A while back on the Old Roads forum a person posted pictures of a bike he had never heard of the Brand was "Miyata", which is actually quite a well known Japanese brand. The bike was called "The Mister".
I had seen Miyatas before, but in a rare conjunction of time and space, the very next day I came across a "Mister" at Panjiayuan. The bike was not one of the regular attendees, indeed it belonged to a bird trainer who was there to meet his fellow fowl enthusiasts.
Later I was to see these bikes in greater numbers in Japan. For a brake rod roadster the quality of assembly was high as were the materials. Stainless rims and spokes, square tapered cotterless cranks and chrome handle bars from Nitto that had the brake lever mountings welded to the bar. About time someone did that. In other words, all common-sense updates long over dues from other manufacturers, which were executed with precision by Miyata. In my mind, this makes "The Mister" one of the most usable and desirable brake rod bikes.
Of course, Miyata is a going concern. You can find them and their excellent machines here. They are a member of the Morita group and seem to have tie -ins with Taiwanese maker Merida. The Dutch bike maker Koga-Miyata was a one time joint venter between Miyata and a dutch company. It now is a member of the Accell group and seems to retain ties to Miyata only in name.
