Close Menu
    Cycling

    Freebie I found

    This old-school road bike in really decent condition with 2 flat tires was sitting in the share shed next to the dumpster of my townhouse complex. I looked up the brand Miyata and apparently they are quite good.

    Would it be a sin to put the largest gravel tires that will clear on it and a comfort saddle? Most of the riding I want to do includes some grass and hardpack and on my old bike (a Norco aluminum frame single speed track bike) before it was stolen I always used to snakebite my tires because I like to ride trails and jump curbs.

    Just had another kid so getting a different bike isn't really in the budget.

    by CartographerUpset646

    Share.
    View 9 Comments

    9 Comments

    1. Ill_Yogurt_4659 on

      You’re probably only gonna be able to fit max 28mm unless you get rid of the brakes

    4. echo_vigil on

      Congrats on a great find! I’ve collected vintage bikes in the past, and I have a lot of respect for Miyatas – the one I had was really nice.

      You can certainly put slightly wider tires on it along with a comfort saddle. You could even switch out the handlebars for mustache bars or similar. Now I’m not sure that you’ll get the tight handling or speed it was designed to have, but it should still ride pretty nicely. (And you can always switch it back to more of a racey ride in the future if you like.)

      Velo Orange, Rivendell, and Soma all have things that could work well with a vintage bike like this.

      And congrats on the kid.

    5. Snoo-43127 on

      It’s a nice road bike, but you’ll never get wide enough tires into it for gravel. Was the previous owner trying to set it up like a city bike? Saddle is WAY too low and bars are WAY too high.

    6. Horror-Raisin-877 on

      Largest gravel tires – yea, do it

      Comfort saddle – would be an abomination, don’t you dare 🙂

      Probably the largest tires you could fit would be 28’s, but that’s not bad, I ride gravel on my road 28’s to the surprise of others

    7. criggie_ on

      Honestly – the frame probably maxxes out at 23mm, maybe 25 if you’re lucky. But I could be wrong so check at the chainstay, seat stays and fork widths.

      If the rims are steel, braking will be more like wishful thinking specially in any wet, so at least put new koolstop brake pads on.

      Great find – I’m envious.

    8. Midnight_Rider_629 on

      Great find, but I’d clean it up, sell it, and put the cash toward a Surly. Steel is real, beeotch! **grin**

    Leave A Reply