Also why it resembles the 84 Miyatas (per their 1984 catalog) more than their 1983s. See below on brakes for more hints on the production era of this bike - it's very late 1983, and that illustrates how some '83s had the lowrider mounts and others didn't the change apparently made mid-year.

Still, companies put out yearly catalogs, so we use those years as a guide. Of course back then the bicycle racket was different and there wasn't the ridiculous emphasis on 'year' models and insinuated obsolescence as nowadays. Looking at the 1983 & 84 Miyata catalogs and what people elsewhere have posted here & there about this Univega model, it looks like the addition of lowrider mounts was part of the 1984 model year for Miyata and, at least on Univega, is found rarely on some, I assume late year production, 1983 models. Straight out of a time machine from 1983 (the apex of bicycle quality, art, and design, in my opinion and experience) comes this beauty of a bike-almost as new!Ģ018.09: And the poor thing went back into the time machine (=UP storage) at the end of 2012 when I moved back to Alaska, and stayed there until I moved back down to the Lake Superior country, re-polishing and riding again only fall 2018! I paid $300 for it, and it looks like it's been ridden maybe a hundred miles in the year it was new and then stored in a barn ever since (last few years a bike shop attic - the bike shop proprietor said his parents bought it way back from the original owner and then never rode it). This isn't an indication of anything more than continued improvement and, occasionally, changes in availability of parts from Japan during this period. Note, though, that bikes at the time, and Univegas in particular, had many changes during a model year for example, others have 1983 GTs without lowrider braze-ons. This will also serve useful to others trying to see what these bikes were spec'd with when new. Part 1: the bike from the time machine! įor the sake of velo-documentation (and pride) I'll start with some information on this 1983 Gran Turismo, which I bought in June 2011. On the bottom of the bottom bracket that replaced the original derailleur cable guide. By comparison the Paramount tourer that year was 25 pounds. (See Paramont Serial Numbers at Waterford Bikes - go to 'Dating My Bike. Univega was headquartered in the United States with bicycles made in Italy and then Japan.

› ▆ ▆ ▆ Univega Serial Number Year Guide

Univega serial number year guide