My Bargain Bike

[HillSlugger]

Umm, can someone explain what a mixte means please? It's not a term I've heard in England before

I found this info on the Sheldon Brown website:

A style of lady's frame in which the "top tube" consists of a pair of small diameter tubes running more-or-less straight from the upper head lug, past the seat tube, and on to the rear fork ends. A mixte frame thus has 3 sets of rear stays, instead of the usual two. A variant on the mixte uses a single, full sized top tube running from the upper head tube to the seat tube, but retains the middle set of stays. A lady's type bike that lacks the middle pair of stays is not a mixte.

[xeney]

Mixtes are a ton of fun to ride. I have an 80s Japanese mixte road bike that I converted into an around-town single-speed cruiser. Before:



And after:



Since it has skinny road bike tires and relatively high gearing compared to your average fat-tired townie, it goes nice and fast even though I think it looks like a little old lady bike. My new one is pretty much the same as the "before" picture, only a dark maroon, and I'm going to set it up with moustache bars, a lower stem, and no rack or baskets. And my husband is secretly wanting a mixte because they are a little more stable than a regular road bike for carrying panniers, etc. (I don't think he wants a pink one, though.)

[DebW]

Raleigh's women's frames were not mixte in the mid-70s. Motobecane made mixtes then, but Raleigh used the traditional Lady's design. I wonder when they switched over.

[Python]

I've been trying to find out more about my bike. I'm not sure but I think it could be a 1980's bike. It's got Huret gears (which I haven't figured out yet).

She's such an easy bike to ride and I was planning on finding the cycle routes near where I live tomorrow, but we've got a storm coming in so I might not be able to go out Took her up to the local shop today. Normally it takes me 15 - 20 minutes to walk up and back. Timed myself. I left my house at 1620 and was back at 1625

I just need to build up some leg muscles although I haven't had any problems yet except for very minor twinges (just finding some muscles that haven't been used for years).

[xeney]

Deb, this 1976 Raleigh catalogue shows a mix of mixtes and regular step-through frames. It looks like the Super Course Mk II, the Grand Prix, and the Record all came in mixte models, and the Sprite, the Superbe, the Tourist, the Sport, and the Limited all came with regular step-through frames. (The higher end road bikes didn't come in women's models at all.) The 1977 catalogue is similar except that year the women's Sprite was a mixte.

I am really curious to know why they went with the regular step-through, since those frames are not as strong as a mixte frame. Was it cost or styling? I know a lot of people think mixtes are hideous.

Although that site is US catalogues, it might help you to nail down the age of your raleigh based on the components.

[Python]

Interesting about the mixte frames. I know my frame is made of High Tensile Carbon Steel which is lighter than normal steel so the mixte style would make a very strong, very stable frame. It's certainly a very good quality bike and was probably quite expensive when it was first bought new.

You can tell I love it LOL

Just had a look at the Raleigh catalogue. I had a Raleigh "Rose" which was similar to the Twenty except it didn't fold. It had Sturmey Archer 3 speed gears (which didn't work) and the thing was very, very heavy. I didn't use it much and left it to the next owners when we moved house.