1993 Miyata Elevation 5,000

This is the younger brother of the Elevation 10,000. Just like its big brother, the frame is APA bonded and not joined by a single weld.

Its an incredible bike to ride. Comfortable, fast, predictable and an eye candy!

The bike came with a Fat-something rigid fork but I have swopped it for a Mosso fork to save some weight.

Nothing less the best. Shimano XT brakes, XT 7-speed thumb shifters, Ritchey stem and grips.

The Zoom handle bar has a matt steel finish. Its so hard to find such handle bars nowadays.

The original Miyata badge. The serial number is etched on the head tube.

Check out the Greg Herbold saddle. Its a bit on the heavy side but its so comfortable, who cares about the weight.

Full aluminum frame without a single weld.

Shimano Deore XT crank and front derailleur.

Shimano Deore XT short cage rear derailleur.

The Alexrims were the latest addition but its got that classic look to match the rest of the bike.

Shimano Deore XT brakes.

Another view of the saddle.

2 spacers were used. As much as I would like to reduce the number of spacers used, it was necessary to maintain a comfortable riding position.

A little battle damage to the decal but nonetheless, the 5,000 could still be seen.

Here's the proof of how the bike was put together.

I always think that the Mosso fork is not the right thing for the bike. Its too modern and flashy with all the big wordings on the fork. The 5,000 is not a screamer kind of bike. It is a subtle, no-nonsence machine that prefers actions than words. I could not find the original Fat Max fork so I had to settle for something else. In fact, prior to this set up, a Rockshox SID suspension fork was used but it added too much weight to the bike.

With the rigid fork, the bike looks right once again.

To give it a mild modern touch, the straight handlebar was replaced by a FSA Comet slight riser handlebar. It would make riding it much more comfortable. Of course, the thumb shifters and brake levers remained.

Indeed, I am fussy about how a bike should look like. We should always remember the heritage of the bike and make sure we keep it looking period correct as far as possible.

This is the refreshed look of the bike. I decided to take apart everything and start from scratch, maintaining as much of its originality as possible.

I kept the thumb shifters and brake levers but changed the handlebar and stem to Ritchey instead. The Odi grips, although as old as the bike are still as soft and pliant.

The fork is a steel chromoly Kona Project 2. The previous fork had mountings for disc brakes which are too 'modern' for the bike. I resprayed the fork to match the original Fatmax fork but the colour was a bit off. Nevertheless, it turned out quite well and gave a bike a unique look.

The Deore XT crankset and front derailleur were retained. I dare say that the shifting of these old things are far better than the present day drivetrain.

The Deore XT short cage rear derailleur was also retained. The rear hub could only accommodate an 8-speed cassette but I managed to tweak the rear derailleur from a 7 to 8 speed configuration.

Avid brakes replaced the XT brakes. For some strange reasons, the XT brakes could not fit the mounting holes properly.

The original Greg Herbold saddle. It might be a tad heavy but after all these years, the condition is still very good and frankly, where can you find a saddle that looks like that?

I build the Mavic X317 36h rims with stainless steel spokes. 

The wheels are laced to Chris King hubs, front and rear. There is nothing much you can say about Chris King hubs except they are just the best. 

This refresh should close the chapter on the Elevation 5,000. Riding it today brought back many memories of the fun I used to have with it; bashing through the trails and getting all muddy every Sunday. Compared to the modern day bikes, it feels really different but who cares?