Miyata RidgeRunner Team

[MyiataTRR]

Hi all.
A humble first post from a guy in need of some advice. Back in 1990 (I believe) I was given a Miyata RidgeRunner Team. I used it a lot for many years, it served me well. Then my interest in bikes, and usage thereoff, trailed off, my Miyata went into storage, and for the last ten years it´s hardly been out rolling. Recently I started looking into bikes again, as an alternative form of excercise from running. Then it struck me that I have an awesome bike stuffed away. Well, might not be so awesome anymore, as it has recieved no TLC in a long time. Basically what I´m wondering is what would it take to get this baby up and running? A few things I can see myself;
- a proper wash!
- new tires and tubes are needed
- both wheels are ´wobbly´and needs to be set true (this might be the one part I need to turn to professional help, havn´t done that in at least 10 years)
- a tuneup of brakes and probably gears

I´m not going for a restojob, what I want is to bring it back to a functional state, and a little more roadfriendly, meaning tires with less roll resistance, maybe a bigger crankwheel at first. Also, the horrid Harobar needs to go, will look for some smaller barends.

What I ask from all of you knowledgeable people is to turn my attention to potential pitfalls and known troublespots on said bike and gear, since it´s been a while since I did any work on it, and I´m very rusty. The bike is mostly as bought in 1990 with a few exceptions;
- mid crankwheel has been replaced as the first one wore out
- front rim is a Richey Vantage Expert, back one is a Vantage Comp. I believe I have the Expert rear rim somewhere, should I match them? The Comp front was stolen eons ago
- the original Avocet saddle was stolen and replaced with the Turbo
- original DX rapidfires failed twice, a hacksaw and XT thumbshifters changed that

Some pictures of it´s sorry state included.

Sorry for a very long first post, and thank you for a great site/forum, brings back a lot of memories.

 

[makster]

- original DX rapidfires failed twice, a hacksaw and XT thumbshifters changed that
.

You've already got my vote
Welcome aboard.
Melvin is the man for all things Miyata, and I'm sure you'll pop up on his radar sooner rather than later!

 

[stu]

Very nice

How cool would it look with a Rock Shox RS1, a smattering of early Ringle and a Tioga Disk Drive rear wheel? very cool (but still very nice as it is!)

Cheers
Stu

 

[MyiataTRR]

As I´m only just looking into bikes again, I have an ambition of keeping it low cost, but by all means, they´re not bad ideas. The Tioga disc, remember drooling over that, but was so far out of my league...

The slim, rigid fork is staying no matter what though, to me it just really belongs on the bike. If I get the bug again, shocks will be the next project. Some of the GTs here...well enough said.

 

[Elev12k]

Indeed. This was the kit you needed back in 1990 to win the DH Worlds ...and some HBall skills probably.

I am the happy owner of a RidgeRunner too. The European equivilent of Miyata's issue: the Koga-Miyata RidgeRunner.

When I do a project I normally entirely strip the bike and build it up again. Maybe worth considering this route? ...or don't you have the right tools to do the job?

 

[Elev12k]

HBalls DH worlds winning example >>

HBall on the Koga >>

 

[MyiataTRR]

Well, looking at it's state it has to be picked apart to a certain degree just to clean it up, so I will do that to the extent of my abilities. As for tools, only one way to fine out...

 

[MyiataTRR]

And today I found out. Picked the bike clean in one hour flat, everything bagged and tagged for cleaning. Missed tools for removing the fork and subsequently the headset. The crank and bb is still in. Everything went very smooth, so no deep rust, the frame is dented and dinged, but not much has gone deeper then the clearcoating, so all in all pretty positive. The hardest part was getting the Odi Mushroom grips off, definitely getting a new pair of those Largest crankwheel is pretty worn down, was considering switching that for a bigger one anyways, so no biggie. Wires and outer cables throughout needs replacing, but I was prepared for that as well.

What didn´t feel quite right was the bb. When everything else was removed I turned the crank, had to apply uneven preassure throughout the rotation, shouldn´t that be a smooth motion?

Next steps in no particular order;
- Break out the cleaning solutions
- Visit my parents to find the missing rim(s)
- Get some tools to finish the disassembly

This is disturbingly fun...

 

[Elev12k]

I fear that if you already notice your BB is rotating poorly with cranks in place, you will find out the BB is totally gone when you have removed the cranks and rotate the spindle itself. The tools you need for removing the BB won't be the same as the tools you need for installing a modernish square BB (maybe best to borrow tools?). Or you source a good 2nd hand or NOS old BB that use the same tools. I would think the old BB is gone, but maybe you could try resurrecting it if you like.

 

[MyiataTRR]

Lessons of the day;
- Big sportinggoods stores might have bike tools for sale, they do however not know what they´re used for
- Smaller more specialized stores are more interested in selling the 45 year old, potbellied gentleman behind me a 4k roadbike then discussing wether a 0,02k tool will work for my nostalgia project
- The bike workshop might have whats needed, might not, they can true my wheels, but dont know when, basically theyre busy fixing the 4k roadbike of the potbellied gentleman. ´Drop by and well see what we can do, don´t know when we´ll get around to it though´.
- I´m not the only one trying to get my bike fixed in late march/early april.

Being reliant on others is going to make this a longer process then what I initially thought. Two questions comes to mind after todays hit´n´miss;
1. Are there many different tools for the task of removing a bb, or was that somehow standard in 1990? I know its a Shimano, dont know what model, the rest of the bike is DX equipped if that gives any clue. Havn´t found a tech sheet unfortunatly.
2. If anyone in Oslo is reading this, can you reccomend an indipendant bike workshop with the knowhow to help me advance in my quest of restoration, a PM would be welcome.