Info on a Miyata Long Flamingo giraffe

I have a group of unicyclists that I am meeting with once a week in a
church multi-purpose room. To keep the church informed of what we are
doing and to create a little uni PR, I wrote a short article for the
December church newsletter. A few days after the newsletter came out, I
got a call from a church member who wanted to donate a like new, "big"
unicycle to the group. This person used to own a bike shop and had sold
a few unis. He still had this one in the basement. When I went to pick
it up, I found out it was a Miyata Long Flamingo, 5 foot giraffe!
Boy was I surprised and excited! This unicycle is in prime condition
and has hardly been used. It still has the extra pieces of rubber from
the tire production on the center ridge of the tire.

Along with the giraffe I was given a copy of "Anyone Can ride A
Unicycle" by Jack Halpern. It's an IUF booklet, copyright 1988,
published by Miyata Industry Co. It's a fun read once you get past
seeing all those guys in those short gym shorts! Just like the ones I
used to wear. And yes, I even had the high top socks with the matching
stripes. Reading this booklet was a little like looking at the ol'
college yearbook. Back to the subject of this thread....

Info on the uni:
Miyata Long Flamingo with blue paint
Miyata Flamingo whitewall tire, 20 X 1.75, by Shinko Rubber Ind, Co,
LTD
Rim is marked 20 X 1.75HE Stainless (I assume it's stainless steel)
Hub is marked S.I.W. and is a 28 hole hub
Miyata seat, blue

The person who donated this uni does not recall much about it and I am
looking for some info/history on it.

1. I see that Miyata's giraffe is now called the Skycycle. When did
Miyata start making the Skycycle and when was the Long Flamingo last
produced?

2. What was it sold for when new?

3. What is the value of it now? Does it have any value as a collector's
item?

4. Does it use a standard tire? (Unlike the old Schwinns)

5. Does the serial number on the uni (1091) tell when it was made?

6. Any other interesting history on this model?

Thanks

Bill


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billham

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Wow! What a find.

I'll beat Harper to the punch and say "Pictures please?".

Is it old enough to have the old style Miyata saddle with no front
handle? The old saddles also have a slightly different shape than the
current Miyata saddle.

It may also have the weird tire valve that is common in Japan. It's not
a Schrader or Presta valve that are common over here. If it has the
Japanese valve you'll want to replace the tube with a normal tube that
has a Schrader valve.


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I hadn't heard the term "Long Flamingo" before, but we bought what was
labeled as a "5' Miyata Skycycle" from Unicycle.com just a year ago, and
when it arrived the graphics on the frame said "Flamingo". It's the one
pictured at the link below, and if you look close, you can see the
"Flamingo" graphic on the front of the seatpost tube.
http://www.unicycle.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=87

So it sounds like they're still using the term, even though it sounds
like you came across a vintage donation. I'm curious as to how much the
design has changed from the newer model in the above link.


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JC - The tube has a Schrader valve. Yes, the seat is without handle.

Tom - Looks very similar except I believe yours has an alloy rim instead
of the stainless steel. How many spokes on yours?

One thing I noticed as unique on the cranks was they had a rough finish
on all of the cranks except for a polished flat surface on the portion
closest to the ankle.

What was I thinking... no pics? Shame on me. Try these....
http://tinyurl.com/4kty8

Bill


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billham

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billham wrote:
*What was I thinking... no pics? Shame on me. Try these....
[*

You have yourself a sweet giraffe there. Not sure I've ever seen one of
those old-style Miyata seats without the front handle.

The only thing I haven't liked about my son's (since I get to ride it
too) is that the cranks feel just a bit too short. I may try increasing
by 10 or 20 in length to see what it feels like.


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tomblackwood wrote:
*You have yourself a sweet giraffe there.*

Thanks to this donation to the uni group, 3 of us (me included) rode a
giraffe for the first time. It certainly is a unique ride. It feels
like you do a lot of pedaling but don't go very fast. It is
surprisingly easier than I expected, at least to do the basics like
riding and turning. Idling was weird for the first few attempts. Each
time I started to idle I had to go backwards a few feet to get centered
over the wheel for the idle.

I think I need to try a few freemounts at next week's practice.

Several other less experienced riders in our group are being motivated
to practice harder to get proficient enough to ride it. It's going to
add a lot to our practices.

Bill


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Bump

One last effort to get some historical info on this giraffe.

Bill


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Nice find though I'm a little dissapointed that the "Long Flamingo"
isn't pink. What's up with that?

David


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darchibald wrote:
*I'm a little dissapointed that the "Long Flamingo" isn't pink. What's
up with that?*
Miyatas were never pink. It would have looked better than the puke
green color they always used to ship us over here...

I don't know much detail on the Miyata giraffes. I don't think they
started making them until about the mid-80s. Having a seat with no front
handle is an indicator of age, but I'm not sure what year they started
with the handles. That was some time in the early to mid 90s.

I have plenty of old Miyata seats without the handles. They're better
for freestyle because the handle can get in the way. The number of bolts
on that front bumper will give a further clue to the cycle's age. If it
only has one bolt it's *really* old, but it probably has two. Or maybe
three. I have all three kinds in the garage.

Did you guys know that before Miyata had plastic bumpers on the seats
they had the metal bars like the Savage seats? The Savage ones are
copies of the old Miyatas. But Savage never wanted to spend any money
and go to the next step.

The early versions of the Miyata giraffe I remember were called Long
Flamingo. This may have been more a translation of the Japanese name of
the product, and the Skycycle may have been coined by Miyata USA for
sales over here. I don't think the design of the giraffes changed much
over the years, other than some component changes.

They are good quality giraffes except for one kind of glaring weak
point, which is also shared by some other brands. Where the seat post
extension enters the painted frame, there's only maybe 1.5" of tube to
grip it. Then it flares out to a wider tubing size. Stronger frame, but
a weak spot around the clamp. I know Bill Gilbertson killed at least one
Miyata giraffe from doing hardcore tricks on it, like unispins or
something. But it's a fine giraffe for elementary school-aged kids,
which is what it's made for.

Your rim is chromed steel, similar to the standard Miyatas of at least a
few years ago. Same type of cranks as well, not counting any necessary
differences for the chain. Not the strongest cranks.

All in all a really high quality giraffe for the kids, but don't beat on
it like you would a Trials unicycle, and it should last indefinitely.

The book that came with your giraffe is another indication of its age,
as those books ran out many, many years ago. Most of the photos of
non-Japanese riders in there are mine. Yup, that's the kind of gear we
wore for unicycling in 1980-84, when those pictures were taken!


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"It's good to find something that makes boys into men and men into boys,
my opinion is that unicycling fits the bill." -- Lloyd Johnson

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johnfoss wrote:
The book that came with your giraffe is another indication of its age,
as those books ran out many, many years ago. Most of the photos of
non-Japanese riders in there are mine. Yup, that's the kind of gear we
wore for unicycling in 1980-84, when those pictures were taken![/b]

Nice, I want to see the book now. If you don't already you should put it
on you site John.

For a tall unicycle Flamingo would seem a better name the Giraffe.
Flamingo has long legs then a body on top of them looking more like was
a unicyclist does when s/he is riding a tall unicycle. I guess more
people know about the giraffe as being tall then a flamingo though so
they went with the more obvious name.


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