Show us your mixte!

[Triskeliongirl]

Ah, Lisa, if you are trying to scoot back, that is probably to get your knee properly aligned with the pedal axis. Women have longer femurs than men, so I also have my saddle set up on a seatpost with as much set back as I can get, and prefer a bike with a shallow seat tube angle (yet oddly many womens and smaller sized bikes have steep seat tube angles. ) But, once my saddle is set up correctly, I will still try to move too far forward if my forward reach is too long (i.e. top tube, stem and bars together are too long). I think you moved you saddle back after installing a shorter stem and a shorter reach bar cuz you had properly adjusted your reach so that you could sit correctly on the bike.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It's all connected.
I've been told by my new custom builder that my femurs are long compared to my shins and total height- thus the issue....fairly common for women.
Actually, I started with a 9 stem, then went to 5, then backed up to 7, which is about as good as I can dial in on my bike given all the other variables. And yes, a shallow seat tube angle is good for me.

[Triskeliongirl]

Yeh, cuz what I remember is you talked about pushing back after shortening your stem and bars, which is a good thing. But you are right, balance on the bike is important too, which is why even if the reach was better on the really short stem the handling may not have been. Obviously custom will take care of all of this for you. So excited to hear how you like her when she is done. Is the idea that the new bike will replace, or complement your ramboullet, i.e. will she be designed to carry stuff or be a go fast bike? You often talk about racing bikes as if they aren't comfortable. To me, if the bike fits you, it will be comfortable. If the bike is light, it will go fast. If the bike is strong, it can carry stuff. I personally think that if the frame geometry fits your body, then by swapping subtle things likes tires/wheelsets, the same bike can be used for go fast riding or light touring. But going light weight can make all the difference in the world for improving speed. As long as she uses one of the newer steels that are both strong and light weight (high strength to weight ratio), the bike should be able to do anything. That is how I feel about my reynolds 853 steel terry travel isis.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yeh, cuz what I remember is you talked about pushing back after shortening your stem and bars, which is a good thing. But you are right, balance on the bike is important too, which is why even if the reach was better on the really short stem the handling may not have been. Obviously custom will take care of all of this for you. So excited to hear how you like her when she is done. Is the idea that the new bike will replace, or complement your ramboullet, i.e. will she be designed to carry stuff or be a go fast bike?

I want a second bike that will fit me better, go a bit faster for me, but also so that I won't be totally bikeless if something happens to one bike. I will keep the Rambouillet so that I have two working bikes.

You often talk about racing bikes as if they aren't comfortable. To me, if the bike fits you, it will be comfortable. If the bike is light, it will go fast. If the bike is strong, it can carry stuff. I personally think that if the frame geometry fits your body, then by swapping subtle things likes tires/wheelsets, the same bike can be used for go fast riding or light touring. But going light weight can make all the difference in the world for improving speed.

I agree with all of this....except perhaps that I might not be very comfortable in an aggressive low racing position no matter how well the bike fits- I am 53 1/2 and don't imagine cranking my neck up at 90 degrees will be much fun. Since my goal is only to go maybe 12-14mph instead of my current 10 average (including the hills), I'm sure I can do this without a racing type bike, just by having a bike that is 20-25 lbs rather than 30, and by putting a little more time in on the bike anyway and getting stronger as I slowly have been.

As long as she uses one of the newer steels that are both strong and light weight (high strength to weight ratio), the bike should be able to do anything. That is how I feel about my reynolds 853 steel terry travel isis.

She is. I can hardly wait!

Back to the subject of mixtes (sorry for the hijack)....
I keep wondering why it does not seem to be much of an issue about mixte frame sizes. Is it that people only use them for shorter errand riding, so that perfect fit is not much of an issue? Is it that they are so hard to classify and measure in terms of frame size? People seem to just buy them by eyeballing them without much concern over fit- I don't understand, since fit is SO important elsewhere on this forum when talking bikes. Am I missing something? Please 'splain this to me.

[divingbiker]

Back to the subject of mixtes (sorry for the hijack)....
I keep wondering why it does not seem to be much of an issue about mixte frame sizes. Is it that people only use them for shorter errand riding, so that perfect fit is not much of an issue? Is it that they are so hard to classify and measure in terms of frame size? People seem to just buy them by eyeballing them without much concern over fit- I don't understand, since fit is SO important elsewhere on this forum when talking bikes. Am I missing something? Please 'splain this to me.

Not sure I can explain it, but standover is not really a concern on mixtes so that takes one variable out of the equation. Grant at Rivendell put me on a 58cm bike when I bought my Glorius, and even though it's big it fits perfectly, albeit with less than a fistful of seat post showing. Mixtes seem to be much more forgiving when it comes to fit. You can adjust the reach with stems and bars, so somehow it seems to work out. I've ridden my Glorius for 30+ miles, and routinely ride 7 miles each way on my commute, so it's not exactly an errand bike.

(The sparkly red bike that I posted the picture of does look big, but the head tube is no larger than that on my Glorius. Will see it in person tomorrow.)

[xeney]

It's much easier to make a mixte fit with component adjustments than it is to do the same with a traditional frame. That said, I have a mixte that is so small that it was going to look really silly with the huge stem and seatpost I needed to make it fit.

As far as I can tell, though, most mixtes came in two sizes, small and smaller. My pink Nishiki is the largest mixte frame I've run across. I'm 5'6 and in its original configuration, it was a bit too small for me.

[sandra]

Xeney, please tell me what you are going to do to make yours fit.

I agree that it is much easier to make adjustments to mixte's, but I have one mixte too many and am considering selling one because it is a tad too small. It is a beauty of a bike and in mint condition with no scratches. I might not even know it was too small except that having two others now I can compare the difference.

I put a longer seatpost on it and that made a lot of difference, but it still feels like my angle over the pedals is a little off. I'm curious to know what you are going to put on yours.

[xeney]

Well, I don't use drop bars on mine and I have both of mine set up as single speeds, so since I am ditching the stem shifters anyway it is pretty easy to replace the stem. Both of mine have Nitto stems chosen to change the fit -- on the pink mixte with the Albatross bars, I got a very tall stem because I wanted an extremely upright position.

This one is pretty close to exactly the fit I wanted, but I need a longer seatpost with more setback to get my knees in a better position. And also a different saddle -- the women's Brooks saddles really limit your fore/aft adjustability.

[sandra]

What seatpost and saddle do you recommend?

[xeney]

Sandra, that totally depends on your preferences, your riding style, and how well the bike fits you. Also the specifics of the bike, since the available diameters differ (mostly depending on how old the bike is, but you always have to measure).

Do you have a good LBS with good mechanics? They can be a lot of help.

[sandra]

No, I have two very small terrible bike shops. One is very willing to help but the girl that is the main mechanic is very young and inexperienced. She told me I had an unusual stem size when in fact I had the standard 1". The other bike shop owner/mechanic is excellent, but I don't care for his personality. It feels like "what are you doing in my store ?" when I walk in. I went there looking for a seatpost and he wanted to sell me just what he had and told me "I was not going to have a lot of choice!". (Well, of course I don't in town, but I have lots of choices on the internet". He's very gruff.

Most of what I've done with the one mixte (or other bikes), I ordered from Rivendell (Nitto stem and albatross bars.)

The one I need to work on now does not fit me well. I want an upright position and can pretty well figure out the stem and handlebars, but I need a longer seatpost for sure with the most setback I can find since the bike is a tad small.

[sandra]

I want this Kalloy UNO 374 - notable for it's generous setbackbut I need a 26.4 and it is ALWAYS sold out.

[xeney]

Is it this one? I think Harris will order that for you. My LBS is really good about ordering these kind of parts for me but I have also found that Harris will generally do it. I would contact them.

[KnottedYet]

Sandra, I'm so sorry you have cr@ppy LBS selection near you!

[sandra]

Xeney, that could be the same one. It's hard to tell because the number is different. I can call and talk to them though. Thank you.

Knotted you are sweet. It is disappointing, but it doesn't slow me down. It just makes it more of a challenge. Check out our selection of bikes on Craigslist here. You can see why I shop ebay!