speaking of mixtes [Archive] - Women's Cycling Discussion Forums

elk

11-01-2007, 09:14 PM

http://cgi.ebay.com/Austro-Daimler-Vintage-Original-Mint_W0QQitemZ280167502014QQihZ018QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

this looks like an amazing bike ....and .....no action?
I saw an austro daimler today in cream...classy!

sgtiger

11-01-2007, 09:22 PM

Wow! Just wow! Good things it's not my size or I might be tempted to bid on it. But one day I may find one in my size, then what will I do? <gulp>

teigyr

11-01-2007, 10:39 PM

that is beautiful.

Darn it, I must avert my eyes. Good thing we'll be out of town for the next few weeks, I can't be expecting bikes to land on my doorstep.

I'm surprised nobody has bid on it though.

sandra

11-02-2007, 05:53 AM

It is nice, but it is really old. I bet it is really heavy. I like the ones that are a little newer vintage. :)

mimitabby

11-02-2007, 06:57 AM

lovely bike i agree

HillSlugger

11-02-2007, 07:01 AM

Most ebay activity happens right near the end. Seems a bit expensive. Perhaps the non-vintage parts are also holding it back?

Trek420

11-02-2007, 07:02 AM

It is nice, but it is really old. I bet it is really heavy. I like the ones that are a little newer vintage. :)

I read somewhere, maybe here that only about 1/5 of the weight of a bike is the frame. With newer lighter components it's a lighter bike. Make it a fixie or freewheel .... my ancient Motobecane Mixte Freewheel is surprisingly light. :D

It's not as if I'll be doing epic climbs on it anyway :rolleyes: ;) :p

xeney

11-02-2007, 07:34 AM

Oh, man. That is a gorgeous bike. It is the same make as my Puch -- Astro-Daimler sold these bikes under different names. There is one Astro-Daimler mixte out there that is the only mixte ever sold with really high-end components, I believe (it was all Campy). This is not that one, but it is a gorgeous bike.

I just asked my husband to buy it for me because I am, like, raising his child. I think he is going to tell me to jump in a lake but it is worth a try.

sandra

11-02-2007, 07:50 AM

I read somewhere, maybe here that only about 1/5 of the weight of a bike is the frame. With newer lighter components it's a lighter bike. Make it a fixie or freewheel .... my ancient Motobecane Mixte Freewheel is surprisingly light. :D

It's not as if I'll be doing epic climbs on it anyway :rolleyes: ;) :p

:eek: Can't you see, I'm trying to talk myself out of liking it! ;)

xeney

11-02-2007, 08:06 AM

My husband looked at the listing and based on the decals and labeling, we think it is the same frame as my Puch. The green sticker on the fork is the same as the sticker on my frame, the one listing the type of steel. It is not an ultra-lightweight by any means, but as a point of reference, the frame is signficantly lighter than my 1980's Nishiki mixte.

This is a very nice bike. You are unlikely to find a nicer mixte. The buy it now price is pretty high, but if I did not already have a frame that is almost identical to this one (but without the fork -- I had to buy a chrome one -- and not quite as pretty), I would bid on this bike.

sandra

11-02-2007, 08:27 AM

OK, somebody cover me, I'm going in.

:eek: Wait, what am I thinking. :o

elk

11-02-2007, 09:19 AM

hey...wait and see if you can get it for closer to the 250 price...

sandra

11-02-2007, 09:26 AM

I was just kidding...

unless

someone wants to buy mine. :confused:

withm

11-02-2007, 09:44 AM

sandra

11-03-2007, 04:42 PM

They keep coming! Look (http://cgi.ebay.com/70-S-SCHWINN-LE-TOUR-III-3-10-SPD-LADIES-BIKE-BICYCLE_W0QQitemZ110188354644QQihZ001QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

and even the matching mate (http://cgi.ebay.com/70-S-SCHWINN-LE-TOUR-III-3-10-SPD-MENS-BIKE-BICYCLE_W0QQitemZ110188358349QQihZ001QQcategoryZ98084QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)!

sandra

11-03-2007, 07:28 PM

Based on these mixte discussions I started looking around and I found one on Craig's list not 10 miles from here and went up and rode it the other day.

http://delaware.craigslist.org/bik/455591634.html

Though the ad says it's in good shape, the owner's perception of "good shape" and mine are not the same. It was a classic Raleigh mixte, but was just too small for me to ride. Plus it needs new tires, new chain, new brake cables, and the rear wheel needs trueing.

They have reduced the price to $50, but even if I did al the work, I'd still have a bike that was just too small. I had to give it a pass.

Sigh,
Martha

That one was a lady's bike, but not a mixte. Probably good that you passed.

A lady's type bike that lacks the middle pair of stays is not a mixte. A mixte has three tubes (rear stays) running to the back hub. Like this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/mixte-supercourse.jpg

divingbiker

11-04-2007, 10:11 AM

Thought I'd show y'all my mixte, loaded after a trip to the bank, Borders, and Whole Foods today. (Can you believe that $70 worth of groceries fits into two partially filled panniers??:eek: )I got a lot of smirks from people riding their fancy road bikes, but one woman carrying a big load on her back was jealous and said she needed a bike like mine.

I can't get the saddle pushed back quite far enough to be comfortable, but it's fine for short trips that I'm using it for.

4807

Tri Girl

11-04-2007, 10:21 AM

LOVE your bike, divingbiker!!! You were seriously loaded down. ;)

sandra

11-04-2007, 11:01 AM

GREAT BIKE! I love it. What kind is it? You made a bid haul on that thing! I'm impressed!

divingbiker

11-04-2007, 11:43 AM

What kind is it?

It's a 1986 Bridgestone 300 (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1986/pages/17-bridgestone-300.html) that I bought off Craigslist for $120. I had my LBS add the third chain ring (I live at the top of a hill between two creeks, so everywhere I go I ride hills) and a taller stem, and I put on a rack and the Brooks B72. Other than that, it was in perfect condition.

elk

11-04-2007, 12:14 PM

It's a 1986 Bridgestone 300 (http://www.sheldonbrown.com/bridgestone/1986/pages/17-bridgestone-300.html) that I bought off Craigslist for $120. I had my LBS add the third chain ring (I live at the top of a hill between two creeks, so everywhere I go I ride hills) and a taller stem, and I put on a rack and the Brooks B72. Other than that, it was in perfect condition.

well what 's too small for you might be perfect for me if you ever want to....you know....:D
e

sandra

11-04-2007, 01:51 PM

Elk, would this work for you? (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130170314673&ssPageName=ADME:B:SS:US:1123)

elk

11-04-2007, 02:05 PM

I bet it would...but maybe I should just wait until what I REALLY want comes along. I don't want to start collecting bikes!!

and that Austro Daimler is back with a But it Now price of 250 and when I asked him for measurements, he offered free shipping!

Yes, it is 51cm from the ctr of the bottom bracket to the top of the tube. The measurement from the ctr of the seat tube to the ctr of the stem is 57cm.
I was going to add a Best Offer option. However, if you like it, I could ship to you for free within the lower 48 states.

But I think it's too big for me....PLUS...my Riv is up again...:-)

sandra

11-04-2007, 02:15 PM

That IS too big for you.

KnottedYet

11-04-2007, 07:43 PM

Would fit me just fine, though...

KnottedYet

11-04-2007, 07:45 PM

I got a lot of smirks from people riding their fancy road bikes, but one woman carrying a big load on her back was jealous and said she needed a bike like mine.

Love your bike!
I have a lot more respect for a working bike than for a poseur smirking roadie bike. You rock!

xeney

11-05-2007, 05:31 AM

Jeremy and I have been discussing that Austro-Daimler since the price dropped. The seller did not offer me free shipping but did offer me the original leather saddle. (It's white -- can you ride that after Labor Day?) I have two fabulous mixte single speeds and I don't need another, but there has been talk of putting gears onto my Puch ... the guy at the LBS suggested a Nexus hub. I am going to need to be able to haul a baby trailer and I am not sure I can do that with a single speed, and frankly my geared bikes are not as well suited to errand-running as my mixtes are. (That would be my mountain bike and my road bike; the former is heavy and I don't want to put a rack and fenders on either of them.)

Doing the shifter hub upgrade to the Puch is going to cost about $350-$400. This entire bike is cheaper than that, even with shipping. But maybe I really don't want 25-year-old shifting.

Someone talk me out of this. I can't ride the bikes I already have right now; I'm just concerned that I still won't be able to ride much even after she is old enough for the trailer.

elk

11-05-2007, 08:37 AM

xeney...

is there a bike in your stable you could sell? i want someone to get this bike!!
I saw one on the street the other day...top tube/ cream colored....the graphics alone are gorgeous!!!

e

xeney

11-05-2007, 09:52 AM

Yeah, I could sell my 80s Allez. It is nowhere near as cute and it's too small for me.

sandra

11-05-2007, 10:25 AM

Yeah, I could sell my 80s Allez. It is nowhere near as cute and it's too small for me.

Hurry up and buy it already so I'll quit being tempted by it! :D No, I'm not going to buy it. I'm quickly getting in the "too many bikes category" as it is. I hate that he changed out the shifters to index shifters.

xeney

11-05-2007, 11:08 AM

See, that is one of the reasons I want it ... I prefer index shifting but I don't want to be the person who screws up a bike in that condition. If it's already done I feel no guilt.

(I have no similar qualms about taking apart a well-ridden twelve-speed and making it a single-speed, it's just that this one is so untouched.)

KnottedYet

11-05-2007, 07:57 PM

SOMEBODY, please buy that bike before it breaks my heart! http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=280169876470

And if you buy it and it doesn't fit you, in all likelihood I will buy it from you!

EDIT: I'm serious. PM me if you want.

Tri Girl

11-06-2007, 04:19 AM

Ooooo, that IS one beautiful bike! :)
I'd love to own it, but it's too big, I've got too many bikes already, and my DH has too little patience for ANOTHER bike in my (err... "our") house. ;)
I hope somebody here buys it and loves the heck out of it!!!

xeney

11-06-2007, 05:08 AM

My husband is assuming that I will buy it, but I am only semi-employed! I haven't had a pay check since September! Baby needs ... uh, baby has everything she needs thanks to a grandma who bought her clothes up to size 3T.

If I buy it I will probably give my Puch to my husband to ride with a baby seat on it. (A mixte is a great bike for a baby seat because of the low stand-over height, and that Puch is manly enough for Daddy to ride.)

divingbiker

11-07-2007, 04:24 PM

I can't get the saddle pushed back quite far enough to be comfortable...

I'm so excited! I figured out what the problem was with the saddle on my pink mixte! This bike has a seatpost with a clamp for a double rail saddle. I had the clamp flipped around the wrong way. When I rotated it 180 degrees, there is plenty of rail on the saddle to push it back far enough. My knees will be so happy!

I knew something was off when I measured my commuting mixte and measured this pink mixte, and they are almost exactly the same size. So I started investigating and found the flipped clamp.

As KnottedYet would say, "I'm a jeeenious!" (or just not very observant when I put the saddle on in the first place...)

Voodoo Sally

11-08-2007, 08:22 AM

I love your bike & set-up, divingbiker. Way to run errands without the car!

About that seatpost clamp, I have often seen that kind of clamp on backwards. I'm glad you noticed that problem. :)