acidfast7

I was told that such frames wouldn't catch on because they're useless.

Thus, I took a photo where I "parked" in between 6 of them last evening 4 on one side, 2 on the other

Aubergine 

Travel in France and you'll see scads of mixtes everywhere.

ThermionicScott 

There's one whenever my wife rides somewhere.

steve-in-kville 

Step-throughs... not just for ladies anymore!

acidfast7

I was just talking with a Dutch guy (hi if you're reading this) and about 30% of men are buying step-throughs as well

They make a huge amount of sense for people commuting in sensible clothing.

BobbyG

The older I get, the more mixtes look good to me.

Stadjer

For men wearing trousers it doesn't matter much. But men over 70 sometimes have trouble swinging their leg over, and men in their thirties often have trouble swinging their leg over because there is one or two kids on the rear rack.

Modern step throughs with wide aluminum tubing but not build to be light weight are quite rigid, but it's still an inferior ride to the same bike with a top tube. It's mainly a problem for strong men on tall frames riding at a higher speed than average city speed though, and carrying heavy loads make them more wobbly to. Another trend is that the double top tube frames and cross frames are making a comeback, so frame rigidity is still an issue.

PaulH

Same idea as buying a car with doors.

fietsbob

the classic Oma is best with a Babyseat on the back.


My Step thru bikes are a Brompton and Bike Fridays..

52telecaster

i love old lugged mixtes. want to buy em everytime i see one but they usually don't fit me.

elcraft

Step through frames also seem resistant to theft. Given equal quality components and saddle, the step through version seems less attractive to the other thieves than a similar diamond frame. Just sayin'

RubeRad

Just swing that leg harder and faster, that'll take care of those pesky kids.

Chuck Norris doesn't ride a step through.

skinny matt

A lot of modern mountain bike frames are pretty close to mixte territory. Looks cool to me.

hay

Stay out of Malibu Labowski , Keep your deadbeat ass out of my beach community.

acidfast7

hä?

I think I need to watch this movie again as it holds a specific place in Americana and when I talk with people from the states, especially people that like to quote movies, this film continues to come up. It has some serious "staying power."

RubeRad

It really ties the room together

I-Like-To-Bike

Spotted in my driveway:

vol

Step-throughs are convenient and (IMO) safer, but the cons: they are heavier, and there are less options to mount accessories. Can they make lightweight step-throughs?

CrankyOne

Is that for rigidity or fashion? I thought mostly the latter except for those carrying a lot of cargo (around the waste or otherwise).

My wife's omas and my oma weigh a bit less than my opa. What accessories can't be mounted on an omafiets or other step-thru? Both of our bikes have removable front frame mounted racks, light systems, frame mounted child (grandkid) seat behind the handlebars, and sturdy rear racks than can carry nearly equal amounts of stuff. I've even seen oma's with those irritating triangle bags in the 2-sided triangle of the frame.

tdonline

Recommendations for new mixte/step-through bikes that are lightweight and offer some performance? From what I have seen, the 3-8 speed hub bikes don't offer enough gearing for me. Due to space, I'm limited to 2ish bikes so a new mixte would have to be an all-round performer and replace my current frankenbike road bike commuter. Unfortunately, Rivendells are not within my budget.

Plenty of mixte/step-throughs on my local CL. They are usually between the $150-300 range. I'd love to go the upgrade and modernize a classic route but since I am not skilled (and do not have the tools)--it would all have to be done at the LBS. I'm afraid the labor cost could get out of hand. That's why I'm asking about a new bike. My budget for either a new bike or upgrading project would around what I would pay for a solid commuter--like a Trek 7.3? Maybe up to 1K?

cyccommute 

Acidfast isn't telling you the rest of the story. This discussion arose from someone wanting to pull a trailer with 2 kids while carrying regular clothes and exercise equipment and navigating a 20% grade on the way home. His suggestion was this bike. In those conditions, this bike would be throughly inadequate for the task at hand. I can't think of a step through bike that would be adequate for the kind of duty.

You are correct that frame rigidity is an issue with step throughs. It always has been. Most people like them for nostalgic reasons but they often abandon them when they have to live with them. They don't get ridden and get stored only to resurface for the next generation to discover their limitations. That's why you see so many antique "girls" bikes but very few "boys" bikes. One gets ridden into dust while the other just gets covered with it.

acidfast7

I like ya man but sometimes I think we live on different planets as I see more mixte/ST bikes than non-mixte/ST versions. We're not stupid over here, quite the contrary.

Also, no one uses a trailer as they don't make sense. A box-bike sure, a front or rear baby seat, sure, but a trailer no way in an urban area.

Stadjer

The Dutch tend to be quite practical about their bikes, but it's not like their purchases are entirely rational based on technical features. Fashion has a lot do with it, heavy duty looks are in fashion this decade and goes together well with a retro trend. The wider aluminium tubes look good with the balloon tyres, which are like very much because they handle brick pavement and lower pressure very well.

I don't think it's about waist size, probably more about height. Taller frames are more wobbly for the same tube size and of course a taller rider will generally flex the frame with more force. Especially were I live the people are quite tall, probably about 2 inches taller than the Dutch average, so maybe one would see less of those bikes in the south. But for me and friends of about the same height a step through is fine for a short leisurely ride to a bar or something, but for riding 20 km/h the frame flexes noticeably too much, draining energy, causing sweat. Carrying cargo is part of daily use, and if you carry 10 kg or more on the front rack, you feel how wobbly a step through is.

Beside enery loss through flexing, a rigid frame feels much better, and when look and feel match that way it's often a sale. One manufacturer has invented truss frames, no weight is saved, it's just to get them even more rigid.

Even that bike has an extra tube to make it more rigid, raising the step through height.

That's an interesting explanation. Here used 'oma's' are very popular with young men, allthough they tend to be more rigid than ladies bikes with two diagonal tubes, it's probably because they are a bit more upright than men's bikes of the same age. That allows for a comfortable posture on a bike that's too small and it's often a rather cool posture. Refusing to do any speed and not giving a damn about your bike is also very important at that age. When I was a student I rode a girls bike with 26 inch wheels for much too long, it refused to get stolen, it must have been at least20 cm too short on frame size. But I don't remember it as particularly wobbly, probably because of the relativy rigidity of smaller frames, and because it was too small for me to get any power on the pedals.

Kids should be in the front anyway, otherwise they can't shield you from the rain, hail and snow.

CrankyOne

I was told that information was not supposed to leave NL. :-)

RubeRad

The internet is a rough place to hang out for people that can't stand to be disagreed with...



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