Chrome Molly

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Wildcat

Wildcat

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Joined
Jan 21, 2009
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Zambales, Philippines
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I picked this up from a dump here in the Philippines. From a dump in a third world country, a NOS chromoly MTB frame. I repaired the dents in the head tube and checked it closely. It had never been a whole bike, it was an unused frame! I wore out a brass brush cleaning it up.
Chromolly.JPG

It cleaned up nicely and the serial number may indicate 1987.
Chromolly 8.JPG

The dents were removed carefully with a 5/8ths steel rod and hammer.
Chromolly repair.JPG


Then I happily tore apart the new mountain bike my wife got for me. She liked how happy I was to get it. I was actually smiling looking forward to tearing it apart. LOL! That bike provided most of what I needed for Chrome Molly. The forks were 1 inch short so I had to borrow the springer from my build off bike and bear claw pedals from my stash. It's a big urban bomber. One pedal that came with the mountain bike was broken. I have a seat Kingfish gave me way back when that went right on. I didn't hook up the shifters or front derailler, just adjusted the stop to keep me in one gear. Less chance for failure with cheap components. I was ready for a test ride but the brand new pump had a hole in the hose! But it's ready to roll. It's the biggest bike around here.
Later, it'll get a different fork and better components. It'll go through refinements.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miyata

"
Bicycles
Many say Miyata pioneered triple butting, and revolutionized frame building techniques. The first Miyatas were bolt-upright town bikes. Over the decades, Miyata established a good foothold in the bicycle market, becoming contracted by multiple local brands to build their bicycles and ultimately attracting Panasonic Corporation to become a shareholder in 1959.[10]

Panasonic Corporation, for a period the manufacturer of National and Panasonic brand bicycles, was Miyata's largest shareholder from 1959 until 2008, when it sold its remaining stake in Miyata.[11]

Miyata in the U.S.
Throughout the U.S. bike boom of the 1970s and into the 1980s, Miyata competed with American companies including Schwinn, Huffy, and Murray; European companies including Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecane — as well as other nascent Japanese brands including Nishiki, Fuji, Bridgestone, Centurion, Lotus and Univega — whose bikes were manufactured by Miyata.[12] Japanese-manufactured bikes succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, leading companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.

Models
Late 1970s to mid-1980s Miyata bikes have high-quality Japanese lugged steel frames and Shimano or Suntour components.[13]

Miyata models carried numeric names (e.g., Miyata 710). By the late 1970s Miyata began using the same names, writing out the numeric names (e.g., Miyata Seven Ten).

Generally,[citation needed] 90 and 100 series were sports/entry level bicycles. 200 and 600 series and the 1000 model were touring bicycles, with the level of bicycle increasing with first digit in the series. In general, a 200 series touring bicycle would be roughly equivalent to a 300 series competition/fitness bicycle in terms of component levels, frame materials and value. 300, 400, 500, 700, 900 series were mid-range competition/fitness bicycles — with the level of quality increasing with first digit in the series. The top line, pro series bicycles were named non-numerically (e.g., Team Miyata and Pro Miyata). 1000 series and X000 series bicycles, with the notable exception of the 1000 touring model, were competition/fitness models with non-ferrous frames.

Often (but not always) the last two digits of the model number indicated the number of available gears, e.g., 912 was a 9-series 12 speed and a 914 was a 9 series 14 speed.


  • Miyata 9x: This was the bottom of the range, entry-level model. Triple butted tubing, Shimano/Suntour entry-level components.
  • Miyata 1xx: Low-level model aimed at the casual consumer. Chromoly triple-butted main tubes, hi-ten stays, toe clips/straps, available in both men's and mixte styles.
  • Miyata 2xx: A popular lower-end touring model. 1984 catalogue indicated the 210 used straight-gauge tubing, Dia-Compe cantilever brakes and Shimano triple drive train. By 1985, the 210 featured triple-butted chromoly tubing in the frame, with a Mangalight fork. Later models used 700 wheels; earlier models used 27" wheels. Braze-ons on front and rear dropouts (no low-rider braze-ons in front), cantis front and rear, horizontal rear dropouts, one bottle braze-on, rear rack braze-ons, and flat-top fork crown. There were also special models such as the 215ST (both traditional and mixte styles)."
  • Serial numbers
    Miyata's frames manufactured in Japan since 1972 have been stamped with a serial number, the first letter of which indicates the year of production.[citation needed]


    Letter codeProduction yearLetter codeProduction year
    A1972N1985
    B1973O1986
    C1974P1987
    D1975Q1988
    E1976R1989
    F1977S1990
    G1978T1991
    H1979U1992
    I1980V1993
    J1981W1994
    K1982X1995
    L1983Y1996
    M1984Z1997
 
So, with an "A", it's not a Miyata. It couldn't be a 72 with those brake bosses. I also noticed Miyata frames have an indentation on the chainstay right behind the BB, mine doesn't. But I'm fairly sure it's a quality frame, better than my 76 Schwinn Traveler or any bike I've ever owned. From a technical standpoint of course. 87 seems like the right year for it.
I went for a ride last evening and almost wiped out. The streets are very steep in my neighborhood and I tried to turn around. But I made it back in one piece. The handlebars were too far forward for my back problem so I changed them out to a regular cruiser style. I need to get to flat land to give it a good ride, then find a way back home up the mountain. The springer is heavy for this bike also. I'll try to get a fork like the one shown with the Valley Runner MattiThundrrr showed above.
 
I noticed a slip when I first started out. The cranks went forward about 1/3 of a turn with no wheel movement. I checked everything and it's all solid, and it didn't slip anymore after that. Was my cluster loose from the factory or is it so cheap failure is emminent? I have a new wheel with a 24 tooth freewheel that can be changed in. The shop only had a 16 or a 24, but their wheels were made up right there, 4 cross pattern and Mavic rims. Maybe not real Mavic. I have a 48 tooth green crankset that's pretty good quality that can replace the cheap one also. But I wanted to save those good rims for better tires.
 
I've had all the tools ready in case I get a frame and rims for my build off bike, 4-4-2. In the meantime, I'm wrenching on Chrome Molly. I replaced a lot of the cheap chinese parts with other chinese parts of higher quality. I don't know how much but they are better. I got a decent crankset for free from Amazon two years ago using a $25 bonus credit. The discount price was for the green set only. Lasco brand.
DSCI0002.JPG



The two good wheels and 24 tooth freewheel replaced the 21 speed and wheels. Both black rims had a slight warp in them but these made at the shop in town, the blue ones, were straight as an arrow and are both 4 cross. For 16 bucks each I think they were worth it but not really Mavic. The tires are lowest quality, they have hops and bends that can't be tweaked out but will do until I get get a pair of the Maxxis at the shop in the big city. They might be real Maxxis but probably not, like my mavic rims.
So that's a 48 chain wheel with a 24 cog. 52 gear inches by my estimation. That's the only size they had other than 16. They promised to have a better selection next time. The 24 tooth size is used over here on the bike carts and bikes with sidecars needing a low gear. I had one that the wife and I used to ride around on back in 2014. With me pedaling of course. These are the handlebars from it on Molly and the same seat.
10599162_10152704543911737_1833325544960329538_n.jpg
 
Karate Chicken Industries said:
2:1 on 26" wheels is good gearing for the dirt.
Click to expand...
It might work out with that ratio, but I think a 22 cog would be just about right. 10-12mph is about how fast the traffic is moving. Navigating the streets here is like a riding a paved obstacle course. Dogs, cars, motorcycles, and children all trying to cross in front of you. Always from a blind spot. Then on the main road, large trucks, buses and oxcarts piled high with goods all moving at different speeds. That's why I had to include the brass bell, warning devices are a must. I'm glad I live away from the main road, there's constant honking all day and night. But it's friendly honking here, not much road rage.
 
The front brake didn't align with the rim well, so I added a chrome band brake on the rear to assist the cantilever brake. Does that look like a real Mavic rim?
DSCI0011.JPG


Then I needed to get the chain line better, I was able to mount the chain wheel on the inside of the crank tongs. I didn't know it was made to do that with the indentations for it. Now it's right in line. I like the HD look of the KI chain.
DSCI0012.JPG
 

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