Two super affordable very Rivish bikes for sale. Harding Elementary School fundraiser
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William
May 13, 2012, 12:51:30 PM5/13/12
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You might remember me posting on this last year. My two kids go to Harding Elementary School in El Cerrito, CA. I'm a member of the Dad's Club and we host a number of annual events. One of those events is bicycle centered. We take bike donations from the community, refurb the bikes, and then sell them back to the community, aimed largely at getting more neighborhood kids and families set up for family and community cycling. We get super nice support from Solano Avenue Cyclery and QBP.
Anyhow, as the most experienced mechanic in Dad's club I get all the involved refurb projects, and I sometimes run across diamond in the rough bikes. I have two in my garage now that I am particularly excited about. Both of which I'm very tempted to simply buy, since the amount I'd pay for them likely exceeds the amount our likely customers would want to spend at the event. Partially in an attempt to save me from myself, and partially in an attempt to make more money for our underfunded public elementary school, I thought I'd throw them up here and see if they are as appealing to anyone else as they are to me.
The one I'm showing here is a 95% original, 100% unrestored, 1984 Miyata 912. It's a 60cm, and you can find the geo chart and original specs in the 1984 catalog online:
http://www.miyatacatalogs.com/2007/12/miyata-catalog-1984.html
It's photographed here in my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/sets/72157629709054752/
The only non-original part is the Look Pedals and the absurdly skinny 700x20 Continental tires. The worst part of the bike for me is that the spokes are rusty. That tells me to rebuild the wheels, which tells me to replace the rims, which immediately makes me think 650B conversion. The frame does have dropout support for fenders, and Silver brakes or similar will easily reach. The BB height with these 700x20s is in the 270mm range, and a 650x32B ought to drop things by about another 7mm or so. The chainstay clearance will be snug for Pari motos or Lierres. Forget it for Hetres without crimping stays. As a 1984 bike, we're looking at 126mm rear spacing.
So, if I end up allowing myself to buy this bike from Dad's club, I'll probably build up some 650Bx32 wheels, put some SKS plastic fenders on, Silver brakes, a compact double crankset I have on-hand, more ergo brakelevers, and probably a wider set of bars. I'd use it as a guest road bike and a commuter. I expect the crankset BB and brake calipers to get me a few bucks on the second hand market, perhaps enough to buy a brand new handlebar. If YOU end up buying it, you might do something even cooler with it. The big constraint is the top-of-the-downtube shifter orientation. You will have limited options if you wanted to switch that out.
Anyway, I think this bike has a ton of potential and I'd rather it belong to somebody who will appreciate it, rather than go to a neighborhood dad who wants a beater to follow the training-wheel kids on the bike trail. I'd rather sell that dude a $50 bike, and keep this for you. Ideally, I'm thinking a Bay Area list member who's willing to write a check to Harding Elementary School PTA for $250 and will pick it up in El Cerrito. I've put some annotation on the photos, but let me know if you have any questions.
Anyhow, as the most experienced mechanic in Dad's club I get all the involved refurb projects, and I sometimes run across diamond in the rough bikes. I have two in my garage now that I am particularly excited about. Both of which I'm very tempted to simply buy, since the amount I'd pay for them likely exceeds the amount our likely customers would want to spend at the event. Partially in an attempt to save me from myself, and partially in an attempt to make more money for our underfunded public elementary school, I thought I'd throw them up here and see if they are as appealing to anyone else as they are to me.
The one I'm showing here is a 95% original, 100% unrestored, 1984 Miyata 912. It's a 60cm, and you can find the geo chart and original specs in the 1984 catalog online:
http://www.miyatacatalogs.com/2007/12/miyata-catalog-1984.html
It's photographed here in my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/45758191@N04/sets/72157629709054752/
The only non-original part is the Look Pedals and the absurdly skinny 700x20 Continental tires. The worst part of the bike for me is that the spokes are rusty. That tells me to rebuild the wheels, which tells me to replace the rims, which immediately makes me think 650B conversion. The frame does have dropout support for fenders, and Silver brakes or similar will easily reach. The BB height with these 700x20s is in the 270mm range, and a 650x32B ought to drop things by about another 7mm or so. The chainstay clearance will be snug for Pari motos or Lierres. Forget it for Hetres without crimping stays. As a 1984 bike, we're looking at 126mm rear spacing.
So, if I end up allowing myself to buy this bike from Dad's club, I'll probably build up some 650Bx32 wheels, put some SKS plastic fenders on, Silver brakes, a compact double crankset I have on-hand, more ergo brakelevers, and probably a wider set of bars. I'd use it as a guest road bike and a commuter. I expect the crankset BB and brake calipers to get me a few bucks on the second hand market, perhaps enough to buy a brand new handlebar. If YOU end up buying it, you might do something even cooler with it. The big constraint is the top-of-the-downtube shifter orientation. You will have limited options if you wanted to switch that out.
Anyway, I think this bike has a ton of potential and I'd rather it belong to somebody who will appreciate it, rather than go to a neighborhood dad who wants a beater to follow the training-wheel kids on the bike trail. I'd rather sell that dude a $50 bike, and keep this for you. Ideally, I'm thinking a Bay Area list member who's willing to write a check to Harding Elementary School PTA for $250 and will pick it up in El Cerrito. I've put some annotation on the photos, but let me know if you have any questions.
William
May 13, 2012, 12:52:47 PM5/13/12
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
The "other bike" of the two is a mid 1980's Sekai sport tourer, that I have refurbished. I'll post photos and description of that later, after I finish it up.
William
May 16, 2012, 1:56:41 PM5/16/12
to rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com
OK, no local takers for the Miyata from the group, so I've started the resurrection of that one.
The second bike is one that is done being refurbished for the Dad's Club Event. It will be on display on Saturday with a $120 price tag on it. It's an early 80s "Sekai" branded sport-touring rig. It says Norco printed into the seatstay cap. Maybe that's the real manufacturer. Anyway, it's mangalloy tubing, lugged. 58cm c-t-t with a 57cm c-t-c top tube. It's got a nice takagi triple. 50-42-34 all on the 110bcd. The crankset has a 74mm bcd as well, so a wider range triple setup or even a nice compact double is possible. It got to me with 27" x SKINNY tires, but the clearances looked much more like it wanted 700c wheels. I had a used wheelset and tires, which are now on there. 700x26mm. New Shimanopore 6 speed freewheel. New cables and housing. I converted the super narrow randonneur bend bars for a compact upright. This has chainstays to take a kickstand and braze ons galore for racks and baskets. Pics on my flickr. Again, if you are local (SF East Bay) and want this, let me know.
William
May 17, 2012, 12:15:19 AM5/17/12
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Sekai is sold
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