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Koga Miyata
Koga BV was started in 1974 in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, by Andries Gaastra. Andries started importing Miyata frames & parts soon after his family's long successful bicycle brand, Batavus was sold by his father. Koga Miyata mostly resold Miyata mtbs with a customized part selection, generally preserving the Miyata same model names and color schemes. Koga actively co-developed new models with Models, which presumably became Miyatas own models as well. It's likely that Koga was Miyatas largest customer for Miyata branded bicycles. Officially, the Koga Miyata models were slightly spelled differently than their Miyata counterparts. When the Miyatas used a hyphen, the Kogas would use a space, or no space - and vice versa. This would occur in the catalogs - the frames themselves looked identical. True Miyatas were only available within Japan, often as frame-only options. Miyata likely supplied rebranded frames to Univega in the US and Morisson of New Zealand. Some Koga Miyata mtbs were made in Europe, such as the all-carbon 1994 Skymonocoque. Many Koga Miyatas had the “Koga” name etched into the seat stays, implying a custom, non-Miyata frame.
The first prototype Koga Miyata mtbs were rumored to have been shown in 1984 but is wasn't until 1986 that they showed up the catalog. All catalogs from 1976 → 2022 can be found here. No earlier Koga branded Miyata mtbs have been found earlier than 1986.
In response to the mountain bike craze in America, Koga Miyata became the first manufacturer of mountain bikes in Europe in 1986.
Due to the rise of the Yen, the need for an independent product increases, Koga Miyata sees opportunities to expand its market share and launches a second brand: Giant. In 1988, Giant is sold due to competition with its own brand. Translation of: https://www.koga.com/nl/over-koga/geschiedenis.
Two things :
- Koga also resold Giants starting in 1984 with the “Quality touched by Koga” tagline.3)
The “Koga” name is a portmanteau of Andries wife's and his own names. In 1992 Andries sold the business to Atag. Nowadays Koga Miyata is part of the Accell group.
resources:
Andries Gaastra, circa 1990
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Pictured with a 1990 Sky Runner, built with carbon tubes, aluminum lugs and a Tange Switch Blade fork.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte finding it prudent to lock his Koga Miyata F3 before paying his respects to his majesty King Willem-Alexander at Noordeinde Palace, 2017.
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1986 RidgeRunner OR
Shimano M700 Superplate derailleur (1985-86), SunTour XC hubs, Shimano 600EX Biopace cranks, Shimano XT hubs, Suntour XC brakes, Triple bottle cage mounts, 30.6 pounds. Catalog shot. Nearly the same as the 1985 Miyata Ridge-Runner. The 1986 Miyata used u-brakes. Note the
1986 RidgeRunner OR
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1987 Ridge-Runner
Catalog spec. Same as 1987 Miyata catalog, where the Miyata Ridge Runner was offered as frame only. Shimano Deore XT M732 (1989), u-brakes rear.
1987 Ridge-Runner
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The source pic comes from an excellent restoration project story.
1988 ValleyRunner
Shimano Exage Mountain (1988-89) derailleurs, shifters, brakes, cranks, lugged frame with Koga Miyata FM-1 triple butted tubing
The specs match the 1988 Miyata catalog for their Valley Runner.
1988 ValleyRunner
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1989 RidgeRunner
Shimano Deore XT M730 derailleurs (1986-88)), shifters, brakes, cranks
lugged frame with Koga Miyata FM-1 triple butted tubing.
Nearly matches the 1989 Miyata catalog, except with older components.
1989 RidgeRunner
mountainbikemuseum.nl
1990 Ridge Runner
Elevated chainstay aluminum frame, Tange Switch Blade steel forks, Shimano XT derailleurs and cranks. Possible Breezer Hite-Rite on seatpost 4) This frame never appears in a Miyata catalog. The 1990 Miyata catalog did have a standard triangle frame Ridge Runner Team. Note that the Koga Miyata Ridge Runner is the only time normal spelling is used on a model name, with a space.
1990 Ridge Runner
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1991 SkyRunner Carbolite
Shimano XT RD-M732 (1989-90), FD-M550 (1990-92), carbon tubing bonded to sculpted aluminum lugs.
Based upon the 1990 Miyata Mt. Century, which used gold plated lugs, carbon fiber stem and bar and was an extraordinary celebration of Miyata's first century of bicycle design. See Miyata Mt. Century.
1991 SkyRunner Carbolite
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1992 TerraRunner-Carbolite
Catalog shot. Deore DX derailleurs (1990-94). Aluminum lugged/carbon tubed frame. Monostay seat stays. Similar to the 1992 Miyata Elevation 7,000'.
1992 TerraRunner-Carbolite
koga.com
1993 RidgeRunner-S
Catalog shot. Full suspension, with Carbon front, aluminum lugs, steel rear, Shimano XTR M900 groupset (1991? thus,) Syncros bar, stem, and bar-ends, Showa front suspension forks, Yamaha rear shocks. Same as the 1993 Miyata Elevation 12,000'
1993 RidgeRunner-S
Photo crudely stitched from two pages of the 1993 catalog:
koga.com
1994 SkyMonocoque
Catalog shot. Full carbon frame (not a monocoque, but made from two glued together shells.) Shimano XTR M900 groupset (1991? thus - perhaps they're using an old parts bin for catalogs shots,) XT SPD pedals, Showa front suspension forks. Not a Miyata bicycle, as this was co-developed with Dornier of Germany. 24.8 pounds.
1994 SkyMonocoque
koga.com
1995 Fireball
Lugged steel frame & fork. Shimano STX MC32 derailleurs (1995), Grip Shift shifters, Bontrager saddle.
27.2 pounds.
The Fireball was released in a year which also saw a Koga Miyata Explosion and Burner models.
1995 Fireball
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