ooh la la - new semi-custom mixte from Sweetpea!

[jdubble]

I've been sitting on this news for awhile, waiting for Natalie to make the official announcement of the launch. As some of you know, I'm the proud owner of a lovely custom mixte (http://www.flickr.com/photos/52346770@N00/sets/72157617611394766/) from Sweetpea, and now Natalie has come out with a new offering in her Lust line ("when you have to have it now!" - she designs and does the fitting, someone else does the welding, and you get your bike way faster than her current 3 year turnaround)...

Check out the A-Line! (http://www.sweetpeabicycles.com/blog/lust/the-a-line/)

[Zen]

looks similar to my Tocino

but my Tocino only cost $800

A-Line-

* Tiagra – $2800
* 105 – $3200
* Ultegra – $3600

That's ridiculous

[jdubble]

looks similar to my Tocino

but my Tocino only cost $800

A-Line-

* Tiagra – $2800
* 105 – $3200
* Ultegra – $3600

That's ridiculous

whatever. it's a hand-built bike with a small production run. not built by the hands of natalie or margo perhaps, but still a hand-built bike. i'd compare it more to the rivendell betty foy instead of the electra ticino mixte personally. the betty foy complete is around $2200. if you built it up with ultegra and added a brooks saddle, it'd probably be closer to the sweetpea price. and that's built in tawain, not oregon.

if i'm not mistaken, the electra is one-size-fits-most. with this, you have three stock sizes, plus a custom fit option as well. for those who are want a sweetpea, and there are obviously plenty of people out there who do, or her waitlist wouldn't be so long, this and the Little Black Dress are ways to get one faster.

[KnottedYet]

I want a Sweetpea.

She's just down the hall from Michael Sylvester, and the thought of having a bike built by Natalie from fit specs by Michael just gives me goosebumps! :D

[jobob]

Gee Zen, I thought you'd gotten out of the habit of getting all santimonious and judgmental about how people choose to spend their own money. Guess not.

[Zen]

Oh yeah, it is a full moon

[Cataboo]

looks similar to my Tocino

but my Tocino only cost $800

A-Line-

* Tiagra – $2800
* 105 – $3200
* Ultegra – $3600

That's ridiculous

Your tocino costing $800 is ridiculous. It's 8 speed - none of the drive train components are quality.

[Selkie]

In my experience, you get what you pay for in most cases..... I figure that the happy miles that I have and will rack up on my Lunas and my Seven will more than offset the initial investments. I plan on riding them well into my dotage. Eventually, those bikes will be part of my posthumous estate sale.

Dubble, thanks for the heads up on the Lust line. It's good for those of us who are considering a new bike (no, not me!!! ;-)). By the way, I love your swe'pea (and I'm not a mixte rider). Wouldn't mind getting one of those Little Black Dresses sometime in the future..... http://www.sweetpeabicycles.com/blog/lust/little-black-dress/

[Biciclista]

little black dress? OH that is too much. Very good very good. omigoodness, it comes in PUMPKIN!

congrats on your new bike!

[Catrin]

I LOVE the little black dress that comes in different colors :) I already have my heart set on either a Luna, Gunnar or Waterford so my short list is already full. This is probable a good thing ;)

[Biciclista]

If I didn't already have enough bikes of my own for my full family, I would be REALLY interested in that little black dress.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

After having bought just two bikes in my adult life (I'm 56 now), both of them pretty high end lovely steel road bikes and both costing a comparable amount....I have to say the one I got that was custom designed exactly to my body measurements is way more comfortable for me over longer distances. It's my wonderful Luna bike, made by Margo Conover for me. If I had it to do over again i'd have two custom Lunas and that's it.

Well worth it in my opinion to get a bike made to your particular measurements (far more in depth than just standover height) by someone who knows all the subtleties of women's bike fit. Either sweet Pea or Luna would be very smart choices in that department, in my humble opinion.
I may have spent more than average on each of my two bikes, but on the other hand I could have actually spent more overall on buying and tweaking bike after bike that didn't fit properly at all to begin with, a situation I see a lot of on this forum. Riding a bike for 50 miles pain free is such a blessing.
My two bikes are all I could ask for. :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh my, jdubble, it's lovely! And look at the happy smile!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/52346770@N00/3495469686/sizes/z/in/set-72157617611394766/
I bet it fits you like a dream and feels fantastic.
:D

[7rider]

Your tocino costing $800 is ridiculous. It's 8 speed - none of the drive train components are quality.

It's a steel bike.
Huffy makes a steel bike.
I can get a Huffy at Walmart for $60.

;)
:rolleyes:

[Cataboo]

It's a steel bike.
Huffy makes a steel bike.
I can get a Huffy at Walmart for $60.

;)
:rolleyes:

*cough*

It might be 8 speed of not very good components, as well.

It will not have Ms. Plum's style or grace though :)

[Biciclista]

7 rider, I think you're kidding; I'd say that MY steel bike is better than that Huffy at Walmart.. WAY better.

[Biciclista]

Sweetpea's blog is hilarious. My husband just read aloud the part about the "Boy bikes"

[Crankin]

I want that bike. Badly.

[7rider]

7 rider, I think you're kidding; I'd say that MY steel bike is better than that Huffy at Walmart.. WAY better.

Of course.

[Biciclista]

oh good

[Selkie]

I want that bike. Badly.

Which one? The mixte or the LBD? I know it's not the Huffy!!

Maybe I'll sell the Seven and get a LBD.....

[Cataboo]

I've been googling the electra ticino a bit to see how much it weighed in comparison to the sweetpea at 22 lbs. The only weight I found was 27.5 lbs or so for the 18 speed mens version.

But I didn't realize that the ticino isn't steel - it's an aluminum frame with a steel fork. Its 20 speed version is just under $2,000 for mixed 105 level drive train - 105 cassette & rear derailleur, and diacomp down tube shifters. 50/39 crankset with a 12-27 cassette in the back. I'm not sure why they didn't go with a standard compact double on that. Once you figure in $2k for an aluminum frame mixed 105 level mass produced mixte that comes in one or two sizes, the sweetpea prices for semi-custom steel handmade at 22lbs seem fairly reasonable.

[uforgot]

Has anyone taken a look at the geometry of the little black dress? Is it just me or are those top tubes pretty long for the standovers? Especially if they are designed for women.

I think they are beautiful bikes!

[Selkie]

Has anyone taken a look at the geometry of the little black dress? Is it just me or are those top tubes pretty long for the standovers? Especially if they are designed for women.

I think they are beautiful bikes!

I thought the same thing about the TT length. Going by that measurement, I would take the smallest frame size, even though I'm 5'5" tall.

[Cataboo]

Has anyone taken a look at the geometry of the little black dress? Is it just me or are those top tubes pretty long for the standovers? Especially if they are designed for women.

I think they are beautiful bikes!

Going by the top tube and seat tube angle - I'd love one of the mediums. They're running slightly longer top tubes and more laid back seat angles than most women's bikes.

[emily_in_nc]

I thought the same thing about the TT length. Going by that measurement, I would take the smallest frame size, even though I'm 5'5" tall.

Yep, they're all too big for me (I'm just a hair shy of 5'2"). Good thing, as they sure are PURTY. She needs to add an XS!

[Crankin]

The mixte. I didn't look at the LBD.
Although I didn't look at the geometry of the mixte. I have a feeling I would need a custom build. I am barely 5' 1".

[Cataboo]

Yep, they're all too big for me (I'm just a hair shy of 5'2"). Good thing, as they sure are PURTY. She needs to add an XS!

ha. I'm 5'1-5'2 and I want the medium little black dress size. But I definitely don't have long legs.

[Zen]

What you all may be overlooking is this would be a townie bike, not a distance bike.
Consider.
Custom is well worth it for distance, mountain,touring or cx but townie is townie.

[Zen]

none of the drive train components are quality.

Quality for WHAT? It's a towine/errand bike ferchrissssssssakes.
Gawd

[jdubble]

but why does it have to be just an errand/townie bike? i've regularly done 40 milers on my sweetpea mixte with no problem, and have mounts for racks to eventually do touring/bike camping with it, once the kids are old enough to pull their own weight so to speak. it's set up to be a great all-rounder and very good at it. i have no doubt that it'd be just fine on longer rides, i just haven't had the opportunity to do so.

i've held my own on club rides and hill repeats on it too, much to the surprise of the other women who looked at me sort of askance when i showed up with that instead of my road bike. in fact it gave me great pleasure to pretty much dust my friend who's a very strong climber on a ride this spring, on a big hill. my back was bugging me and i didn't want to be on my road bike. she said, ok, take that one, but i don't want to hear you complaining when we hit the hills. first big one we came to, she was struggling and i dropped into a nice low gear, sat up and spun past her, whistling the Wicked Witch of the West tune as I did so. :)

and someday when i'm old and my gimpy back doesn't let me ride my road bike anymore, or i have trouble clearing the top tube, i'll still have my mixte to keep me company. at least that's the plan.

[Cataboo]

Quality for WHAT? It's a towine/errand bike ferchrissssssssakes.
Gawd

It's $800. Which is over what an errand/townie bike should cost without having better components. For that, they can throw in some sora or some tiagra that I'd still turn up my haughty nose at.

I think the sweetpea mixte is meant to be more than a townie/errand bike - road bike geometry to go faster & longer distances, road level components.

[Crankin]

I agree, Cataboo. If I get a bike like the Sweet Pea mixte, I want it to be as nice as my road bike. Because, I know that eventually, I may end up on that bike a lot more than my road bike. Plus, I live on a huge hill and want to be able to come home from my errands in the same nice low gears I have on my road bike.
I have a 500.00 Jamis Coda. It's OK, but I don't love the geometry (my back hurts when I ride it) or the flat bars. I will keep it until I get a touring bike or the mixte. I can't get both :(.

[Cataboo]

You could possibly tour on the mixte :)

[Zen]

Meh.
I just don't care anymore.

[Cataboo]

meh.
I just don't care anymore.

victory is mine!

:)

[Zen]

Ok. Go with that.

[Zen]

You could possibly tour on the mixte :)

My next tour is gonna be with the Allman Brothers. As a guest on their bus.
In my orthopedic go-go boots.
And nothing else.

Party on, Garth.

[sarahspins]

Your tocino costing $800 is ridiculous. It's 8 speed - none of the drive train components are quality.

I'm pretty sure it has the exact same hub I just put on my vintage Mixte.. and I had a wheel custom built for it, and that ran me just under $300 (including shipping). I felt it was a reasonable investment at the time.... and I still do, but if you consider that to buy a mixte frame new (from Soma or VO) is about $500, and if only the rear wheel is another $300, there's an $800 bike before you've added any other components. $800 for the Ticino is really not bad.

You might claim the components are not quality, but I find that the hub is well suited for what it is... mine is an errand bike. A cute thing to ride to the corner store or our little post office.. she's not a speed queen, and I didn't build the bike for touring or long distance riding.

[Cataboo]

I'm pretty sure it has the exact same hub I just put on my vintage Mixte.. and I had a wheel custom built for it, and that ran me just under $300 (including shipping). I felt it was a reasonable investment at the time.... and I still do, but if you consider that to buy a mixte frame new (from Soma or VO) is about $500, and if only the rear wheel is another $300, there's an $800 bike before you've added any other components. $800 for the Ticino is really not bad.
.

Soma or VO are selling small production steel frames in various sizes, ticino's aluminum mass produced in one size. The quality of a soma or VO frame is expected to be much higher than electra. Your rear was custom built for your bike - the ticino is a mass produced bike, they aren't spending $300 for a custom built rear wheel for it.

That being said, I don't really care - I just found it funny that Zen was saying the price of another mixte was ridiculous when I would find the price of her mixte ridiculous. But it's all relative depending on what people are willing to spend for a bike for what purposes. I wouldn't pay $800 for a townie or an errand bike, which doesn't mean that it's not a perfectly reasonable way for other people to spend their money.

[velogirl]

JJ's was the first, then Natalie built a prototype for herself, and then there was mine -- the first of the new A-Line! I picked it up in August in Portland and toured the state for almost three weeks. now that I'm home it's my town bike. custom fit, mtn bike triple for loaded touring, and turns heads all over the place.

[Blueberry]

JJ's was the first, then Natalie built a prototype for herself, and then there was mine -- the first of the new A-Line! I picked it up in August in Portland and toured the state for almost three weeks. now that I'm home it's my town bike. custom fit, mtn bike triple for loaded touring, and turns heads all over the place.

She's fabulous!! Love the color:) Wishing you many more happy miles together!

[emily_in_nc]

Beautiful bike, velogirl, and I greatly admire your touring set up. Very nice, and the ultimate in practicality!

[JennK13]

Velogirl,
I have SERIOUS bike envy right now.... Loving your setup with those bars and the pumpkin color is beautiful. Yes, I'm selling my Trek and Giant to get one.......