O cages and from the same seller but I don't know if $50.00 worth anodized doo-doo is appealing to me. I think I'd rather paint the fork black and put some higher end aftermarket kit on the bike. I wish I had a better picture so you could see the paint fade. It's mostly yellow but it was sprayed with a bright green in places, mostly on the underside of the tubing. That's why a black fork would set off the paint and be more neutral in my parts selection. It will certainly be easier to find some parts in red or blue... NOS high end is too pricey and all the used purple parts I've seen are so badly faded that it's not worth (to me) the money being asked. Damn my impatient nature! I'm afraid the purple fork may be getting a facelift sooner than later.

 

[Elev12k]

You could do that, but remember you can always decide for a repaint, but you will NEVER be able to go back to original. The off colour fork was an quirky feuture I've seen with more Japanese Miyatas and once you decide to repaint it will be gone FOREVER :twisted:

Wise to not go for the 50 dollar package of low endish purple junk.

The Zunow from above link is for sure very loud, but imo the overall pic works well. Maybe it could be a safe way to use it for inspiration? Polished silver, some white, babyblue and red decals... While the Zunow has orange in the mix, you have purple.

Building from this idea a brief speclist could be:
white Ourys and Turbo
chromed Tioga Tange Prestige bar
chromed Tioga t-bone Prestige OS
baby blue decals drive side
red decals non drive
purple Dia Compe brakes
purple seatpost binder
silver Gorilla boosters
DX or XTII
...

 

[neo_pop_71]

Great specs!

Previous Elev12k suggested:

Building from this idea a brief speclist could be:
white Ourys and Turbo
chromed Tioga Tange Prestige bar
chromed Tioga t-bone Prestige OS
baby blue decals drive side
red decals non drive
purple Dia Compe brakes
purple seatpost binder
silver Gorilla boosters
DX or XTII

Thanks Elev12k for the great specs idea! If mine Miyata was outfitted as spec'd... I'd be in heaven! That's a custom dream build that hardly fit for my scratched and faded Miyata... just the same, it's nice to have a lofty goal to strive for! Thanks again and I'll get to hunting for those suggested parts!

Peace,

-D-