terraskye

From your lips to the Bike Gods ears Thanks....It may take me a year or two but I'm going to learn patience....luckily I still have lots of things do do with the DL-1 to keep me occupied.

Grand Bois

My wife's Fuji:




With new Panaracer Paselas and a Zefal bag:

terraskye

Oh Dear!!

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/bik/1883304998.html


Why can`t I be in SF right now...Anyone on here in SF want to help me get this bike if its still available at the end of the month? lol I should have never opened the link in my email

RobbieTunes

Dead right.

noglider 

I'll be in SF for about one day on Sept 20. If the seller is willing to bring it to the airport, I can put it on a plane for you. Does that help? You could send him the money today, maybe by paypal.

Mind you, Cupertino is about 50 miles south of SF, and I don't think I'll be renting a car.

terraskye

thanks for the offer Tom!! I promised my husband though I wouldn't buy anymore bikes until I start working again on the 16th.....I may email the seller to keep me updated if its still available around that time slim chance though I'm thinking lol

noglider 

Maybe if you write to him and somehow give him the idea that you really want to buy it and are not a flake, he'll hold it. Maybe send him a deposit?

And you should put "mixte site:craigslist.org/bik" in a google alert. It will scour craigslist for you once a day and email you the results.

terraskye

I will email him today...and LOL that is how I found the mixte...through google alerts best open secret ever!!

terraskye

Kinda related: Best way to ship a bike up from California to Canada?

Also: Tom I may be PM'ing you "just in case" unless anyone else here lives in the SF/Cupertino area

noglider 

Mind you, I'm on the east coast, far from California. We'll be visiting my daughter in SF that week, immediately after dropping off my other daughter in Olympia, WA. They'll both be going to school on the west coast!

terraskye

I'll remember...hopefully I can con errr bribe hmmm....find someone to help if the bike is still available and you are busy with daughter school&visit stuff

Now I'm hoping the seller will able to tell me exactly which Motobecane Mixte it is as i cant see any identifiers from the pictures

ColonelJLloyd 

I'm not familiar with the CA mixte market, but $200 is too much for that particular bike, IMHO. It has good looking paint, but other than that I see nothing particularly special about it.

noglider 

Oh, I could tell you that. I'll lay 90% odds that it's a Mirage, with 10% odds it's a Super Mirage. I believe the difference is the rims. The one in the picture has all European components except for Suntour derailleurs and shifters. The Super Mirage had aluminum rims. Of course, there's a chance it started out as a Mirage and has been upgraded with aluminum rims. I hope so.

The frame is garden variety 1020 carbon steel. Handling is fairly nice. I had a Mirage, many years ago. It handled BETTER when I put weight on the front. As you may know, it's a French tradition to put your cargo there, so they designed the bikes for it. The steering is such that you turn the handlebars more and lean less than with other bikes. But it's subtle, and not everyone even notices this difference.

ColonelJLloyd, I get $225 for any garden variety mixte here, with any kind of low-end equipment. Mixtes are hot!

terraskye

I'd probably say not special to a keen eye or someone more familiar with vintage bikes or Mixtes than I am however I've wanted a Motobecane for a year now after first hearing about Mixte Bikes and while the Raleigh SC mixte that is for sale closer to may even be a better bike it didn't have the same appeal to me that this one does.

terraskye

I thought it may have been a Mirage but wasn't comfortable making a guess. and thanks about the mention about front cargo..maybe a Bates Crate would be in order too

ColonelJLloyd 

True that. But for $225 are you selling a bike that has been serviced? That bike is $200 and I'm sure needs all the bearings overhauled. Plus it's not going to get packed and shipped anywhere for under $50. I'm just certain there are better deals out there when you consider the cottered crank and steel rims on the Moto. I just bought my wife a mid 80s Bridgestone 300 mixte for $100 shipped. On the other hand, I'm more than making up for that good fortune by throwing money at her Peugeot mixte build! It's all relative, I suppose.

My wife's aforementioned Peugeot mixte has the same Weinmann brakes as the Moto. I'm going to mount this as she won't be hauling too much around. That's my job!

terraskye

That is a nice front rack!! We're carfree so any extra storage spots on the bike will go far. I have a super bike mechanic too so I'm sure if the bearings need overhauled he will be up to the task :::nudges Sixty-Fiver::: I just have a feeling that finding "my" dream bike will be harder to locate up here in Canada

noglider 

Colonel, you're right. I sell only bikes that have been completely serviced and brought into perfect running order. (I'm not so great on fixing up the æsthetics.) So yes, it's high, but then again, a good old mixte is hard to find. I actually wouldn't jump on that deal, but I don't know how hard it is to find in Edmonton.

I lie in waiting, like a predator, waiting for prey to walk by.

terraskye

Tom, The seller just emailed me back and mentioned he couldn't find any identifies on the bike to see if it was a Mirage or not.

Is there any other way he could confirm?

TiA

noglider 

It's definitely either a Mirage or a Super Mirage. As I said, 90% chance it's a Mirage. If it has aluminum rims, then good. Ask him to put a magnet to the rims. I can see the rest from here and can confirm that it's a Mirage frame.

wrk101

Cottered steel cranks, stem shifters, turkey levers, claw derailleur hanger = steel rims (unless a prior owner replaced them).

Dirty bike, I would assume it has mechanical issues. Probably nothing serious, but will need a full service: bearings, grease, cables, housings, etc.

Tires recently replaced, and they don't even match??

Price is OK for San Fran, any regular market, no way.

Appeal of a french bike from that era? It will have the typical French bike issues: French bottom bracket, French headset, oddball french thread pedals. While I have owned several french bikes from that era, I really prefer the mid 80s or newer when they migrated to standard sizing.

michael k

My Mirage ('75 0r '76)has no Model markings what so ever but, it does have english threading on the BB which made it simpler to upgrade the cranks.

terraskye

LOL I just noticed the non matching tires...oh my....Should I just put a general C&V shout out for a Blue Motobecane Mixte and hope someone comes through?? PLEASSEEEEEE

terraskye

Magnet stuck to the rims

ColonelJLloyd 

Before I put my wife on that bike, I'd upgrade everything but the brakes, levers and stem. You have other bikes. It's my advice to bide your time. Motobecane produced plenty of mixtes.