Show us your mixte!

[Tri Girl]

Neat bike, Ivona. Very cool classic!
Just a question: can you make non QR wheels into QR wheels? I would ride my mixte more if I could change the tires more easily. I guess I could just put a wrench in the saddle bag, huh? It just takes sooooo much more effort, tho. I'm being lazy...

[Biciclista]

congrats on a really nice mixte! I think you got a great deal.

[IvonaDestroi]

Neat bike, Ivona. Very cool classic!
Just a question: can you make non QR wheels into QR wheels? I would ride my mixte more if I could change the tires more easily. I guess I could just put a wrench in the saddle bag, huh? It just takes sooooo much more effort, tho. I'm being lazy...

I believe you can but you have to buy the whole quick release skewer, and replace the axle you have with it. I'm not sure about how the sizing works, but i think you might need to take apart the hub... once again I'm not sure though, hubs are pretty new to me!

In any case I know it's possible somehow and you have to replace your axle with the skewer. I'm sure your LBS would help you find the right size and give you a thorough explanation of how to, or do it for you if you asked!

(hehe ask me in a couple weeks after I've played with mine, then I'll know how!)

[Tri Girl]

Thanks! Do tell when you find out.

[Kitty Gatita]

I am looking at this tomorrow and it will most very likely become a new sistah!

Please tell me whachu think!

[uforgot]

Depends on what you are going to pay for it. The french mixtes are sometimes hard to find parts for, especially the bottom brackets. Trek has one, but I stay away from them since I like to tinker on them myself. I had a Motobecane and stripped all of the paint off and that's where it stands today because of parts. I recently found another one at a flea market, for $12 and it needed no work, but I still worry about servicing it. My Nishiki was $40, but I can grease the bearings in that thing very easily.

Therefore, if you aren't concerned about the bottom bracket, and love the bike I say ENJOY! Just wanted to give you some food for thought.

[Kitty Gatita]

hmmmmmmmm. She is SOOOOO pretty! And I have wanted a mixte for the longest time!!! The CL ad said that she has new tires/tubes and was just serviced...

[IvonaDestroi]

I'm gonna chime in on the part warning... I just got a new project (posted right before you) and it's been pretty interesting. 70's gitane mixte. It had no pedals when I got it, now it has one! French threading... it's a pain to find parts for! I went to recycle bicycle down the street from me and foraged through their part drawers for a few hours. One of the guys was awesome in explaining the differences in french threading and what to look for. I brought home a big bag of borrowed possibly french threaded pedals (mostly my picks, a few of his) and came out of it with one fitting right pedal out of 15. the rest were all rights, and I got 2 lefts but they were both standard threads... oops! I will now have to return and see if I can dig out that matching pedal...

The whole bottom bracket is french threaded. I am planning to take it apart and clean the thing out but I have been thouroughly forewarned-DO NOT mess up those threads cuz you will go through hell and high water finding a replacement. I plan on being very, very, careful and having the shop take care of the cautering pin removal for me, for fear of thread damage.

So far nothing fits properly, not even the seat post and handlebars! (seatpost on there when I got it sucked, but new seats are set up differently, I had to special order) and some nice handlebars came seperately with the bike). Gonna have to do some trading in of parts, but I'm still stoked on it. French parts make it unique I think, and I think I'll be proud of the extra effort later. France did this until the 80's, and they were the only ones who did it


btw the bike is adorable!

Challenge-yey!

[Andrea]

I love looking at all these bikes! I think the classic mixte is sooooooo cool looking, and I dream of finding one some day. For now, I'll post up the Free Spirit that I found in someone's trash a couple of days ago. I spent all day yesterday cleaning her up...

Before:




After:






Now I'm just waiting for a set of tires to arrive from Harris. The rim size is 26 x 1 3/8, which won't take a standard 26" MTB tire (or else I'd be riding it already!). I'm gonna attach some wire baskets or milk crates or something to it and use it for grocery shopping!

[Tuckervill]

You can check the serial number (on the bottom bracket or on the inside of one of the chain stays) and date that bike. It looks just like the '85 model I bought at a garage sale last summer.

http://www.oldroads.com/sh_sn.asp

Karen

[oxysback]

I am looking at this tomorrow and it will most very likely become a new sistah!

Please tell me whachu think!

Wow...that's some bright shiny bar tape!

[oxysback]

I'm gonna chime in on the part warning... I just got a new project (posted right before you) and it's been pretty interesting. 70's gitane mixte. It had no pedals when I got it, now it has one! French threading... it's a pain to find parts for! I went to recycle bicycle down the street from me and foraged through their part drawers for a few hours. One of the guys was awesome in explaining the differences in french threading and what to look for. I brought home a big bag of borrowed possibly french threaded pedals (mostly my picks, a few of his) and came out of it with one fitting right pedal out of 15. the rest were all rights, and I got 2 lefts but they were both standard threads... oops! I will now have to return and see if I can dig out that matching pedal...

The whole bottom bracket is french threaded. I am planning to take it apart and clean the thing out but I have been thouroughly forewarned-DO NOT mess up those threads cuz you will go through hell and high water finding a replacement. I plan on being very, very, careful and having the shop take care of the cautering pin removal for me, for fear of thread damage.

So far nothing fits properly, not even the seat post and handlebars! (seatpost on there when I got it sucked, but new seats are set up differently, I had to special order) and some nice handlebars came seperately with the bike). Gonna have to do some trading in of parts, but I'm still stoked on it. French parts make it unique I think, and I think I'll be proud of the extra effort later. France did this until the 80's, and they were the only ones who did it


btw the bike is adorable!

Challenge-yey!

Interesting story about finding pedals. I think that's one of the only things that went on without an issue on my mixte restoration project (pictured on pg. 17 of this thread if you haven't already seen it). I ordered them from Rivendell, and prayed they would fit!

[DebW]

Neat bike, Ivona. Very cool classic!
Just a question: can you make non QR wheels into QR wheels? I would ride my mixte more if I could change the tires more easily. I guess I could just put a wrench in the saddle bag, huh? It just takes sooooo much more effort, tho. I'm being lazy...

I believe you can but you have to buy the whole quick release skewer, and replace the axle you have with it. I'm not sure about how the sizing works, but i think you might need to take apart the hub... once again I'm not sure though, hubs are pretty new to me!

You do have to replace the axle, but also note that QR axles are of larger diameter than non-QR axles, and the frame dropout may have to be spread or filed out to fit the QR axle.

[IvonaDestroi]

Interesting story about finding pedals. I think that's one of the only things that went on without an issue on my mixte restoration project (pictured on pg. 17 of this thread if you haven't already seen it). I ordered them from Rivendell, and prayed they would fit!

I couldn't find your project on page 17... where is it?

[IvonaDestroi]

You do have to replace the axle, but also note that QR axles are of larger diameter than non-QR axles, and the frame dropout may have to be spread or filed out to fit the QR axle.

good to know... thanks!