DJayhawk

I’m looking get my wife a Mixte for her very casual interest in bicycling. She likes those frames styles and the vintage factor. She wants it upgraded though with modern shifting either trigger or gripshift maybe a 1x9 or 2x something. There are few other modern upgrades she’d like too.

so I’ve found two pretty decent candidates and I was wondering about which one would be the easier or better bike. A early 70’s Peugeot list as a Mountain Bike for $50, or a I think 80’s Fuji Absolute for $150 which seems kind of high.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

bcpriess

Both are cheaper than almost all Wal Mart bikes, and better. At those prices just buy the one you think she'll like best.

TenGrainBread 

Pictures are required for evaluation.

Having said that, there were no mountain bikes in the early 70s. So the Peugeot is either an 80s mountain bike or a 70s city or road bike.

In the 80s the Absolute was near the bottom of the line. Still a decent bike, I believe chromoly and mostly alloy components, but you're right that $150 is a bit high.

wrk101

If the Peugeot is really a 1970s model, then the unique french sizing will make upgrading more challenging and more expensive.

Sadly, most mixtes were low end. I had a 1980s Centurion Lemans 12 that was pretty decent. Generally, any of the Japanese brands will be very easy to upgrade.

I'd do a little negotiating on the Fuji, then find a donor bike and go for it.

thook

my experience with a 70's pug mixte..

very cool franco vintage factor! BUT......years ago, i had one for my wife that was mostly original; atax stem and porteur bars, simplex shifters/derailleurs (bleh), stronglight crank with lyotard pedals, weinmann rims with normandy high flange hubs, and "peugeot" tagged weinmann centerpulls. to my recollection, it also had a mounting provision for a front hub generator and light on the fork. that was pretty cool! also, the rear brake mounted on the middle stay bridge vs the seat stays...which was pretty cool, too. you could run a rear rack without any interference. and, lastly there was plenty of easy 700c tire clearance. the cons i would say were the french sizing for the stem, the now uncommon seat post sizing (26.0 i think it was?), the gas pipe tubing, there wasn't an integrated dropout RD hanger (had to use a bolt on plate adapter), and the fender eyelets were unthreaded and rather large necessitating harder to find fender stay bolts. so, i sold that and got my wife a mid 80's bridgestone 300 mixte, instead. (frame only) pros...japan made with an overall cleaner and lighter finish than the pug (cromo vs hi-ten!), it has a very lively sporty feel to it with plenty of room even for a conti 700x42 speedride (39/40mm in reality), and uses common size everything from quill, to BB, and seat post. i set it up with a quill riser, a trekking/butterfly bar, tektro dual pivots for 700c conversion, sprung brooks saddle, and a gripshift alivio 3x7 drivetrain with a low of 20 gear inches. (ozark hills!) overall, a very pleasing build. had to use p-clips for a rack, but oh well

needless to say, for what you're after, i'd go with the fuji. perhaps whomever would be willing to haggle a little? although, if it's in really nice shape $150 isn't too bad. i've paid $125 for an '84 trek 614 mostly original in great shape without blinking




ps. gripshift are a bit less confusing than triggers for the less experienced
pps, a 614 is a rather nice bike, though