Schwinn ?@$%&

Hasn't anyone heard of Miyata? True, they may be a little hard to come
by, but you can bet that if there were pros, they would use miyatas.
Actually, there are a few pros, and they do use miyatas, except for
Sem of course, (Semcycle). I ride a miyata DX, but even a standard is
great for most anyone. I write this because all we ever talk about are
those schwinns, when actually for around 20$ more, one can purchase a
miyata. Go ahead and argue, but like I said: All the big names use
miyatas, and thats why you should too. No I wasn't paid. Karl
Frankowski (Madison, WI)

[color=blue]> Hasn't anyone heard of Miyata? True, they may be a little hard to[/color]
[color=blue]> come by, but you can bet that if there were pros, they would use[/color]
[color=blue]> miyatas. Actually, there are a few pros, and they do use miyatas,[/color]
[color=blue]> except for Sem of course, (Semcycle). I ride a miyata DX, but even a[/color]
[color=blue]> standard is great for most anyone. I write this because all we ever[/color]
[color=blue]> talk about are those schwinns, when actually for around 20$ more, one[/color]
[color=blue]> can purchase a miyata. Go ahead and argue, but like I said: All the[/color]
[color=blue]> big names use miyatas, and thats why you should too. No I wasn't[/color]
[color=blue]> paid. Karl Frankowski (Madison, WI)[/color]
[color=blue]>[/color]
Alas, Schwinn and Miyata are both gone (in the US). Miyata is also not
available in much of Europe. If you want to order a Miyata through
Canada, contact cotter@cae.wisc.edu for more information.

William Jenack, the founder of the Unicylcing Society of America, was in
contact with many unicycle manufacturers in his day, and offered advice
to Miyata as well. After his death in 1982, his son JeanPaul started
Jenack Circus Corporation as a mail order source for circus equipment.
Unicycles from Miyata and Cycle Pro were some of the main products. Our
first catalog (I helped make it) said "Choice of champions" to describe
the Miyatas. A few years later, the Miyata (of America) catalog used
exactly the same phrase to describe their unicycles. Is it true? Yes.
The majority of world unicycling champions have been riding Miyatas. As
far as Individual Freestyle winners, almost 100%. If you go to a UNICON
or USA nationals today, you will see 90% or more Miyata (non-giraffe)
unicycles.

However, this is not a normal representation of the unicycling populace.
Miyatas were almost never found in bike shops, due to their high cost.
Most regular riders never heard of them (most bike shop employees also
didn't know how to pronounce it; "Mee-yah-tuh"). Schwinns were the most
common unicycles while they were made. Now, the only things you can get
are a number of models from Taiwan, and a few other brands in regional
areas of the country. People in the know can get the best unicycle
currently available where Miyatas aren't, which is the Semcycle. These,
also are not found in bike shops.

The world needs easy access to good quality unicycles! One of the jobs
of the IUF should be to help create a better market for them.

John Foss, President International Unicycling Federation unifoss@cerfnet.com