Miyata
Encyclopedia
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese bicycle
Bicycle
A bicycle, also known as a bike, pushbike or cycle, is a human-powered, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A person who rides a bicycle is called a cyclist, or bicyclist....
and unicycle
Unicycle
A unicycle is a human-powered, single-track vehicle with one wheel. Unicycles resemble bicycles, but are less complex.-History:One theory of the advent of the unicycle stems from the popularity of the penny-farthing during the late 19th century...
manufacturer that has been in operation since 1892.
Miyata claims to have been the first Japanese manufacturer of flash-butt welded frame tubes (1946) and the first to use electrostatic painting (1950).
History and today
Miyata was founded by Eisuke Miyata, a gunsmith employed by the Hitachi Kuni Kasama Clan. Miyata built Japan's first conventional, modern bicycle at the Miyata Gun Factory in 1892. He recognized the future of gun manufacturing in Japan was not strong, and got the idea for a new bike design after being asked by a foreigner to repair a conventional bicycle. The steel tubes used for the new Miyata bicycle were manufactured with the same technique as the piping used for guns. It was bored out lengthwise using a round steel rod. The entire bicycle, except the tires, was built from scratch at the gun factory.The Miyata brand still exists and, while it is no longer distributed in the United States, it remains popular in Europe under the Dutch "Koga-Miyata" brand. As of 2008, there is limited availability of Koga-Miyata bicycles in North America.
Koga Miyata was a joint project. By A. Gaastra (Koga) and Miyata. The bikes are built in the Netherlands.
Koga-Miyata is a Dutch bicycle manufacturer, established in Heerenveen
Heerenveen
Heerenveen is a town in the Heerenveen municipality of the province of Friesland , in the north of the Netherlands.- History :The town was established in 1551 by three lords as a location for the purpose of digging peat which was used for fuel, hence the name...
. Koga Miyata is nowadays part of the Accell Group
Accell
Accell Group NV is a Dutch holding company which owns several European bicycle manufacturers. Besides bikes, the Accell Group is also involved in the production of fitness equipment. Accell is one of the largest producers of bicycles and bicycle parts in the world.-Factories:The Accell Group has...
. In the early seventies the company was established by mr. A. Gaastra. The additive Miyata came of the Japanese frame builder, with whom Gaastra cooperated.
Miyata in the U.S.
Throughout the U.S. bike boomBike boom
Bike boom or bicycle craze refers to several different times when, for a period of a few years, many people in many parts of Europe and North America wanted to buy and ride a bicycle. In brief, they occurred in 1819, 1868, the decade of the 1890s, and the 1970s...
of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Miyata competed with domestic companies including Schwinn, Huffy
Huffy
The Huffy Corporation is an American importer and manufacturer of inexpensive mass-market bicycles. It was founded in 1887 when George P. Huffman purchased the Davis Sewing Machine Company and moved its factory to Dayton, Ohio. Seven years later, in 1894, Huffman adapted the factory to...
, and Murray
Murray (bicycles)
Murray was an American company whose assets are now owned by Briggs & Stratton and Dorel Industries. The corporate brand is a descendant of the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Company, which manufactured bicycles and lawn and garden equipment ....
; European companies including Raleigh
Raleigh Bicycle Company
The Raleigh Bicycle Company is a bicycle manufacturer originally based in Nottingham, UK. It is one of the oldest bicycle companies in the world. From 1921 to 1935 Raleigh also produced motorcycles and three-wheel cars, leading to the formation of the Reliant Company.-Early years:Raleigh's history...
, Peugeot
Cycles Peugeot
Peugeot was a manufacturer in the French bicycle industry through the 20th century.-History:Peugeot was a French manufacturer of bicycles founded by Jean Pequignot Peugeot who, in the 19th century, made water mills...
and Motobecane
Motobécane
Motobécane was a French manufacturer of bicycles, mopeds, motorcycles, and other small vehicles, established in 1923. "Motobécane" is a compound of "moto", slang for motorcycle; "bécane" is slang for "bike."...
— as well as other nascent Japanese brands including Nishiki
Nishiki
Nishiki is the Japanese word for "brocade." Articles with "nishiki" in the title include*Nishiki River*Nishiki , initially a U.S...
, Fuji, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Centurion
Centurion (bicycle)
Centurion was a brand of bicycles created in 1969 by Mitchell M. Weiner and Junya Yamakoshi, who co-founded Western States Import Co. in Canoga Park, California to design, specify, distribute and market the bicycles. The bikes themselves were manufactured initially in Japan by companies...
, Lotus
Lotus (bicycles)
Lotus was a brand of bicycles designed, specified, marketed and distributed by Lotus International Corp. of Syosset, New York, which had been founded by Sid and Ernst Star...
and Univega
Univega
Univega is a brand of bicycles, created during the bike boom of the 1970s by Ben Lawee , who founded Lawee Inc. to design, specify, and import bicycles initially manufactured in Italy by Italvega, and subsequently in Japan by Miyata....
— whose bikes were manufactured by Miyata. Japanese-manufactured bikes succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, leading companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.
Models
Late 1970s to mid-1980s Miyata bikes have high-quality Japanese lugged steel frames and Shimano or Suntour components.Miyata models carried numeric names (e.g., Miyata 710). By the late 1970s Miyata began using the same names, writing out the numeric names (e.g., Miyata Seven Ten).
Generally, 90 and 100 series were sports/entry level bicycles. 200 and 600 series and the 1000 model were touring bicycles, with the level of bicycle increasing with first digit in the series. In general, a 200 series touring bicycle would be roughly equivalent to a 300 series competition/fitness bicycle in terms of component levels, frame materials and value. 300, 400, 500, 700, 900 series were mid-range competition/fitness bicycles — with the level of quality increasing with first digit in the series. The top line, pro series bicycles were named non-numerically (e.g., Team Miyata and Pro Miyata). 1000 series and X000 series bicycles, with the notable exception of the 1000 touring model, were competition/fitness models with non-ferrous frames.
Often (but not always) the last two digits of the model number indicated the number of available gears, e.g., 912 was a 9-series 12 speed and a 914 was a 9 series 14 speed.
- Miyata 9x: This was the bottom of the range, entry-level model. Triple butted tubing, Shimano/Suntour entry-level components.
- Miyata 1xx: Low-level model aimed at the casual consumer. Chromoly triple-butted main tubes, hi-ten stays, toe clips/straps, available in both men's and mixte styles.
- Miyata 2xx: A popular lower-end touring model. 1984 catalogue indicated the 210 used straight-gauge tubing, Dia-Compe cantilever brakes and Shimano triple drive train. By 1985, the 210 featured triple-butted chromoly tubing in the frame, with a Mangalight fork. 1986 and later models used 700 wheels; earlier models used 27" wheels. Braze-ons on front and rear dropouts (no low-rider braze-ons in front), cantis front and rear, horizontal rear dropouts, one bottle braze-on, rear rack braze-ons, and flat-top fork crown. There were also special models such as the 215ST
- Miyata 3xx: A mid-range road bike model from the "Semi-Pro" group, with Shimano 105 brakes, derailleurs, and shifters. The 105 was also shown with an arrow-like graphic. The 310/312] had a shorter wheelbase than the touring models, but with clearance for fenders and wider tires and is sometimes called a "sport-touring" model (a comfortable model for day rides and commuting). Features included double- or triple-butted Cr-Mo tubing (depending on year), 525 Crown, SR CTD handlebars, and Araya rims. Earlier models had hi-tensile steel forks, but later forks were "Mangalight" manganeseManganeseManganese is a chemical element, designated by the symbol Mn. It has the atomic number 25. It is found as a free element in nature , and in many minerals...
alloy. Some years are equipped with a "Aero style DT Shifters" set up, consisting of one brazed on post mounted on top of the down tube.
![310/312]](http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/andy0325/DSCN0686.jpg[Miyata){kind=link}
- Miyata 5xx Competition (part of the "Semi-Pro" group): A higher-end road bike than the 310/312, with more "aggressive" geometry.
- Miyata 6xx: A quality touring model, one step down from the 1000, with slightly different frame geometry and lower level components. Mid-1980s 610s have triple-butted splined Chromoly frame tubing, an unusually high quality tubing and construction for its price level. This bike is slightly lighter in weight than Trek 520/720 touring bikes, but of similar quality.
- Miyata 7xx: A mid- to high-end road bike from the "Semi-Pro" group. Early models had Suntour parts, including an odd 3-wheel rear derailleur, possibly using the same frameset as the 910.
- Miyata 9xx: Miyata's high-end road bike from the "Semi-Pro" group, with Shimano 600 components.
- Miyata 1000: Touring bike with splined, triple-butted Chromo tubing. Some report the 610 to be stiffer than the 1000. 1997 model had a mix of Shimano 600 and Deore XT parts (600 DT shifters, XT derailleurs). Noted bicycle authority, Sheldon BrownSheldon Brown (bicycle mechanic)Sheldon Brown was an American bicycle mechanic and technical authority on bicycles. He contributed to numerous print and online sources related to bicycling, bicycle mechanics and maintenance, including his own website — and received numerous awards for his contributions.-Biography:Brown...
called the Miyata 1000 "possibly the finest off-the-shelf touring bike available at the time". The 1000 was marketed in the U.S. from the late 1970s and marketed in North America until about 1993.
- Miyata 1400: A high-end road bike sold only as a 1989 model with Shimano 600 components. It was higher-end than the 914 that was sold in the same year. Unlike the aluminum 1400A, the 1400 used Miyata's CrMo triple-butted construction.
- Miyata Alumicross: A top-of-the-line "cross" bikes (which included the Quickcross, Sportcross, and Triplecross), introduced in the late 1980s with standard-size aluminum main tubes bonded to steel lugs and a Chromo fork. Seat and chain stays are steel, with the seat post binder bolt holding the seat stays to the seat post lug.
- Miyata Pro/Team/1200: These are the high-end race ready models (Team Miyata, Miyata Pro, etc.)
Unicycles
Although demand for Miyata unicycles outside of Japan has diminished in recent years due to a wider range of quality unicycles becoming available, Miyatas were once considered to be a highly desirable unicycle because of their quality of manufacturing and well designed saddle during times when choice was often limited to expensive custom-made unicycles or extremely poor quality products sold in department stores. Miyata unicycles are now uncommon among non-Japanese riders due to the surging popularity of riding styles such as Muni (Mountain Unicycling) and Street/Trials riding, which Miyatas are largely unsuitable for, however Miyata is still the unicycle of choice in Japan where riders tend to be more interested in Freestyle riding and Artistic Unicycling, this coupled with the fact that unicycling is taught in Japanese schools as part of physical education has secured Miyata a continuing place in today's unicycle market.Miyata currently manufacture a range of unicycles with wheel sizes ranging from 14 to 24 inch, models are available for beginner and intermediate riders up to expensive high end cycles with carbon fibre frames. Miyata can make custom frames to order and also sell a five foot giraffe version of their popular Flamingo model.