Show us your mixte!

[newfsmith]

Not sure what the attitude is all about, but I'm 5'7" and comfortably ride a 58 cm Rivendell mixte, so 52 and 58 cm frames probably would fit most women except the very short or very tall.

The attitude is that the bicycle industry has totally bought into the fashion industry's standard of normal. As I said, google for height charts of American women, the average is still 5 ft 4 inches. This isn't personal but at 5'7" you are not "average" for anything except the purchase of clothes. My objection is entirely that GP made the future appearance of smaller frames entirely dependent on the demand for these mid to large sized frames. This is a market that is well supplied with other possibilities. In other words, for the 49 % of us that are shorter than 5'4", the logical choice of a mixte frame is being made dependant on the sale of frames too large for us. With all of the WSD revolution that is an archaic sales approach.

[HillSlugger]

The attitude is that the bicycle industry has totally bought into the fashion industry's standard of normal. As I said, google for height charts of American women, the average is still 5 ft 4 inches. This isn't personal but at 5'7" you are not "average" for anything except the purchase of clothes. My objection is entirely that GP made the future appearance of smaller frames entirely dependent on the demand for these mid to large sized frames. This is a market that is well supplied with other possibilities. In other words, for the 49 % of us that are shorter than 5'4", the logical choice of a mixte frame is being made dependant on the sale of frames too large for us. With all of the WSD revolution that is an archaic sales approach.

I'm confused, who's "GP"?

[divingbiker]

I'm confused, who's "GP"?

Grant Petersen (Rivendell)

[uforgot]

Nishiki Mixte on the St. Louis craigslist.

[badgercat]

...and here's a Centurion for sale in Arizona.
http://tucson.craigslist.org/bik/1108134631.html

I'd never even heard of a mixte before I joined TE, and now every time one pops up on craigslist I covet it. GOSH.

[Cataboo]

tall people one on DC's craigslist:

http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/n...109651863.html

[mayanorange]

Nice Peugot in Boston:

http://boston.craigslist.org/bmw/bik/1109531889.html

[sgtiger]

Here's my new (to me) Masi mixte. Isn't he smashing! I just put the burgundy Brooks B18 on him yesterday. The stock saddle was killing me. Way, way, way too narrow! When I went to measure the indentation left by my sit bones on the B72 saddle for my Rodriguez, it was ~150mm from center to center of the impressions. The top of the Masi saddle is only 140 mm, so I basically had a saddle wedgie going on. The internal gears are great for toodling alongside my kids and for taking the dog out. The coaster brakes took a bit of getting used to as they are way more responsive than the coasters on my Sears cruiser. The basket is not staying. It keeps tilting down and putting pressure on the fender which makes the fender rub the tire. I guess I could use a bag support to fix that but since it just looks too big for the bike anyway, it'll have to go. BTW I'm having so much fun on it! Thanks again, Claudia!



More photos here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/sgtiger3/Masi#

[uforgot]

Looking good! I like the basket and the brooks! Axiom has a few front baskets with supports. I have one on my $40 mixte I can't seem to give up. The coaster brake was hard for me too, and when I got on my road bike, I'd find myself back pedaling. I'm glad it found a loving home.

[Zen]

I spent a few hours last night perusing ebay and craigslist for a steel touring bike or frame (preferably lugged).

I gotta say the pickins' are mighty slim for us shorties.

[reddDesign]

here's mine

Picked her up off the side of the road for free some 6-7 years ago.



I'll get a better pic when I go to my parents next

[oxysback]

Here's my new (to me) Masi mixte. Isn't he smashing! I just put the burgundy Brooks B18 on him yesterday. The stock saddle was killing me. Way, way, way too narrow! When I went to measure the indentation left by my sit bones on the B72 saddle for my Rodriguez, it was ~150mm from center to center of the impressions. The top of the Masi saddle is only 140 mm, so I basically had a saddle wedgie going on. The internal gears are great for toodling alongside my kids and for taking the dog out. The coaster brakes took a bit of getting used to as they are way more responsive than the coasters on my Sears cruiser. The basket is not staying. It keeps tilting down and putting pressure on the fender which makes the fender rub the tire. I guess I could use a bag support to fix that but since it just looks too big for the bike anyway, it'll have to go. BTW I'm having so much fun on it! Thanks again, Claudia!

I have the B18 on my mixte, too, and I love it! It looks great on your Masi.

[sgtiger]

Thanks for the compliments, uforgot and oxyback. I was originally going to go with a B67 but I saw the burgundy B18 with matching grips on sale and decided to go with that since the color matches so nicely with the paint scheme. I haven't installed the grips yet because I'm on the fence about changing out the handlebars. I prefer the feel of the handlebars on my cruiser which is similar to the Nitto albatross bar, but I'm not sure if I want to swap them at the moment. I think I'll ride the Masi as is for now to see if I get used to the current one. The Sears cruiser is going to get donated to a local bike co-op soon since the Masi fills the same purpose.

Zen, it's a matter of being patient. I know I've seen some great smaller framed classic touring bikes on ebay in the past. Good luck on your search.

reddDesign, that is a beautiful mixte. Looks like a classic. I can see that it has a crowned fork. Hubba hubba! Does it have lugs too? I look forward to seeing some close-up shots of it!

[reddDesign]

explain lugs

[Zen]

explain lugs

See the photo of Jobob's bike in this thread
The pieces used to join the seat tube, top tube, steering tube and bottom bracket are lugs.