Tuesday, August 23, 2016

A New Obsession - Vintage Touring bikes

1986 Schwinn Passage

I swear sometimes I am worse than a Storm Trooper looking for droids with how easily influenced I am.  I stumbled across the excellent blog  -The Simplicity of Vintage Bicycles a while back and Josh has refurbished some very nice mid 1980's Touring bicycles there and it got me thinking about how nice it would be to come across one to refurb.  This era is considered the Golden age of Touring bicycles and I am not the only one with an interest.  Just trying finding a legendary Miyata 1000 for sale south of $1000 bucks.

1984 Centurion Elite GT
 Not long after this thought popped into my head I started "causally" looking on CL and came across a 1984 Centurion Elite GT.  Oddly the one on CL had the reverse colors of the example above -light body dark head tube- and some issues like; no wheel-set, partially disassembled (the bike was in pieces) and a relatively high price for all that IMHO.  Usually a lack of wheels isn't too big of a deal but mid 80's touring bikes had a 40 spoke rear wheel and those don't grow on trees, and I was also concerned that with a disassembled bike I would find out that some key piece (washer, spring, bolt etc.) was missing when it was too late.  I sent in a low-ball offer, after it had been up for a week, which I had never done before, which only ended up insulting rather than interesting the seller.  Oh well.

1986 Raleigh Alyeska
I even did a bit of Ebay trolling and found a very nice Raleigh Alyeska from that era in my size, but the price, nearly $400, and the color scheme -bordeaux and rose - doesn't do alot for me.   And if I am honest part of the fun is finding a deal and something that makes the heart race a bit and spending 4 bills for something that leaves me a bit Meh doesn't seem wise.


1986 Panasonic Pro Touring 
When looking at the interwebs I also came across the bike packing blog where someone with a similar obsession and alot more money turned the musty slightly rusty Panasonic Pro Touring pictured above into the sweet Rando machine pictured below.
Panasonic reborn
I guess what is truly frustrating about this experience is that I was so close I could taste it, to the point of making an Amazon wish list - yeah I know.  The bike at the top of the page is a 1986 Schwinn Passage, made only in that year and kind of a little brother to the slightly higher zoot Schwinn Voyageur.   I was trolling CL on Sunday morning and without actually looking for Touring bikes I came across a Passage for $80, it was pretty obvious from the listing they didn't really know what they had and in my brief amount of searching I knew this was a deal.
Web shot similar to the CL listing


So I texted at 10 am, crickets, at 5:30 pm I get a text back saying they've been out but their back and still have the bike if I want to see it, but they don't give me an address (really?!), I immediately text back saying yes I can come can they send me the address?....nothing finally at 8:30 pm I text again that I am still interested and I don't work too far from the city listed on the CL post and can I come by after work, can they send me an address and a good time to come by? nothing. The next day the post is removed, I suspect someone called them and offered more than $80 for it.  Sigh.  It is the way these things go sometimes.  I did happen to see another in my area in my size but I can see some changes have been made to it and its more than I really want to pay.   And further looking I do find touring bikes of that correct vintage but they all fall into one of 3 buckets: too small, too big, too expensive.  I realize what I want is something a bit tatty, mostly original and for a reasonable price that I can bring back to life.  

VO Campeur


If I truly wanted to tour I could buy and build up a very nice VO Campeur frame, and maybe I will someday but that's not what this is about.  For that matter my Handsome Devil could be built up as a very capable tourer and in one of its iterations it even sported a Sugino triple crank.  But no, this is about the same chapter- lust for vintage lugged bicycles, different verse- Touring bikes.  Maybe if I stop obsessing one will pop up when I least expect it?  Hmm...wonder whats on CL down in Portland?

Until next time Ride.Smile.Repeat and try not to obsess....

14 comments:

  1. Yeah. You got the Miyata 1000 in there...hahahahahahahahaha I'm not OBSESSING over it AAARGH!!! MIYATA MIYATA MIyata!!!

    I gotta get some sleep. Maybe I'll dream of Forest Gump riding a MIYATA! hahahahahah

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  2. Yeah. You got the Miyata 1000 in there...hahahahahahahahaha I'm not OBSESSING over it AAARGH!!! MIYATA MIYATA MIyata!!!

    I gotta get some sleep. Maybe I'll dream of Forest Gump riding a MIYATA! hahahahahah

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    1. Sorry Tim Joe didn't mean to pour Salt in the wound, if it makes you feel better I had a Miyata 912 with Shimano 600 components that I refurbed built up exactly as I wanted it and then Sold it like a damn fool! I think we all have at least one that got away now go to bed my friend.

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  3. My aging dad gave me his 1980s Miyata 912 (yep, with Shimano 600 components) now that he cannot ride it. That bike is partly responsible for me imprinting on 1970/80s steel ten-speeds. (The other half was my 1980s Nishiki.) I am 6-8 inches or so too short to ride the Miyata myself, but my husband is the same height as my dad... It's at the bike shop getting overhauled.

    Someday I'm going to find money/time to build up the mystery Japanese Bianchi touring frame found at the bike co-op. (Model name decal is all gone, but it has rack eyelets and canti brakes, and doesn't match any catalog posted on the internet. Probably the wrong year or a Canadian model.) Enough donor parts have shown up to do most of the bike, except 700c wheels. Or maybe I make do with the 27" wheels I have and buy new brakes if neither donor pair adjusts quite right. It's cherry red with chrome socks, and scratched up enough that it'll make a theft-resistant frankenbike commuter. Even if I end up paying for wheels and assembly, it might still be cheaper than buying a new bike of the same quality!

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    1. Thanks for Sharing Unknown -so cool that you can keep an heirloom bike, especially one of the quality of a Miyata 912, in the family. I think those Shimano 600 arabesque shifters are about the most beautiful bike part ever.

      Those Japanese built frames are awesome, the ones I have run across are all extremely well put together so you have a gem in your Bianchi I am sure. For me half the fun is searching for the parts for the build. If you are by chance in the greater Seattle area I might have some parts for your build including both 27" and 700c wheelsets. Have fun with the build!

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    2. I made sure to tell my mother the Miyata was collectible before it got sold/given to the unappreciative. The husband has been told to appreciate it or else. ;)

      Sadly, I'm a long way away in Ottawa, Canada. After stripping donor bike #2, I wish I had access to your sonic cleaner. There was enough crud to halfway glue a 7 speed loose cassette into one piece!

      Wish I knew how to make this thing let me pick a name.

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    3. I am sure after riding it you Hubs will have no issue appreciating it. One of the bike blogs that got me started on this Journey is http://www.mytenspeeds.com/My_TenSpeeds_1/FREE_SITE_1/FREE_SITE_1_HOME.htm run by a gent in Thunder Bay Ontario.

      Good luck with your mystery frame rebuild and yes the Sonic cleaner is a great tool ;-) it doesn't do all the work but it does make parts much easier to clean.

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  4. You know I have my Miyata 610 for sale (same frame as the 1000, I believe)...but it's here in VT! I didn't get one offer on CL, but I will hold onto it and try to keep advertising. It rides like a dream and is a pretty blue color. Just saying!

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    1. Thanks for thinking of me Annie, you should see if the folks at the Old Spokes Home could help you pack andship and put the 610 up on Ebay to see what response you would get. Too bad the local Philistines don't know what a cool bike you have.

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    2. You also have the option on ebay of specifying local pick up only, thereby eliminating the shipping hassle, so you might find someone in New England willing to drive to VT to get your find Steel steed.

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  5. Anniebikes -Just out of curiosity what size is your 610? whats the stand over height and top tube length? I have a tricky time fitting bikes as, according to bike manufactures, my legs are too short for my height.

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    1. It is 21" frame. I'll have to measure the other dimensions when I get home. Otherwise, here's the link to the catalog specs.
      http://www.miyatacatalogs.com/2007/12/miyata-catalog-1984.html

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    2. Thankfully that is too small so I don't need to get any harebrained ideas about figuring out cross country shipping rates (Whew) Thanks Annie I do hope you find a buyer as it is a great machine.

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