Miyata Project

I bought a Miyata Triton frame, and I'll take you along with me while I build it. These were lower-end bikes that were only made in 1987. Regardless, the frame is cro-moly steel and very light.

 

I've built lots of bikes with Shimano drivetrains, but never a pure SunTour build.  I have a 6 speed freewheel, a pair of derailleurs, and some stem shifters. Let's make a bike out of it.  After touching up the paint, cleaning, and polishing I was finally ready to start assembling. First, the headset bearings were cleaned and packed with grease:

Fork reinstalled

Original steel handlebars

 

Brake levers and front brake caliper

Rear brake

I'm guessing this bike was previously converted to a single speed.  It came without derailleurs, shifters, missing a cable guide, and had a short chain.  Thankfully the rear derailleur hanger was still intact. I had to get some parts from the bike co-op, like a saddle and seatpost.  I also found a 700c rim and a Suntour XC Pro front hub (noice!). I built them into the nicest front wheel ever:

Time to reassemble the bottom bracket:

Tightening the lock ring:

And bolting the cranks back on:

Now it needs a drivetrain.  I have a SunTour 7 front derailleur and an Alpha 4050 rear:

 

I re-laced my Schwinn Traveler's old rear rim to a freewheel hub so I could use my 6-speed SunTour Perfect freewheel.  The Traveler then got my Fuji's rear rim, and I then made another slightly nicer wheel for my Fuji.  I'm not sure why I went crazy with all the wheelbuilding, but it's winter and there's not much else to do.

Here's the chain installed:

I found a set of SunTour Power Ratchet stem shifters at the co-op.  These has a fine ratcheting mechanism inside that makes the shifting super light and precise.  They are the best friction shifters I've ever used:

With the cables installed and adjusted, it's a bike again:

Finally, some celeste green handlebar tape gives it a bit of personality:

This bike rides super nicely with the lightweight frame, 700c wheels, fancy tires, and SunTour drivetrain. I originally wanted a cheap urban commuter, but I ended up with something pretty special.