I used to own a few Miele mountain bikes, made sometime in the late 80's early 90's. They were hand me downs from my Brother and Brother in Law. Canadian bikes. The company folded a while ago.

Like many such companies, the name was bought from a Taiwan/Chinese company, to slap on whatever bikes that come out of the bike factory - the same factory other more known name brands come out. Frames from these companies are the same/very similar to those same brands; the components can be a bit dodgey. For more,

http://www.bikesdirect.com/‎

(not that I recommend anything on there)

Good start to an argument! I would have added Rivendell (rivbike.com) as a very reputable maker of bicycles. On the topic of German know-how, though, I turn to my favorite topic of bicycle headlights. Why can't Americans make them? You can buy a lot of very fancy, very expensive bicycle lights made in America that are all crap. Every one of them has a useless circular beam, like a flashlight. As an exemplar I give you the Light & Motion Urban 800, very popular in San Francisco, $150, completely fucking useless[1]. From the Germans we have the B&M Ixon IQ[2], comparable in output but with proper optics, casts an even beam on the road ahead without blinding oncoming riders, $55.

1: http://www.lightandmotion.com/the-perfect-light/on-bike/road... 2: http://www.bumm.de/produkte/akku-scheinwerfer/ixon-iq.html

Just do not get a Miyata, as its just a name slapped onto frames, and accessorized with cheap components. The name itself was sold long ago. The original Miyatas were great bikes.