speaking of mixtes

[sandra]

Based on these mixte discussions I started looking around and I found one on Craig's list not 10 miles from here and went up and rode it the other day.

http://delaware.craigslist.org/bik/455591634.html

Though the ad says it's in good shape, the owner's perception of "good shape" and mine are not the same. It was a classic Raleigh mixte, but was just too small for me to ride. Plus it needs new tires, new chain, new brake cables, and the rear wheel needs trueing.

They have reduced the price to $50, but even if I did al the work, I'd still have a bike that was just too small. I had to give it a pass.

Sigh,
Martha

That one was a lady's bike, but not a mixte. Probably good that you passed.

A lady's type bike that lacks the middle pair of stays is not a mixte. A mixte has three tubes (rear stays) running to the back hub. Like this:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/images/m...upercourse.jpg

[divingbiker]

Thought I'd show y'all my mixte, loaded after a trip to the bank, Borders, and Whole Foods today. (Can you believe that $70 worth of groceries fits into two partially filled panniers?? )I got a lot of smirks from people riding their fancy road bikes, but one woman carrying a big load on her back was jealous and said she needed a bike like mine.

I can't get the saddle pushed back quite far enough to be comfortable, but it's fine for short trips that I'm using it for.

[Tri Girl]

LOVE your bike, divingbiker!!! You were seriously loaded down.

[sandra]

GREAT BIKE! I love it. What kind is it? You made a bid haul on that thing! I'm impressed!

[divingbiker]

What kind is it?

It's a 1986 Bridgestone 300 that I bought off Craigslist for $120. I had my LBS add the third chain ring (I live at the top of a hill between two creeks, so everywhere I go I ride hills) and a taller stem, and I put on a rack and the Brooks B72. Other than that, it was in perfect condition.

[elk]

It's a 1986 Bridgestone 300 that I bought off Craigslist for $120. I had my LBS add the third chain ring (I live at the top of a hill between two creeks, so everywhere I go I ride hills) and a taller stem, and I put on a rack and the Brooks B72. Other than that, it was in perfect condition.

well what 's too small for you might be perfect for me if you ever want to....you know....
e

[sandra]

Elk, would this work for you?

[KnottedYet]

I got a lot of smirks from people riding their fancy road bikes, but one woman carrying a big load on her back was jealous and said she needed a bike like mine.

Love your bike!
I have a lot more respect for a working bike than for a poseur smirking roadie bike. You rock!

[xeney]

Jeremy and I have been discussing that Austro-Daimler since the price dropped. The seller did not offer me free shipping but did offer me the original leather saddle. (It's white -- can you ride that after Labor Day?) I have two fabulous mixte single speeds and I don't need another, but there has been talk of putting gears onto my Puch ... the guy at the LBS suggested a Nexus hub. I am going to need to be able to haul a baby trailer and I am not sure I can do that with a single speed, and frankly my geared bikes are not as well suited to errand-running as my mixtes are. (That would be my mountain bike and my road bike; the former is heavy and I don't want to put a rack and fenders on either of them.)

Doing the shifter hub upgrade to the Puch is going to cost about $350-$400. This entire bike is cheaper than that, even with shipping. But maybe I really don't want 25-year-old shifting.

Someone talk me out of this. I can't ride the bikes I already have right now; I'm just concerned that I still won't be able to ride much even after she is old enough for the trailer.

[elk]

xeney...

is there a bike in your stable you could sell? i want someone to get this bike!!
I saw one on the street the other day...top tube/ cream colored....the graphics alone are gorgeous!!!

e

[xeney]

Yeah, I could sell my 80s Allez. It is nowhere near as cute and it's too small for me.

[sandra]

Yeah, I could sell my 80s Allez. It is nowhere near as cute and it's too small for me.

Hurry up and buy it already so I'll quit being tempted by it! No, I'm not going to buy it. I'm quickly getting in the "too many bikes category" as it is. I hate that he changed out the shifters to index shifters.

[divingbiker]

I can't get the saddle pushed back quite far enough to be comfortable...

I'm so excited! I figured out what the problem was with the saddle on my pink mixte! This bike has a seatpost with a clamp for a double rail saddle. I had the clamp flipped around the wrong way. When I rotated it 180 degrees, there is plenty of rail on the saddle to push it back far enough. My knees will be so happy!

I knew something was off when I measured my commuting mixte and measured this pink mixte, and they are almost exactly the same size. So I started investigating and found the flipped clamp.

As KnottedYet would say, "I'm a jeeenious!" (or just not very observant when I put the saddle on in the first place...)

[Voodoo Sally]

I love your bike & set-up, divingbiker. Way to run errands without the car!

About that seatpost clamp, I have often seen that kind of clamp on backwards. I'm glad you noticed that problem.

[frnz]

LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN MY PARENTS' GARAGE





I feel a project coming on