A Closer Look: 1986 Pro Miyata Road Bike

If it weren’t for this 1986 Miyata Pro road bike, I might never have found my true love. Five years after my ex abandoned this classic lugged steel bike in my garage, he gladly agreed to give it to my nephew. That meant boxing and shipping it to Louisiana, something I had no idea how to do on my own.

“Go to Chain Reaction and ask for Dick,” my friend Tammy said. There I met a man so intriguing I kept coming back for no real reason. After a weeks of engaging banter he asked me out for a bike ride. Our first bike date rolled us to bigger adventures: love, marriage and more bicycles. But this one holds a special place in my heart.

Builder of Japan’s first modern bicycle in 1892, vintage Miyata bicycles are known for their workmanship.

The 1986 Pro Miyata has classic features like a quill stem.

And a lugged frame with a chrome plated CroMoly fork.

The rear triangle is chrome too. The wheels have 36 double-butted spokes.

Down tube shifters! Front is friction, rear is indexed. Some wear on the decals.

My ex bought the Miyata in 1990 at Shaw’s, a local institution.

Look, the cable guide is above the bottom bracket, not below.

The originals are gone, so we bought some MKS pedals and toe clips.

The San Marco saddle is barely worn.

Single pivot side pull brakes were popular in bikes of this vintage.