Step-through or mixte with triple?

[missjulied]

Anyone have any recommendations? I see too late that Globe had one, but they're not making them this year (I might still see if I can get one though).

Any other models I should look at?

Thanks in advance!

[sarahspins]

I'm confused by what you're asking.. are you looking for a 3 speed? I'm guessing so..

Linus makes a cute 3 speed very much vintage looking mixte.. I actually one one, and it's super tempting to replace my Takara with one of these :)

http://www.linusbike.com/models/mixte/

Masi also makes the Soulville.. in a 3 speed and 7 speed.

http://www.masibikes.com/soulville/

and the Trek Belleville... super cute, with both front and rear racks :)
http://www.trekbikes.com/women/wsd_products/bikes/bike_path/bellevillewsd/

[missjulied]

Oh man, I *wish* I could go with a 3 speed, but what I meant to say was a triple chainring. I should have been more clear, I apologize for that.

What I would love is a bike that looks like a cruiser or dutch bike, but is lightweight and has 24 gears. Am I dreaming?

[KnottedYet]

Not dreaming. They exist.

Since you're in Seattle, how about meandering over to tiny little Free Range Cycles and asking the woman who owns the shop about mixtes? I had a lovely conversation with her once about the Soma Buena Vista mixte she was working on one day.

A mixte can have a triple just like any other bike frame. They can be as fast as any other bike frame with the same geometry.

Talk to her, she is a wealth of information about what brands of mixte are good, which are chasing a fad, which you can upgrade a million times, etc.
www.freerangecycles.com

Another (cheaper) option is the Electra Ticino. It's a double, but has a 10 spd cassette so you get 20 possibilities.

[Owlie]

Sarah, those are cute!

[jdubble]

at the risk of starting up the "that's way too much for a bike like that" thread again...the sweetpea (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=39849) a-line mixte comes with a compact double, but i'm sure she'd put a triple on if you wanted. :)

[warneral]

your Mixte is sooooo gorgeous. What is the weight like? I realize it's heavier than a road bike, but just wondering how much heavier

[Owlie]

I've taken a shine to the Linus, though I'd want to repaint it green or red. Luckily, I'd have to drive to Columbus to get one, so it's not likely to happen. :cool:

[sarahspins]

Ahh.. well given that you want triple chainrings, if the geometry is likely to work for you, I'd recommend having a Soma frame built up. Depending on how it's done it can be reasonable in price or pretty spendy - but you'd get to pick absolutely everything you want on it :)

Velo-orange also sells a mixte frame, with slightly different geometry (and only in blue). http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/frames/mixte-72.html

You could also potentially buy a vintage mixte, strip it down (you could even have it painted at that point - I did that with my kid's 24" mixte), have the frame respaced and then build it back up however you would like - I actually did this on my Takara, the only thing on my "wish list" is to replace the original center-pull brakes, but I just haven't gotten around to it. The only original components on the bike are the brakes, front wheel, crankset, and front derailleur. I have an 8 speed nexus hub in the back (I had an entire new wheel built for the bike) and I didn't need to respace my frame to make it fit, but it is a tight fit... it's a very fun bike now.. I love how SILENT the internal gears are.

[missjulied]

@KnottedYet: Great suggestion (Free Range), and I will do so!

@jdubble: Wow, those sweatpea bikes are great, but way out of my price range at this time. Awesome for browsing and dreaming though.

@saraspins: I like the idea of finding a vintage frame and building it up.

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

[jdubble]

your Mixte is sooooo gorgeous. What is the weight like? I realize it's heavier than a road bike, but just wondering how much heavier

i honestly don't know. it's got permanent fenders and a front rack, and usually has a Bobike Maxi kid seat on it...i have no idea what it weighs stripped down. a friend just bought a bike scale, i'll have to take it over and see sometime. it feels pretty darn light really when i do have all the gear off of it. but my road bike is steel too, so i'm not one who knows from light bikes.