Two mixte's on ebay with no bids!
A Schwinn and a Raleigh.
I have that same Raleigh in mint condition that I may have to sell because it is too small. I don't believe they will ever get that much for it though.
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Mixte alert. :D
I'm not familiar with the bike and it might be quite nice for all I know, but....Quote:
Originally Posted by sandra
I rode on a gigantic foam saddle just like that last summer when I borrowed a friend's bike for a two hour ride with them. She told me "Oh you're going to LOVE this saddle, it's like riding on a pillow!"
After 30 minutes my butt and hip joints were hurting. After an hour I was in big pain everywhere. After an hour and a half my pain was excruciating and i had to try to stand up for the rest of the ride. When i got back I could hardly walk from the pain and my entire rear was tingly and going numb. :eek: Never again! :(
Lisa, I know! Our old Giant hybrids that we got at the bike shop had similar saddles. At the time, the bike shop convinced us to swap out the saddles for those big, padded things. I never did like it, but didn't know any better until I joined this forum.
Brooks babe!
Check out this one! I've never seen one quite like it.
I saw that one the other day. Very interesting, but I'd be scared of it because of the French threading.
It caught my eye because it's not the classic mixte design, but I don't really like its lines. I love the classic mixte lines!Quote:
Originally Posted by sandra
Lisa DH, mixte fit deserves some discussion. I'm an old fossil that got my first mixte touring bike over 30 years ago, so I have a few opinions! Any mixte will fit you if you're a little too big for the bike (slide the seat back, use a different stem). However, short folks can be fit-challenged on mixtes. In particular, many old european mixtes are just plain dangerous for most women...they were made with long equivalent top-tubes, long-reach stems and long-reach drop bars. "Suicide levers" were added to brake on the tops because women could not reach the brake levers on the drop bars. Owners of these bikes should replace the stem, bars and brake levers with woman-sized parts as a safety improvement.
I have *very* long legs for my height (5'2", 32" of leg) so I have a significant fit problem. Back in the mid-70s, I bought a Japanese 19" mixte with a 20.5" equivalent top tube, and a very long head-tube. The bike shop installed a 5mm reach SR stem. With this setup I can barely reach the drops, but it fit me well enough for twenty years of happy bike touring. About ten years ago the bike died of old age, and I had a long search to find its replacement. I learned a lot about mixte bike fit in the process. I abandoned drop bars, and instead use a nitto B-601 or porteur bars and it solves the reach problem. I still need a long headtube to get the handlebars high enough to match the long legs. I use a men's B-17 and a long seat-stem for the long legs.
Women shouldn't worry about toe-clip overlap on a mixte. That was a big deal in the old days when guys used large-size toe clips over clown shoes, and 27" wheels with fenders.
By the way, use centerpull or cantilever brakes on these bikes, never use sidepulls unless you have a death wish. On a mixte, the rear centerpull is properly placed underneath the mixte stays behind the seat-tube, and the cable routes between the mixte stays. If you can afford it, put cantis on the front. This together with replacement of the original drops/stems/levers will make a radical improvement in most old mixtes.
Wow, OK, this is pretty cool........
Tomorrow I am going to trade a couple of road bikes(Bridgestone and Miyata) and some parts for a real nice Centurion Mixte that has been single speedified. So I was Googlin' to see if I could find what other people have been doing with Mixte frames. I came across an entire thread of actual women interested in actual cool old bikes!!!! Wow!!! I am impressed. Here where I live it's rare to find anyone interested in cool old bikes, much less smart cool women buying and fixing up old mixte bikes!
Very cool. Now if ladies like you only lived in my town...... Houston Tx is a lonely place for a cyclist who doesn't do spandex, and is not impressed by robot welded, aluminum framed, new fangled Star Trek Taiwan junkers at the shops.
I have an old lugged steel, Japan built Peugeot ATB in a smaller size and tomorrow I will have the Centurion mixte in the hopes of meeting a lady who will ride them, and uh, put up with me at least long enough for the ride......haha.....
Anyway, considering the status quo here in H-Town, it is quite refreshing to find this post. Keep it up ladies!! You are definitely the exception!
actual women.Quote:
Originally Posted by ol'Gimpy
imagine that.
teehee
As opposed to fake women? Real Women ride mixtes ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by mimitabby
I'm busted.
And your arms are long, too. ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by sandra
I got it. The bike is really nice. Very nicely handbuilt Japanese frameset. This frame must be one of the nicest mixte frames ever available. It is fairly well appointed as is, but I will be making some changes to get it where I want it. It's getting a quick realease seatpost bolt so that I can ride it most of the time, and then lower the seat for visitors.
I'll post a pic or two pretty soon.
I'm thinking that I will set it up as follows:
rear rack with nice pretty wicker basket from the thrift store, nice matching wicker handlebar basket, springer seat, semi-flat bars with nice old cold forged dirt drop type stem(or Nitto Dove bars if I decide to spend more money on this bike), BMX platform pedals, leave it as a single speed.
Basically a very nice picnic or grocery bike. Either that or I could leave it as a totally stripped down single speed.
So what do you ladies think? Yes I will post a pic soon......
Oh yeah, that's exactly what I meant.....actual ladies as opposed to fake ladies. I live in the land of silicone and cadillacs...well Escalades anyway. Actual vs. fake is real here. There actually[U[/U] lots of cool people here, but still not many doing the old bike thing, and yes especially not ladies. AMybe I can change that one person/bike at a time. Been trying for years. I gave away two great old bikes last week.
Hmmm, mustache bars, Nitto stem, BMX pedals, single speed .... like this?
http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?t=19096
olGimpy, sounds like it'll be a great bike. We want pictures, and the ride report.
Very similar idea. Believe it or not, I think this Centurion is even a little nicer frame that that nice Motobecane! I really like the way the moustache bars look on that bike, but I dont' think I will use them. I will probably go with a dirt drop stem and an oldschool semi-flat ATB bar, or even with a fully upright bar like the Nitto Dove. But yeah, that bike is very similar to what I will prolly do. I'm really happy about this one. Such an unusual bike. I rode it just a little today and it's real nice. The randoneur bars that are on it kinda make it a little sketchy though. Those come off this week. I'll prolly get it finished this week, with the exception of the rear rack and basket.
This must be my 100th build by now, but I think it will be one of the coolest.
Ok, well, let's see a picture of it already!
Well. The Motobecane is not a terrific frame nor made of the best steel. But it's a sweet ride and a very puhrty bike.Quote:
Originally Posted by ol'Gimpy
Let's see the Centurion already :cool:
Sorry no pic yet. I'm almost done with the bike, and bought a digicam online last night. The kid broke the other camera.
The bike is sweet. It is a permanent part of the stable.
What other cool old bikes have you ladies got? I have:
4 lugged Splined Triple Butted Miyata Forerunners, 1 built as a killer cyclocross, the other 3 frames in the closet waiting......
1 lugged STB Team Miyata road frame, was my uncle's prior to his passing
1 lugged STBTeam Miyata Mountain bike, ditto
1 lugged Peugeot Canyon Express ATB with all high end 1985 parts
1 lugged Peugeot City Express ATB in a small size, soon to be finished
1 fully tricked out BMX/ATB/Road rigged lugged TREK 870 from 1988. So rad that it's unreal. I'm so good!!! hahaha
1 Super sweet large Centurion Mixte single speed set up for grocery getting and cruising
1 Robinson Pro BMX 20" that my little boy rides
1 Specialized BMX that my older boy rides
1 more Robinson in the garage
I give away bikes alot to get people/friends riding, trade some, sell some on craigslist, donate some to our local bike co-op youth program. Bikes are beautiful. This is the whole list now, after closing down my home based side job bike shop after getting my stuff back together post divorce. I had up to 40 at one time when I needed a second income source. She and I get along OK, now,.... She didn't like bikes, skateboarding, concerts, art museums, good restaurants, my gourmet cooking, uh, or anything else about me...hehehe, oh well, I like me.
Today I dropped by the LBS to have Chris take a look at the new/old Giant. Chris said to watch this space in the next couple'a months (yeah, this is way early). He's rebuilding a mixte for a customer. He says it's a Schwinn Paramount, repainted all original logos but in buttercup yellow, with red pinstripes.
Chris if your client is lurking here Show us your mixte!
On craig's list. I'm still looking for a road bike, but saw this green schwinn that was tempting after reading and seeing pics of your mixtes:
http://westernmass.craigslist.org/bik/596620210.html
It's a little too far for me to get it or check it out, but looks like it's in good shape.
Cute bike, but this one isn't a mixte. Mixtes have 3 stays in the back. I had a Schwinn Suburban and while it wasn't a mixte, it certainly was fun. Biggest drawback to these Schwinns is that they are really really heavy! If you want a mixte keep looking. They are out there and most of the time they aren't called mixtes. I found a Nishiki for $40 and love it. Took awhile, but I finally found her. Good luck on your search!Quote:
Originally Posted by mkidd
Kidd here's Sheldon's(R.I.P) explanation/definition of a mixte-
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_m.html#mixte
Here's a three speed out in Virginia. $30!
And when are we going to see a picture of YOUR new mixte zen???Quote:
Originally Posted by zencentury
When I take it out of the box :D
It just got here this AM (but you've seen it before ;))
And it's hardy riddenQuote:
Originally Posted by MDHillSlug
I have a question that has been bothering me, and I apologize if I am sounding a little ignorant,..but...how is "Mixte" pronounced? Is it just "mix" or
"Mix-tay" or "Mix-tee" or..?
I didn't even know there was such bike until this forum and now I'm seeing them all over the place!!
Thanks!
Forestra
In the proper French, the "e" isn't pronounced. (it's kinda like "meeekst")
In the improper English, I usually hear it as "miksteee."
I say "mikstee." (but then I also say "pan-yer" for pannier)
Wow Zen. That's very exciting.
I shouldn't come to this thread. I already have 3 bikes.
and I'm in a spot of bother. i can't get the stem (with handlebars and cables all attached) high enough over the headset to drop it in. It won't angle in either, at least not the way I'm doing it.
What am I doing wrong?
Forgive me, I've only read the last page of this thread, so I might be missing something...
But I'm assuming it's a quill stem...
Can you just unbolt the handlebar from the stem (I can't remember what the handlebar/stem attachment looks like on quills), get the stem all settled in and cozy (with the handlebars hanging down on the cables and maybe resting on the front wheel), then reattach the handlebars???
yeah I just googled quill stems. it looks like the usual steel ones have a bolt underneath the bar you can loosen to remove the bar.
Now how do I lock it at the desired height?
Oh Google, you've done it again
http://www.ehow.com/how_14189_install-quill-stem.html
I think there should be a bolt on the very top of the stem (where the "leg" of the 7 meets the "arm"). I'll let Sheldon take it from here:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/handsup.html
(you have to scroll down a little but not much)...
I've never worked on quill stems but I've been doing a lot of installing and removing handlebars with threadless setups lately. Same idea...
Removing brifters is a pain!!!!
Because we didn't remove the brakes, it was a little close and tight. We had the same issue taking the stem out, but IT CAN BE DONE. :) I'm guessing you got it all figured out while I was sleeping. She's a beauty, isn't she!!!
Liza, that link is great. I did NOT realize you could get a stem TOO low. Of course I never have had a problem wanting them lower. Only higher.
Here's a mixte on ebay. Already has a basket and a Brooks saddle. Only $50 shipping.
drool....that is a beautiful bike. But wait, I already have two beautiful mixtes and just sold the third. I don't need another one.
It will be interesting to see what that one ends up going for.
I like it too! Wonder if the bride would want to ride it to the reception? Better yet, you and Billy ride mixtes to the reception. If she doesn't want me to choreograph a wedding dance, then you can embarrass her this way!Quote:
Originally Posted by sandra
OOOOOOH! So nice, and I wouldnt even have to pay shipping! It's almost too nice-- there wouldn't be any restoring/parts swapping out to do.Quote:
Originally Posted by uforgot
I'm almost positive that the guy selling it is a mechanic at one of our LBSs and also races cross.