My Bicycle Project

So after riding the 1000 I knew I wanted a "hot rod" to go with it.  I knew I didn't want full on "race" geometry because of their twitchiness.

The thing about geometry is that it just depends on what you want from the bike.  For a racer who is fully engaged and going for it, the bike is "responsive".

For a regular guy riding a racing bike, it's "twitchy", and when you start to get tired and are not fully engaged, the bike starts to change direction on you without your permission.  

By the same token a bike like the 1000, with it's long wheelbase and angles, to a racer it is "sluggish", but to a regular guy it's "stable".

I know exactly what I what from my bikes so I set out to get a bike that would answer those questions.

Again I lucked out and saw this ad on Craigslist.  A guy who owned a small bike repair shop and was a wheeler dealer on the side.  

I knew I would upgrade so I asked if I could buy just the frameset.  (frame and fork).  He agreed.  I was glad.


This is a 1986 Miyata 912.  This was the top of the line in the "Triathlon Series".  It had the right tubing and the right geometry for what I wanted.  Sporty, but not full on race.










So this sat in the closet from May of 2017 till mid Pandemic 2020. 








I had all the goodies sitting in a desk drawer and decided to get it built and finished.

To start with, I had to cold set the frame to accept modern drivetrain.  The original spec for the rear spacing (width of the rear hub) is 126mm.  Modern drivetrains use 130mm.

The original rear wheel used 6 cogs, while the drivetrain I'm using uses 11.  "These go to 11."     You can only cold set a steel frame.  This can't be done with aluminum, carbon, or anything else.



First step is to take a piece of all-thread and slowly run the nut to the right stretching the frame.  You have to run it out to about 175-180mm for it to work, or else it will just spring back to where it was.

This usually takes a few tries, starting with 165mm, 170mm, whatever it takes.  Anyway, if you work slowly and methodically you can get it right on.








Now what happens after you have done this, is that invariably the rear triangle of the bike is no longer in line with the front triangle.

Have you ever seen an old pickup truck "dog tracking" down the road?  Same type of thing.  So need this frame alignment tool.








This tool is placed against the head tube and the seat tube.  The pointer is then adjusted to just graze the rear dropout.  (where the axle sits)














Do this on both sides and you will see which direction the rear triangle is out.  How do you correct this?

Well, you mount the rear wheel, place the frame on the floor, put a piece of wood under the head tube with a bath towel for protection.

Take another bath towel, put it on the seat tube for protection, and then step on the frame slowly putting your full weight on the bike.

Yes, you heard correctly.  It is nerve wracking and I am always sweating bullets, but again slow and methodical, checking your work and you can get it bang on.

I don't have any pics of this.  I was in the stress zone and didn't think about it till later.  I think you get the idea though.


Now it's time to align the dropouts.  After all that tugging etc, order must be regained.

Place these special tools in the dropouts and screw then against each other.  You can clearly see what is going on here.  








A little tug here and there and here is the result.

This close up does not do it justice.  In the sunlight it looks like a picture from the Hubble telescope.  Lots of silver, red, pink, blue, teal, etc.  It's crazy cool.









Hanging bits and pieces on the frame.  It's starting to look like a bike.












This, in my opinion, is how cabling should be done.

This is called Harlequin wrap.  It was something done in period.  I decided to do it for kicks and for the challenge.

It is difficult to do.  Two rolls go at the same time from opposite directions.  You have to make one wrap, come halfway back, run the other color underneath, run the next color on top, etc., etc..

Too bad I couldn't find carnation pink for the wrap.  Hot pink was as close as I could get in the old school cloth wrap.  Oh well.  For the first time, I got it done within acceptable tolerances.











This is the finished article.  This bike is basically for "full gas" efforts.  Just smash yourself for 45 minutes, as opposed to the 1000 where it is more sustained effort for a couple of hours or more.

Anyway, this keeps me out of trouble, along with models.  I hope it may interest someone.  Thanks for looking.

I know where your coming from mate, was a racer in the day, loved the velodrome's the most.
Looks like your doing a "Pro-mod" bike, very cool, a passion is a passion, no matter what it is,
they all suck lots of money and time, but well worth the effort, great work Mark.

Thank you Les, Dale, and Joe.

I appreciate the views and comments.


Dale, I guess you know all about the twitchy geometry, having ridden velodrome. I had a 1983 Fuji Opus III, which was a full race thoroughbred. Not a track bike, but a road race bike.

When I first rode it, it twitched on me and I remember saying to myself "This thing reacts faster than I can think! It could put me on the ground before I could even react to correct."

That thing was something. I sold it to the same Fuji guy and it is now in a book on the history of Fuji steel bikes. That's kinda cool.


Joe, Pirelli just started making tires for bicycles. In fact they are offered with pink logos, but I thought that was a bridge too far.