Old school Japanese steel

Ever since an 80's era Specialized Expedition entered my life, I've been researching Japanese made bike frames. It was initially very surprising to me that Specialized, a major high-end brand today, had taken a bike made in Japan, the Miyata 1000, and rebranded it as their own. I was also pleasantly surprised by the esteem that the Expedition was held in by the touring community. I've read that their are 3 touring bikes that head the list of possibly the best touring bikes of all times. The Trek 520, the Miyata 1000, and the Expedition. 2 of the 3, are Japanese steel. At it's core, any bike starts with the frame. It is the heart and soul of any bike.

The steel bikes that are still desirable today, seem to break down into their country of origin. Italy, France, USA, and Japan. Maybe I'm missing a country, but obviously the Italians got it going on. Frenchie; OK, don't know much about their bikes, but they seem to be a part of cycling history. USA; I always assumed that with our innovative spirit, we would figure out how to make the best steel frames in the world. I thought that until I learned that we, and other countries, took the frames made in Japan and relabeled them as our own.

So, as a furtherance to my bicycle education, I'm hoping to start a discussion about the qualities of Japanese steel.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Primitive Don on June 4, 2009 at 2:42am
Yup, lovin the Japanese lugged steel road bikes. There's just something intangibly awesome about the quality and style. You can really tell that a lot of pride went into making the bikes, even the lower end stuff.

My commuter is a 74 Schwinn LeTour, one of the first bikes Schwinn outsourced to Japan, in this case to Panasonic. It is definitely a low end gaspipe frame but is light and has a great ride, especially with newer wheels. My country rider is a Lotus Excelle, made by Tsunoda in Japan, all CR MO, light and nimble, not bad for a mid-range Lotus. I'm building up an older Lotus Elan frame right now for a customer, black with red headtube and 27 inch UKAI rims. Not quite as light as the Excelle, but still a fun ride.

I'm definitely a Japan-o-phile. I go bats**t over anything Miyata, Nishiki, Univega or Fuji (especially the Fuji road bikes with the Fuji-branded Sugino cranks and the Fuji-branded Suntour derailleurs.)

I would like to check out some of the Japanese touring bikes like you mentioned, Jeff. (drool)
Permalink Reply by Mike Bullis 5.5-6.5 miles on June 4, 2009 at 10:21am
I have three Miyatas, two of them steel. I bought the 710 new in 83, swapped out the 27" Arayas for 700c Mavics and lost the padded vinyl saddle to a B17 in 85. Gearing is still stock SunTour Vx. I did a lot of ultramarathon rides on this bike in the 80s. The paint is starting to show its age and a moron at my shop knocked it over and dented the top tube(he don't work there no more). It's still a sweet ride.

The 600GT(I believe it replaced the 1000 or was sold along side it) I built up from a frameset in 1990. The Araya rims from the 710 were laced to Sturmey VT and ET drumbrake hubs and gearing is a mix of Shimano, Suntour, and SR. 40/36/28 on the front and 28/13 on the rear. I was using compact gearing before it was a marketing gimmick. SR Randonnuer bars, Girven suspension stem, and a 1970 Wright saddle make up the cockpit. This become my ultramarathon/brevet bike. I went for comfort instead of speed and found out that I didn't lose that much speed. I rode this bike in the 91 PBP and hit 110kph downhill in a tuck with aerobars. Paint still looks good and is still a joy to ride. Still has the PBP band on it, too.
Permalink Reply by Jerome Hughes on June 4, 2009 at 10:42am
love my '89 Bianchi Sport SX, understand it was sort of a first for them re: outsourcing ~ unsure who in JP manufactured ~ 25 lbs. with Miche aero wheels from a '90s Bianchi (CL score!) ~ fits well, rides nicely, looks beautiful (to me at least) in celeste pearl and just wants to keep on going ~ my dearest uncle used it back in his pre-sober days (mostly) to ride downhill to the bar, and then much later to walk back uphill to his home above Monterey Bay (as a sort of wheeled crutch) ~ these days he's more likely found on his mountain bike in valley fields, so he boxed it up and sent it to me ~ what a gift, had ridden it on the oceanfront out there a few times when visiting, so felt especially fortunate when it was gifted to me

also once had a JP _aluminum_ bike that was fantastic while it lasted, a '91? Miyata Alumicross, drop bar cross bike with Deore DX, bar-ends, etc. that was acquired at 60% of retail in '94 ~ the seatpost cluster casting failed after many years and great miles on it, including BAMMI '96 (the last one) and the awesome black Nitto/Shimano cockpit from it later spent time on an old Cannondale tourer, and now performs excellently on my '87 Trek 520 fendered workhorse

recently garbage picked a (sort of) matched pair that included a nice JP steel bike ~ was fortunate enough to drive to a required family event past an Old Edgebrook ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrZN5-td-D0 might also be a fun place to take a mass ;) home where folks were wheeling out matching light blue Schwinn Super Sport and World Traveler bikes from the early '70s, with chrome fenders, generator light sets, mini-panniers and touring gear, and even a Brooks B-17 on the Super Sport ~ we got to the party a little bit later, after removing wheels and packing both bikes in the back of the hatch ~ have kept the (Chicago Schwinn) Super Sport as it fits me and takes me back to teenage years, when I had a tiny one in bright yellow (quickly outgrown, and such memories don't go away) anyway the JP World Traveler is a bit small for me, so gave it to a friend, who had one just like it in HS, and it's probably the better bike, though a cut below in the line ~ if it had the AL rims instead of steel rims... perhaps an upgrade is in order

and American steel workhorses can be pretty nice also ~ friend dropped off a black with gold accents Ross "Professional" some years ago, it languished around and had things stripped off it until it was tossed outside on a pile for a bit ~ a month or two ago, its new owner showed up on a Huffy, a lightbulb went on, and in an afternoon's time it was set up to go from the parts bin (nothing spent!) ~ quite an upgrade from his previous bike, it's been getting him around in style since

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