Originally Posted by
accozzaglia
One thing I haven't figured out yet is why a minority of Sekines use this art deco type style, whereas all the others use a broad, Eurostile-like type treatment. Sometimes I'll see two models that otherwise look like the same year (based on parts), but the downtube type treatment differs. I've become partial to the art deco ones.
Shot in August. It's the only mixte Sekine I've seen so far, and I'm guessing that they weren't ever that common. And with a colour like "sand", I can totally see why (certainly nothing like the gorgeous offerings by Peugeot from around the same time). This is probably an SHA, given the parts, rear dropouts, and badge.
At one time, the difference in the font was a fairly reliable indicator of whether it was a Canadian or Japanese model. However, with shortages and production problems things got mixed up in short order.
The mixte in question is an RL30. Mixtes came in the same color options as the standard frame and around this period there were typically 3 or 4, depending on the exact year. The other options would have been blue, red and green. Sekine offered two colors that were somewhat similar, tan and pearlescent gold. Based on the picture, it is difficult to tell which it is. The latter usually looks off-white and is not very attractive, especially if it not kept clean.
It is true that you do not see very many Sekine mixte. We did not carry them at all and only brought them in on request. There were a couple of reasons. First, the Sekine was slightly more expensive than the competition and the female riders who selected mixte tended to be more casual riders where price was the major factor. Secondly, Sekine offered their mixte frame in only one size, whereas several of their competitors offered more than one, and more importantly, often a slightly smaller size.