Show us your mixte!

[Zen]

I like that too. I just wish sellers knew how to describe things

[ZenSojourner]

I really, really want a mixte and have been searching ebay, Craig's list and local thrift stores, I haven't found one yet but I hope to soon. I was wondering if I find a mixte with drop bars can I put different bars to sit more up right on the bike? Also how do I know what size bike to get? Do I just guess based on my road bike size?
Please Help. Thank you, Jones.

There's a Trixie on the Terry forum For Sale By Owner forum, it says 50cm but they actually didn't make a 50cm, 48 and 52 are the closest.

http://www.terrybicycles.com/trade/browse/sell

Here's a picture and some geometry info from Sheldon Brown's website - this is an old webpage from 2001. It looks like it was sized based on the seat tube length so I'm not sure how meaningful those numbers are according to what we commonly think of as a 50cm frame.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/terry/trixie.html

Did you ever get any information on what size mixte frame to look for?

[badgercat]

http://tucson.craigslist.org/bik/1149348371.html

I'm going to see this bike on Sunday afternoon, and the guy I talked to said he had a "little wiggle room" on the price. Thoughts? I've never looked at a used bike before, but $100+ seems pretty par for the course for mixtes I've seen listed before. I probably shouldn't spend the money, but I would just adore having this old 10-speed to cruise around town...

Feel free to encourage or discourage me from this at your will...

[mayanorange]

Badgercat- she's adorable! I say go for it! Note that the Grand Prix usually had steel wheels, but you can find a set of aluminum rims and she'll be nice and light. Price sounds really good for a Raleigh. And if you need any parts, email me- I have a old school Raleigh bits source.

[TxDoc]

Hey for $100 I'd say go for it, it's a good deal

[uforgot]

Anyone near KC wanting a mixte? A Puch no less. l'm tempted to drive it. Pathfinder is kind of low end, but Puch...

[badgercat]

Badgercat- she's adorable! I say go for it! Note that the Grand Prix usually had steel wheels, but you can find a set of aluminum rims and she'll be nice and light. Price sounds really good for a Raleigh. And if you need any parts, email me- I have a old school Raleigh bits source.

I found this picasa album of a Grand Prix of what appears to be the same year, that someone put different bars (with bar-end shifters) and a Brooks saddle on. It's gorgeous and if the local one looks half as nice I don't think I'll be able to resist!

Thanks for the tips.

Hey for $100 I'd say go for it, it's a good deal

It's listed at $125, and I'm hopeful that I can talk him down to $100. (I'm planning to use the fact that I saw the same bike listed over a week ago and he clearly hasn't had any takers yet. fingers crossed that it's just a price issue or something and not something seriously wrong with the bike )

I can't wait for tomorrow! I was busy last night, he was going to be out of town today, so we had to leave it for Sunday afternoon. Hopefully he didn't sell it out from under me last night or something...

[mayanorange]

PS- sheldon's Retro Raleighs site is really helpful for aging and figuring out what's stock on them. So excited for you- let us know how it goes!

[badgercat]

I GOT THE RALEIGH!

I'll be eating frugally for a while, but with the help of DBF who is a much more assertive negotiator than I, we took it home for $100. A couple minor things need some attention... the brakes are rubbing a bit, the exposed shifter and brake cables have some light surface rust, and some of the decals seem very dried out and might be worth just removing the rest of the way. That, combined with the fact that the guy said he replaced the tires before he listed it implies that it probably sat outside for some time. But, it seems to be in very nice shape overall. Based on the serial number and some research online it was manufactured in Nottingham, England around March, 1977.



Pics soon! My boyfriend has the nice camera (mine is on the fritz anyway) so... hopefully I can do that tonight when I get home from work.

[badgercat]

I GOT THE RALEIGH!

I'll be eating frugally for a while, but with the help of DBF who is a much more assertive negotiator than I, we took it home for $100. A couple minor things need some attention... the brakes are rubbing a bit, the exposed shifter and brake cables have some light surface rust, and some of the decals seem very dried out and might be worth just removing the rest of the way. That, combined with the fact that the guy said he replaced the tires before he listed it implies that it probably sat outside for some time. But, it seems to be in very nice shape overall. Based on the serial number and some research online it was manufactured in Nottingham, England around March, 1977.



Pics soon! My boyfriend has the nice camera (mine is on the fritz anyway) so... hopefully I can do that tonight when I get home from work.

ETA: here are the specs from the Retro Raleighs page on Sheldon's site (which I had looked at earlier but thanks for the reminder, mayanorange): http://www.sheldonbrown.com/retroral...rand-prix.html
The "gents" frame pictured there is the same color scheme as mine. I think it might have all the original components! And oh, one more thing I want to do is replace the bar tape... it's a bit funky, and unfortunately not in a cool-and-worth-preserving sort of way, but in a "I feel like I need to wash my hands right now" sort of way.

ETA again: I meant to edit my earlier post, and inadvertently just quoted myself in a new reply so... sorry for the double post.

[HillSlugger]

Congrats!

[mayanorange]

Yay! Congrats. I'm sure you'll love her!

[Jones]

Congrats, Badgercat on your new mixte.

Thanks Zen S for pointing me toward the article on fit. I haven't read it yet but I will. My mixte hunting continues and is kinda fun. Friday at a local thrift store I found a 1973 Schwinn Continental that was dusty but looked brand new, so I bought it. A friend is coming to look at it today, so at least if I can't find the perfect new old bike someone is.

[badgercat]

Finally, as promised, some pictures!

here she is:


head badge etc... check out those lugs! yum:


these and a handful more pictures, all taken by my boyfriend, can be found here.

[amartha]

I've owned this mixte for 25 years. It was almost a part of me, but tomorrow a buyer's coming to look at it.


http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/b...manLady001.jpg


http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/b...manLady003.jpg


http://s211.photobucket.com/albums/b...manLady004.jpg

Look at all the things vintage Raleigh lovers lust -- carved lugs, Reynolds 531 tubing, the R on the seat-stay, the unique R seat-post clamp, leather covered toe-clips, Campy headset, Campy Athena crank with 52-40-30 chain-rings, Campy Record down-tube shifters (prettiest ever).

I've put over 15,000 miles on this bike, and it has miles to go.