Newbie and fixin' up a Mixte

[DesertBloom]

Thanks, sarahspins, for the quick reply! Your bike and mine could be twins (same color, too), except that the paint on mine is chipped a bit more than yours looked in the photo. I felt happy to see your bike in the pic. Warmed ma heart

May I ask how tall you are/your inseam?
What you wrote about the seat post height makes sense. I'll keep that in mind.
Also, I appreciate you writing about what components you replaced and what you paid. Keeping that in mind when I call the shop.

[sarahspins]

May I ask how tall you are/your inseam

My inseam is about 30.5" and I'm about 5'6" or so depending on who's measuring.

My Trek 7.2fx has a similar length top tube and seat tube as my Nishiki (but a more aggressive seat angle)... my Trek is a 17.5", which is 44.5cm.

I fit on each differently.. the Nishiki has a really relaxed seat angle (I measured once and it was about 70˚) and the frame itself is lower to the ground.

I finally mounted my basket and replaced my tires today.. since my DH bought me new ones after lunch when we picked up my new to me roadie, so now I'm basically "done" with fixing up my Mixte The poor thing still had the original Nishiki tires on it - they needed to go!

Also, I've done all of my own wrenching on the Nishiki.. nothing about these old bikes is all that complicated (even adjusting the derailleurs.. since it's all friction it's really hard to mess it up), so don't be afraid to get in there and get dirty. You don't need much in the way of tools either.. 99% of what you need are 8mm and 10mm wrenches, and then a set of metric hex keys, and maybe a phillips screwdriver and maybe an adjustable wrench.

Of course I haven't really gotten into anything complicated.. otherwise you'd need a few special tools, but it's still nothing you wouldn't be able to tackle on your own.

Oh, and my bike is plenty scratched up! I bought some Honda touch up paint in a color that is "darn close" to my bike's original color... from about 5' away you can't see it, but up close you can

[DesertBloom]

I am 5'8", so hopefully with a new seat post it will work out. We'll see!

Yeah, I am so not mechanical (yet); you inspire me! I think if I had someone show me how to do a few simple things with tools and a bike I wouldn't feel so intimidated. My Dad has a LHT and wants me to ride with him, so I may get a chance to have him show me how to do some basic stuff.

Have fun riding your Mixte!

[sarahspins]

Make sure you get the right size seat post.. I know my Nishiki was an odd size (26.6mm) so I couldn't just walk into a LBS and buy one. I ordered mine from Niagara Cycle since they had a few other things I wanted to order too so paying shipping didn't sting as much.

The park tools website has all kinds of little how-to tutorials http://www.parktool.com/

I also have the repair book that Bicycling magazine put out.. it's been handy and I bought it from someone right here on TE