Originally Posted by
Stella74
I'm a lady that is 5'1". I have a Magna Eclipsis 21 speed that my dad gave me, but it's just so bulky, also kind-of tall for me.. I would just prefer a more lightweight and classic looking bicycle (pre 1990). My sister has a 1970s Schwinn Colligate, but after trying it, it is too big for me. I've been considering to get a mixte 10-12 speed European bicycle (Bianchi, Motobeccane, Raleigh, etc) - but usually the mixte Bianchi mixte frames seem to be too big? I've been thinking of maybe getting a 12 speed Le Mans Centurion Mixte. What do you guys think? I want to have a decent, yet lightweight good quality bicycle. I've also heard a mix of opinions of vintage bicycles with Japanese (suntour, etc) parts?
I think you have the right idea. Suntour and all that Japanese stuff from the '80s is high quality and a great value!
I still would like to have an european mixte, but my father tells me that getting metric parts for the bicycles could be a problem, aside that the problem of finding an appropiate size is also an issue.
Re metric threading: Older Italian and French stuff will run into compatibility issues with threading in the bottom bracket and headset. This does get expensive quickly, if you want to upgrade or repair anything. Otherwise, pretty much all the small bolts on high-quality lightweight bikes are going to be metric regardless of whether it's American-made (like a Trek) or Japanese-made (like the aforementioned Centurion). Old Schwinns and things will have American bolts and screws, but these bikes are all pretty heavy. Luckily, buying parts on the internet is easy, so I wouldn't worry too much other than staying away from weird French and Italian threading. Things with French threading would be Peugeots and Motobecanes. Unfortunately, these represent a large fraction of the mixtes out there. For Bianchi, I couldn't say. I know older ones probably had Italian threading, but I'm not sure how old.
Let me know more or less what decent good bicycles there are out there for smaller frames - even if it's a little off my second noted budget, I may consider saving up for it.
The mixte thread mentioned a couple posts up is a good thing to look at. I've had good experience with anything that has forged dropouts: Raleigh Olympian, Centurion, even an old Schwinn Le Tour, they all look good.
But If I were you, I might also consider a bike with a small front wheel, like a Terry.
These were designed by a woman, with shorter women in mind. The small front wheel allows the top tube to be lower, and reduces toe overlap. This means the bars can be closer to you, whereas a mixte tends to put the handlebars farther away from the saddle. Having a top tube also means the frame is a little stiffer. Maybe. I am currently building an old small-wheel Terry up for a friend (she is 5'11.5" tall) right now, and I am impressed with the build quality so far. They are somewhat affordable, because it's a small market and they are not well-known. While there are none on Ebay right now, I found one for my friend within only a few weeks of looking, and she got to choose between three or four that were all up on Ebay at the same time. Centurion also made some of this style, as did Giant.