Abandoned Miata Mixte

DS left his lunch at home today so I had to take it out to him. On the way, I again spotted a mixte that's been abandoned in a drainage ditch in front of an empty lot(popular dump site:(). It's been there for the last month or so. After dropping off DS's lunch I had to stop to check it out. Well, it's definitely not ridable now, but I'm wondering if it may be salvageable. My only concern is that the middle stay on the drive side bends out a bit. Dh is not sure but he thinks it may be intentional so that there's clearance for the chain. Anyone here have a Miata mixte who may be able to enlighten me if it supposed to be that way?

http://lh6.google.com/sgtiger3/R5jjm...JPG?imgmax=512

http://lh5.google.com/sgtiger3/R5jjn...JPG?imgmax=512

If it were meant to be straight and was now curved, there would have to be another bend or damage somewhere else to compensate for the longer path between downtube and dropout. Besides, most unintentional bends leave a crimp in the tube or damage the paint. An inward bend would make far more sense than an outward bend if it resulted from an accident. Good chance the bike was made with that curved tube.

oh, fun, a bike rescue! I hope it turns into a winner.

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

oh, fun, a bike rescue! I hope it turns into a winner.

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I hope so too. I've wanted to get a project bike like this for awhile and the frame is my size. How's that for a coincadink???:cool:

Here's a link to more pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sgtiger3/Miyata

Oh my, do you think someone intentionally bent it due to the current location of the RD?

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

oh, fun, a bike rescue! I hope it turns into a winner.

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+1 from me.
Not much more to add....looks like a neat bike, and what DebW said sounds reasonable to me.
I can hear DivingBiker from here, lamenting that SHE didn't find a kewl red mixte to have as a winter project! :D
Good luck with it.

Oh...meant to ask...what is that on the left seat stay??
p.s. one other edit...if in doubt...bring the frame to your LBS and have them check it out.
pps...okay, another edit....on your picasa site, you can see the chew marks on the paint inside the stays where the derailleur did its damage when it got sucked up and wrecked. I hope that didn't cause a problem...

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Originally Posted by Regina

Not much more to add....looks like a neat bike, and what DebW said sounds reasonable to me.
I can hear DivingBiker from here, lamenting that SHE didn't find a kewl red mixte to have as a winter project! :D
Good luck with it.

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Yeah, cool find! I did have a twinge of jealousy, but then I remembered that I already have one red and one pink mixte, and just how many does a girl really need?

It obviously needs a new rear derrailluer, and it's missing it's rear brake, but it doesn't look terrible otherwise.

The bracket on the rear stay may have been for a reflector.

Cool!

(why can't I ever find something like this...)

So that's where I left my bike!

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Originally Posted by MDHillSlug

(why can't I ever find something like this...)

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MD, keep looking, yours is out there. So many abandoned bikes in need of loving homes.

Another lost bike rescued! Keep us posted on the remodel. we want pictures. I <3 my abandoned mixte bike.

It is beautiful!

You are so lucky to find it and good luck with the remodel.

That bend is intentional. On another bike forum a bunch of us compared our late 80s mixtes (from just before bike companies stopped making them) and a lot of them had that bent stay. I think it's a little ugly and the earlier ones are much prettier (they have a lug further up that sets the stay out far enough to clear the cassette), but it doesn't seem that it makes the frame structurally unsound.

One of my two Nishikis is like that. I confess that it's the one I never built up or rode, because once I noticed the bent stay and some cosmetic scratches on the frame I wasn't very interested in it. But I don't think it makes the bike unrideable.

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Originally Posted by Trek420

MD, keep looking, yours is out there. So many abandoned bikes in need of loving homes.

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It would pretty much need to be an abandoned bike because my partner is very unlikely to approve the purchase of another bike! ;):rolleyes: