HELP. Bikes. I never thought I'd be saying this

[sandra]

Please explain mixte. I don't know what that means.

[sandra]

OMG!!! I just bought one! More later with pics!

A vintage Lotus.

[uforgot]

From Sheldon Brown:

Mixte
A style of lady's frame in which the "top tube" consists of a pair of small diameter tubes running more-or-less straight from the upper head lug, past the seat tube, and on to the rear fork ends. A mixte frame thus has 3 sets of rear stays, instead of the usual two. A variant on the mixte uses a single, full sized top tube running from the upper head tube to the seat tube, but retains the middle set of stays. A lady's type bike that lacks the middle pair of stays is not a mixte.

Mixte frames are stronger than conventional lady's frames, particularly in resisting the tendency of the seat tube to get pushed backward in the middle when ridden by a heavy rider

In French, "mixte" would be pronounced "MEExt", but normal U.S. bicycle industry pronunciation is "MIX-ty".

[mimitabby]

what?! how did you find a Mixte so fast? and WHERE is the picture? (toe tapping)

[sandra]

I hope I didn't make a mistake, but I fell in love at first sight and I think it will do exactly what I want.
More details later. I'm helping my hubby with a project right now.

[rij73]

Holy crapola! That was fast, Sandra... Can't wait to hear the details!

[mimitabby]

Sandra, you have to tell us how you found this bike so quickly!

[Torrilin]

PRETTY! RED!

*sits in a corner and drools*

[sandra]

Details on my new thread.

[spokewench]

It sounds like you live in the flatlands or that you will probably just be riding this bike short rides on the flat for fun? Anyway, I would start going to yard sales, garage sales, etc. and try to pick up an older cruiser type bicycle. Doesn't even have to have gears - a single speed would be perfect - and it won't cost you that much either if you pick up someone's old used bike that's been hanging in their garage for a while. The search for the bike might be really fun too. You might have to lube the bike, etc., and probably replace tires and tubes, but it's quite doable.

spoke,

[OakLeaf]

I get to get my kicks riding the worksman bikes at my office. they weigh 50 lbs or so, there's one gear and coaster brakes. The saddles are awful, but when you only ride 1/2 mile at a time, who cares. it's fun to pedal as fast as I can on that kind of bike and then squeeze my ball trumpet horn for effect.

HAHAHAHA

Best time I've ever had on my Trek Navigator 200 was riding home from the gym and grocery shopping one time last year. Saddlebags, backpack, Pilates mat, you get the picture. I turn on to the bike path at the same time this dude comes by on the street, riding a road bike, all tricked out. So I pass him Not really for effect, not that time, I'm just going faster than he is. He is not amused, he turns on the gas and pulls back ahead of me for a little bit, but then he drops his speed back down. Okay, granted, my legs had three miles and an aerobics class, and for all I know he had 50 miles in those wicked Florida winds. But still... only because I could see how much it bothered him when I passed him the first time... I had to go by him again before I turned onto my street. Cheap thrills for someone who burned out on racing a long, long time ago because of the way my competitive edge gets the better of me

[KnottedYet]

... only because I could see how much it bothered him when I passed him the first time... I had to go by him again before I turned onto my street.

Fabulous!!!

[mimitabby]

HAHAHAHA
. Cheap thrills for someone who burned out on racing a long, long time ago because of the way my competitive edge gets the better of me

wow, you never know when the person you're trying to pass is a retired racer!!!!!