eschlwc

1988 miyata 312

just finished this, my only winter project, and my only owned miyata. gotta start somewhere. might as well be with a splined triple butted chromoly frame with indexed shifting (also a first for me).

it was a really simple rebuild. a few notes:

- i had to find some bars, because its were steel. it boggles the mind this bike originally came with steel bars.
- the fd clamp bolt was seized, and i realized this too late, breaking it off. i replaced it with a parts bin s600 fd that looks nicer and works well.
- i had never built an indexed shifting bike before, but everything came together nicely. fortunately, the s600 freewheel already on the bike just needed a good bath. it shifts quietly.
- threading new rear brake housing through the two holes in the top tube took a bit of figuring out. once in the front end of the tube, i couldnt fish it out the back end unless carefully removing the little plastic grommet and then fishing the cable housing out of the top tube with a screwdriver.
- it needs kool-stops, paselas, better pedals and a brooks, but i'll let the new owner deal with all that.

1988 miyata catalog

now on to find the next project ...

eschlwc

Pompiere

If that was the original bar, they must have cut content to keep the price down. My '84 310 came with an alloy bar.

I like the red tape and cables with the black. I have Paselas on my 310 and I really like them.

On the front wheel, the quick release handle normally is on the left side.

eschlwc

good to know.


yeah, you're not the first to give me sheet about the front skewer. ha. i just like to see it from the drive side.

Narhay

Looks really nice with the attention to detail.

eschlwc

thanks. wish i had remembered the red water bottle for that nice stainless cage.

i also need to take about 4" off the seatpost. its ridiculous length nags me.

so ... early on, i feel indexed shifting takes some of the fun out of it. i dunno. seems a little unnecessary. no ghost shifting is nice, i guess.

the top tube is pretty short too. about 1/4" shorter than the seat tube, c-c.

cb400bill

It has since moved on, but my 312 was one of my favorite C&V bikes.

I did mine with a red cage.

Pompiere

My daughter is the fashion police in my house. The water bottle must coordinate with the bike and the jersey.

LazyLegs

I've always taken it for granted that the skewer is on the non-drive side, and would rotate an 'incorrectly' positioned wheel, but your flouting of convention has got me thinking that this behavior serves no more purpose than the oddities of a Japanese tea ceremony or some quasi religious ritual as there is no functional imperative to have it placed in this orientation. Further more, you may be onto something aerodynamically by placing it on the RHS, which experiences increased drag versus the LHS, due to the drive components etc, you may actually be increasing the overall aero efficiency of the bike by allowing for much smoother airflow down the left while the position on the right causes negligible increase to the already present drag factors on the side. Now if only we could get the big S to do a wind tunnel test on it and settle the argument once and for all. :-)

Lovely build btw.

tarwheel 

Nicely done, and I like the color scheme -- UGA colors!

devinfan

Very nicely done!

himespau 

That frame looks like the paint was in great shape. What size is it?

FrenchFit 

You built it to sell it? How much do you think you'll get?* My '89 is Apache Blue and white, it's big brother 718 is Peacock Blue and black. I love the colors, paint jobs Miyata was putting out those years; that black and red color scheme hardly looks 27 yrs old.

*Not a buyer, I'm on the n-1 diet.

Dave Cutter

A drop dead gorgeous restore! Beautiful work, Beautiful bicycle! Thank you for sharing.

I also put the front skewer handle on the "money side" of the bicycle. The reason? Because everything else is on that side [that can be]. The rear skewer handle has to be on the wrong side there isn't anything that can be done to change that. But when protecting the bike in a race or wreck... or just laying the bike down.... we protect the left. That front wheel skewer handle is just as important to me as the derailleurs.

oddjob2

Looks showroom fresh, excellent rebuild!

The trick with the cable housing through the frame is to leave the old cable in place, run the new housing over it, then pull out the old cable. Takes all of 30 seconds.

himespau 

I've also heard running fishing line through the first opening (with the back end tied to your housing (or running all the way through it and tied to something big on the lever side of the housing) and then putting a vacuum up to the brake side opening to suck the fishing line out. I was fortunate with mine in that there was a metal tube between the openings running the entire length so I just could push mine through.

eschlwc

bravo to have her championing your hobby.

i noticed your sig. how would you compare this bike (310/312) to the club fuji? is your club valite or chromoly? it's early, but i'm pretty sure i prefer this frame to my '84 valite club which was way too stiff.

eschlwc

go tech!

[sorry, dad went to that other school, he calls the m.i.t. of the south. ha. they finally won one in athens -- what a game!]

eschlwc

the st is 22" c-c. what's that, 57?

i found it in tulsa before knowing much. had my sis pick it up for me. it had a brooks on it, so it was worth the cost of shipping. i just thought it would be a fun project. since it's fully rebuilt with great paint, i'm gonna try for $350 here in seattle. i wonder what it sold for new. maybe right around that same price.

me too. trying to get down to three bikes to make room for another project.

eschlwc

wo!

solidarity!

eschlwc

damn. why didn't i think of that?

.

thanks, all!

old's'cool

Nice build!
A close cousin to my 87 312 that I rode for a while when I was tramping around part of the globe, and now awaiting my attention to put it up for sale due to non-ideal fit on the small side.

eschlwc

^ i like the little ribbon detail on the seat tube. mine's a lot more basic in scheme.

good to know '88 was a change in rear brake cable routing.

Pompiere

I'm not sure championing is the right word. She is just OCD about coordinating colors. She also hates to see me go out in public in bike shorts.

The Club Fuji in 89 was Ishiwata chromoly and the geometry was more race oriented than the 310/312. The Fuji feels lighter and more responsive, even though it weigh almost exactly the same as the 310. In 89 it was being marketed as a triathlon bike and sold for about $800 . I got it a few years ago for $20 at a garage sale, needing some TLC. I gave it to my son, but I still take it out on occasion. My son and I have both ridden the Fuji in a MS150 ride, so it's not bad on a long distance.

eschlwc

^ interesting.

i like the paint scheme on your miyata better. looks like a nicer bike in general than mine, at least, component-wise.