株式会社ミヤタサイクル | |
Private (K.K) | |
Industry | Leisure products |
---|---|
Founded | 1890; 130 years ago |
Founder | Eisuke Miyata |
Headquarters | , Japan |
Worldwide | |
Key people | Shinichiro Takaya (President) |
Products | |
Owner | Morita Holdings Corporation (70%) Merida Bikes (30%) |
Website | Official website |
Footnotes / references [1][2] |
Miyata 710: a high-end Miyata from the late 1970s
Miyata head badge.
Miyata is a Japanese manufacturer of bicycles, unicycles and fire extinguishers. The company has been in operation since 1890. Miyata was also one of the first producers of motorcycles in Japan under the name Asahi. The Asahi AA was the first mass-produced motorcycle in Japan.[3]
Warranty registration Register your new e-bike now! In addition to the 10-year warranty on all e-bike and S-Pedelec frames, we are offering to extend the 2-year warranty by a further 12 months for all Impulse motors and BMZ power packs manufactured from 2017 onwards and purchased on. Oct 01, 2011 Does anyone have any information about the relevance of these serial numbers to Vega guitars? All the guitar sites I've checked seem to think the guitar serial numbers are a mystery, and that may be true. I have a Vega guitar with a serial number that would date it at 1919 according to the information above.
Miyata claims to have been the first Japanese manufacturer of flash-butt welded frame tubes (1946) and the first to use electrostatic painting (1950).[4]
- 4Bicycles
History[edit]
Miyata was founded by Eisuke Miyata (1840-1900), a bowyer and engineer from Tokyo who also made components for rickshaws. Eisuke's second son, Eitarō, apprenticed in a local munitions facility and later earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Kyoto University. In 1874, Eisuke moved the family to Shiba and in 1881 opened Miyata Manufacturing in Kyōbashi, Tokyo. The factory produced guns for the Imperial Japanese Army including the Murata rifle, and knives for the Navy. In 1889, a foreigner visited Miyata to ask the gunmakers to repair his bicycle. The engineers repaired the bicycle, and the company began to repair bicycles as a side business.[3]:31
In 1890, Miyata opened a new factory in Kikukawa, and the company was renamed Miyata Gun Works. Eitarō manufactured the first Miyata prototype bicycle in 1890, using rifle barrels produced at the factory. The early success of Miyata's bicycles was boosted by a request in 1892 from crown prince Yoshihito (later Emperor Taishō) to build him a bicycle. Nonetheless, Miyata halted production of bicycles to focus exclusively on arms manufacture during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1894-95.[3]:31–32
Japan changed its laws in 1900 to allow the import of foreign rifles, and the subsequent flooding of the market with cheap imports hurt Miyata's business badly. Upon Eisuke's death on 6 June, Eitarō converted the business entirely to bicycle manufacturing, producing bicycles under the Asahi and Pāson brands. Miyata's entire production of Asahi bicycles was purchased by the Imperial Army until the end of the Russo-Japanese War in 1905.[3]:31–32
Automobiles[edit]
Miyata began developing automobile technology in 1907. Miyata's first automobile, also named Asahi, debuted at the Kansai Prefectural Association Exhibition in 1910. The first Asahi automobile was a two-passenger car with an air-cooled, two-cylinder engine.[3]:33
Motorcycles[edit]
A Jesuit missionary on an Asahi motorcycle in China in 1939
Motorcycles gained popularity in Japan in the early years of the 20th century as foreigners began bringing British and German machines to the country. The Japanese government officially allowed commercial import of foreign motorcycles beginning in 1909, creating a market for businesses selling imported machines, as well as domestic designs incorporating foreign components. Miyata produced the first all-Japanese motorcycle in 1913,[5]:9 also under the Asahi name, based on a British Triumph design.[6] However, at the time motor vehicles were a luxury item and imported motorcycles were seen as fashionable and desirable over locally made machines, and the Asahi sold fewer than 40 units before production was discontinued in 1916.[5]:9
1952 Asahi Golden Beam motorcycle manufactured by Miyata
Over the next two decades, Japanese manufacturers caught up to imported brands, and the rise of motorsports and motor clubs made motorcycles more accessible to the Japanese public.[5]:10 Miyata returned to motorcycle production with the Asahi AA in 1933. The AA was the first mass-produced Japanese motorcycle,[7] and was highly successful, leading to construction of a new plant at Kamata in 1938.[3]:55 However, after the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out in 1937 resources and materials for motorcycle construction became increasingly scarce, and in 1939 Miyata's Kamata plant was converted by the government to produce components for military aircraft.[3]:56 The AA sold an estimated 40,000 units from 1933-39.[7]
Miyata again resumed production of motorcycles after the Second World War. Through the 1950s the company released the HA and the Golden Beam FA/2, both with a 249cc four-stroke motor, as well as a model with a 344cc single-cylinder motor, and various two-cylinder two-stroke motors.[8][9] Miyata manufactured its last motorcycles in 1964.[citation needed]
Bicycles[edit]
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.[edit]
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[edit]
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,[14] 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).
- Miyata 3xx: A mid-range road bike model from the 'Semi-Pro' group, with Shimano 105 brakes, derailleurs, and shifters. The 105 was also shown with an arrow-like graphic. The Miyata 310/312 had a shorter wheelbase than the touring models, but with clearance for fenders and wider tires and is sometimes called a 'sport-touring' model (a comfortable model for day rides and commuting).[15] Features included double- or triple-butted Cr-Mo tubing (depending on year), 525 Crown, SR CTD handlebars, and Araya rims. Earlier models had hi-tensile steel forks, but later forks were 'Mangalight' manganese alloy. Some years are equipped with an 'aero-style' shifters, mounted on a single brazed-on post on top of the down tube.
- Miyata 5xx Competition (part of the 'Semi-Pro' group): A higher-end road bike than the 310/312, with more 'aggressive' geometry.
- Miyata 6xx: A quality touring model, one step down from the 1000, with slightly different frame geometry and lower level components. Mid-1980s 610s have triple-butted splined Chromoly frame tubing, an unusually high quality tubing and construction for its price level. This bike is slightly lighter in weight than Trek 520/720 touring bikes, but of similar quality.
- Miyata 7xx: A mid- to high-end road bike from the 'Semi-Pro' group. Early models had Suntour parts, including an odd 3-wheel rear derailleur, possibly using the same frameset as the 910.
- Miyata 9xx: Miyata's high-end road bike from the 'Semi-Pro' group, with Shimano 600 components.
- Miyata 1000: Touring bike with splined, triple-butted Chromo tubing. Some report the 610 to be stiffer than the 1000. 1997 model had a mix of Shimano 600 and Deore XT parts (600 DT shifters, XT derailleurs). Noted bicycle authority Sheldon Brown called the Miyata 1000 'possibly the finest off-the-shelf touring bike available at the time'.[16] The 1000 was marketed in the U.S. from the late 1970s and marketed in North America until about 1993.
- Miyata 1400: A high-end road bike sold only as a 1989 model with Shimano 600 components. It was higher-end than the 914 that was sold in the same year. Unlike the aluminum 1400A, the 1400 used Miyata's CrMo triple-butted construction.
- Miyata Cross: A top-of-the-line 'cross' bikes (which included the Alumicross, Quickcross, Sportcross, and Triplecross). The Alumicross was introduced in the late 1980s with standard-size aluminum main tubes bonded to steel lugs and a Chromo fork. Seat and chain stays are steel, with the seat post binder bolt holding the seat stays to the seat post lug. The Quick, Sport, and Triplecross were triple-butted cromoly.
- Miyata Pro/Team/1200: These are the high-end race ready models (Team Miyata, Miyata Pro, etc.)
Serial numbers[edit]
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.[17]
Letter code | Production year | Letter code | Production year |
---|---|---|---|
A | 1972 | N | 1985 |
B | 1973 | O | 1986 |
C | 1974 | P | 1987 |
D | 1975 | Q | 1988 |
E | 1976 | R | 1989 |
F | 1977 | S | 1990 |
G | 1978 | T | 1991 |
H | 1979 | U | 1992 |
I | 1980 | V | 1993 |
J | 1981 | W | 1994 |
K | 1982 | X | 1995 |
L | 1983 | Y | 1996 |
M | 1984 | Z | 1997 |
Today[edit]
The Miyata brand still exists and, while it is no longer distributed in the United States, it had until 2010 a joint venture with the Dutch Koga[18] brand,a Dutch bicycle manufacturer, established in Heerenveen Netherlands, under the name Koga-Miyata . Koga is nowadays part of the Accell Group.
In late 2011, Miyata announced plans to once again sell bicycles under its own Miyata Japon brand.[19] Its new frames were based on the Koga Miyata frame on which Peter Winnen won the Alpe d'Huez stage of the 1981 Tour de France.[20] Each custom-ordered frame was to be hand-built and made with Miyata's traditional chromoly steel process, featuring Campagnolo components, at its Chigasaki factory.[21]
Unicycles[edit]
Although demand for Miyata unicycles outside Japan has diminished in recent years due to a wider range of quality unicycles becoming available, Miyatas were once considered to be a highly desirable unicycle because of their quality of manufacturing and well designed saddle during times when choice was often limited to expensive custom-made unicycles or extremely poor quality products sold in department stores. Miyata unicycles are now uncommon among non-Japanese riders due to the surging popularity of riding styles such as Muni (Mountain Unicycling) and Street/Trials riding, which Miyatas are largely unsuitable for, however Miyata is still the unicycle of choice in Japan where riders tend to be more interested in Freestyle riding and Artistic Unicycling, this coupled with the fact that unicycling is taught in Japanese schools as part of physical education has secured Miyata a continuing place in today's unicycle market.
Miyata currently manufacture a range of unicycles with wheel sizes ranging from 14 to 24 inch, models are available for beginner and intermediate riders up to expensive high end cycles with carbon fibre frames. Miyata makes custom frames to order and also sells a five-foot Giraffe version of their popular Flamingo model.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^'Company Profile'. Miyata Cycle. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^'Company Overview'. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
- ^ abcdefgAlexander, Jeffrey W (2008). Japan's Motorcycle Wars: An Industry History. Vancouver, BC: UBC Press. ISBN978-0-7748-1453-9.
- ^1981 Miyata catalog (USA)
- ^ abcWalker, Mick (2002). Mick Walker's Japanese Grand Prix Racing Motorcycles. Redline Books. ISBN0-953-1311-8-1.
- ^Long, Brian (2007). Mazda MX-5 Miata: The Book of the World's Favourite Sportscar. Veloce Publishing. p. 38. ISBN978-1-84584-043-3.
- ^ ab'Asahi AA Motorcycle'. 240 Landmarks of Japanese Automotive Technology. Society of Automotive Engineers of Japan. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
- ^Hicks, Roger (2006). Die internationale Enzyklopädie (in German). Stuttgart: Motorbuch-Verlag. ISBN978-3-613-02660-5.
- ^Ewald, S (1999). Enzyklopädie des Motorrads (in German). Augsburg: Bechtermünz Verlag. ISBN3-8289-5364-6.
- ^日本自動車百年史 [100 years of Japanese History before Automobile] (in Japanese). Archived from the original on December 17, 2010.
- ^'Panasonic to Sell Stake in Bicycle Maker Miyata'. Japancorp.net. Archived from the original on April 5, 2012.
- ^RoadBike Review's Forum Archives
- ^'Miyata Info'. smasher.net. Archived from the original on May 26, 2009. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^Miyata Hierarchy at bikeforums.net
- ^http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a201/andy0325/DSCN0686.jpg
- ^Brown, Sheldon. Allen, John (ed.). 'Japanese Bicycles in the U.S. Market'. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
- ^http://vintagemiyatabicycles.blogspot.com/2010/07/miyata-bicycles-serial-numbers.html
- ^Koga
- ^'Miyata: Japanese road bicycle legend re-born'. cyclingiq.com. January 26, 2012.
- ^'68ème Tour de France 1981'. Memoire du cyclisme. Archived from the original on January 21, 2012.
- ^'日本の伝説のロードバイクが今、蘇る。本物が持つレトロ感「THE MIYATA」' [Japanese legendary road bike revived]. GQ Japan (in Japanese). January 24, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2017.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Miyata. |
- Miyata Cycle official website(in English)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Miyata&oldid=933337752'
Univega is a brand of bicycles, created during the bike boom of the 1970s by Ben Lawee (1926–2002),[1] who founded Lawee Inc. to design, specify, and import bicycles initially manufactured in Italy by Italvega, and subsequently in Japan by Miyata.
Prior to creating the Univega brand, Lawee had been the importer of Motobécane bicycles in the U.S. and had created the Italvega in Italy. His Bertoni brand appeared after the creation of Univega.
Lawee marketed the Univega brand using the taglines 'Discover the difference' and 'Ride it your way' and began marketing their Alpina series of mountain bikes in the early 1980s. In 1985 Lawee moved Univega Headquarters to Signal Hill California in his new building designed by Randy Morris and Brian Corntassel of Phelps Morris Architects, Long Beach, CA. Univega now had a competitive look that would last another 11 years of success.
Univega competed in the U.S. with domestic and European bicycle manufacturers including Schwinn, Raleigh, Peugeot and Motobecane — as well as other Japanese manufacturers including Miyata, Fuji, Bridgestone, Panasonic, Nishiki, Lotus and Centurion. Bikes manufactured in Japan succeeded in the U.S. market until currency fluctuations in the late 1980s made them less competitive, which led companies to source bicycles from Taiwan.
In 1996,[1] the parent company of Raleigh Bicycle Company, Derby Cycle, absorbed Univega along with the Nishiki brand of bicycles.
Ben Lawee[edit]
Ben Lawee, who was born in Baghdad, Iraq in 1926, emigrated to the United States on a freighter in his teens. While attending Columbia University in New York he worked at the bicycle shop of a Greek Cypriot, George Joannou, and subsequently moved to California as West Coast sales representative for Joannou Cycle Co. Lawee ventured out on his own when he purchased the venerable Jones Bicycle shop in Long Beach, CA in 1959; growing a single store into a multi-store chain.[1] He sold the retail chain in 1965 and began importing Bianchi bicycles, as well as becoming the national distributor for Raleigh and Motobecane. Lawee Inc. created the Italvega brand in the early 1970s, followed by the commercially successful Univega brand, and then short-lived Bertoni brand. Ben Lawee sold the Univega brand to Raleigh in 1996 and retired from the bicycle industry.
Lawee had two children, David and Monique, with his wife Ariela. He died November 8, 2002.[1][2][3]
Models[edit]
Univega marketed road and touring bicycles and later, also mountain bikes.
Activa cs millennium editionActiva 200 Activa Action Activa Country Activa ST Activa Sport Activa Trail Alpina Alpina Country Alpina Pro Alpina Sport Alpina Team Alpina Ultima Alpina Uno ArrowPace Arrow Speed Arrow Star | Boralyn Carbolite Competzione Custom Maxima Custom Ten Gran Premio Gran Rally Gran Record Gran Sprint Gran Sprint - S Gran Tech Gran Touring Gran Turismo Ground Force Ital Sport Land Rover 12 Maxima Sport | Maxima Uno Metro Ten Metrothree Metrofive Modo Volare Modo Vincere Modo Vivere Nuovo Sport NuovoTech 450 Nuovo Ten Nuovo Touring Pathfinder R7.2 RAM 970 Range Rover-ES Rover Rover-ES Rover Sport Rover STI Rover XCU | Safari Safari Ten Specialissima Sportour Superstrada Superlight Super Special SupraSport Tandem Sport Tandem Tour Tri-Star Ultraleggera Via Carisma Via de Oro Via Montega Via Laser Viva Activa 300 Viva Sport Viva Touring Vivatech |
Bertoni[edit]
Bertoni was a brand created by Ben Lawee circa-1980. The frames were manufactured in Italy by Daccordi, sometimes mistakenly assigned to Bianchi, which had no connection to the Bertoni brand other than Ben Lawee's Bianchi imports during the 1960s. Earlier Bertonis have frame details that are similar to the Torresini-made Italvegas. The 1984 and later steel frames do not bear the typical Torresini details. These 'second series' frames all utilized Columbus tubesets of Matrix, SL or SLX type tubing and featured Columbus 'short point' lugs and Cinelli-type Columbus bottom brackets & semi-sloping fork crowns. Seat stay lugs were Gipiemme, brazed into the contour of the rear quarters of the seat tube lug. Other braze-ons were also Gipiemme, including the two styles of brake stay bridges used, depending on the model, and the induction-cast 'box arch' chainstay bridge which was common to all steel Bertonis, with the exception of the TSX model - the frame of which was obviously the Daccordi Griffe, but with Bertoni inscriptions and decals. Dropouts were forged Columbus on the lower/mid range and Campagnolo for the upscale models. The line emphasized function over flash (except for the 'flash' of the 'cromovelato' - thin paint over chrome - paint jobs) and received favorable press regarding overall functionality and quality, as well as the ride/handling of the steel-frame models. The line itself was fairly large, comprising nine bicycles in 1988. The range included a disc-wheeled TT bicycle and a Bador (Vitus) aluminum model.
Models[edit]
'Second Series'(incomplete list):
- Nuovitalia - base model with Columbus Matrix double-butted tubesets and a mix of Ofmega and Shimano components.
- Corsa Mondiale - Mid-range steel-frame (Columbus SL; Matrix used on tall frames) model equipped with Shimano 600 crankset, hubs, derailleurs and brakes.
- Specialissima - uprange steel model with Columbus SLX tubing and Shimano Dura-Ace hubs, crank, derailleurs and brakes.
- Professionale - similar SLX frame with Campagnolo SR componentry.
- TSX - Columbus TSX tubing, Daccordi Griffe type 'webbed' lugs and bottom bracket shell.
Italvega[edit]
Italvega bikes were designed and hand-built within the noted Torresini workshop at the Torpado factory in Padua, Italy. They were built beginning in 1970 and continuing through the mid- to late-70s before manufacturing was moved to Japan under the name Univega. All Italvega bicycles were made in the Torpado factory, but not all were high-end bicycles. Torpado made a broad variety of bicycles for different uses (including worker, comfort, BMT, ATB, and even motorized)
Top-end Models[edit]
Models manufactured under the Italvega marque include (in order of increasing quality):
- Viva Sport
- Nuovo Sport
- Nuovo Record
- Super Record
- Super Speciale
- Super Light
- Viva Touring
The top-end models were built with double-butted Columbus tubing and Campagnolo Record and Nuovo Record components. The low-mid level framesets have the inverted triangle Columbus foil decal, while the better models have the rectangle Columbus foil decal. The lowest models have no Columbus decal.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ abcd'Cancer Takes Univega Founder Ben Lawee'. Allbusiness.com, Bicycle Retailer, November 12, 2002.
- ^'Ben Lawee; dead at 76.(Obituary) | HighBeam Business: Arrive Prepared'. Business.highbeam.com. 2002-12-01. Archived from the original on 2015-04-09. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
- ^'Our 100 Year History - Jones Bicycles & Skateboards - Long Beach, Ca'. Jonesbicycles.com. 2010-01-20. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Univega&oldid=918961590'