dr1445

had my 86 raleigh marathon with 575 tubing out the other day. just above freezing but the roads were clear.

Shiseiji

Hello all. Am starting my pre-purchase education for a mixte to stop having to deal with the TT period as I age. When a bare frame is posted for sale, is there something reasonable to ask the seller to measure to get an idea of what rim the bike was originally built for or reasonable to try to fit? Center of the drop-out to the BB?

I hate to locate a nice XL frame, I'm 6'1", then find out 26" rims are the only thing that fits. I typically ride 175 crank arms, and want stays as long as I can find to minimize heel clip.

LOL, my GF claims to be 5', but I happen to know that 4'11" is a better reference as I also look for an XS . . . also need to educate myself on what's possible

If I missed some well known source, please forgive my poor research and point me in the right direction.

And if I put this in the absolutely wrong thread, let me know and I'll yank it ASAP.

TIA

Ron

Classtime 

Your best bet to see what the frame was built for is google the brand and model and find the specs. I think 26in. would be rare. Likely 27.

Shiseiji

Thanks! XL frame, Japanese, popped up on eBay. Seller says it had been set up as a 26", got me wondering how to figure out what it had started as.

LouB 

Folks, I need a nice vintage mixte for my wife. Challenge is, she is 4'11. Currently rides a Trek 7.4 w a 13" frame.
Any recomendations? Looking for light weight tubing and something stylish (she's a stylish lady!) Thanks

capnjonny 

Here are a few I have worked on lately.the first is on the left
(from my add copy)
1983 blue and silver Univega "ArrowPace" 51 cm Mixte framed bicycle
Serial no. S60 523083

This beautiful blue and silver Mixte is slightly taller than average at 51cm and should fit a woman between about 5'2" and 5'8" depending on body type .

It has been completely disassembled, cleaned, and the paint touched up where needed.

The wheel, bottom bracket, and headset bearings have been cleaned, inspected, replaced as necessary , re greased, assembled, and adjusted. The Rigida Aluminum wheels have been trued, polished, and new 1 1/8 x 27" gum walls fitted.

The drive train includes a 14-30 six speed Suntour freewheel, Shimano Deore xt rear and Suntour Vx front derailleur Sugino VP crank and Suntour stem mounted Power Shifters, all cleaned lubed, and adjusted, with new cables and covers and a new chain.

The brakes and levers are Diacompe with new break pads, cables and covers.

The seat is a NOS Avocet touring saddle. and the bike is fitted with a nice Pletcher rack.

The next 3 pictures are of a beautiful signal yellow Peugeot which was a donation to the Bike Exchange. It was in beautiful shape and the paint was almost perfect. The bike was gone through with new tires, cables and new(old) aluminum rims.

I stripped off all the hardware and touched up the paint, then rubbed the frame with 0000 steel wool and clear coated it using Rustoleum clear lacquer. That made the paint really shine.

The third bike is a Nishiki Custom Sport. This bike was completely disassembled, the frame sand blasted, and repainted with Rustoleum Mint Green. she got new riser bars and all running gear upgraded and set up as a 6 speed w/o front derailleur.

The last bike is a1974 Iron Man Sport DLX If is a real beauty that is currently hanging in my garage. I am waiting till spring to put "Duchess" on the market.

Here are the details :

1984 Ironman Sport DLX Mixte framed Bicycle "Duchess " .

49 cm seat post height is suitable for women approximately 5'1" to about 5'7" depending on body type.

This bike was stripped to the bare frame ( cromo main tubes), sand blasted, and repainted a beautiful Burgundy enamel.

Wheel, head set, and bottom bracket bearings were removed, inspected, replaced as necessary, re greased, and re assembled.

Wheels were trued, polished, and fitted with new gum wall tires.

New friction thumb shifters operate original high quality Suntour Derailleurs and 6 speed Suntour freewheel. All have been cleaned, adjusted , and are working perfectly.

Diacompe brakes and levers have all new cables and covers as have new Sunrace friction thumb shifters.

thumpism 

Motobecane made mixtes with Vitus tubing and Schwinn made some with CroMo main tubes and the Paramount (actually a stepthrough and not a true mixte) in full 531. Dawes also probably made a Reynolds bike. Most of these would be from the '80s or earlier, and any mixte you're likely to find easily will probably be hi-tensile tubing unless you get lucky and trip over one of the nice ones. The hi-ten bikes are certainly serviceable, and Peugeots, Raleighs and several Japanese bikes are what you're most likely to find. Good luck!

*edited a few minutes later*

Well, I stand corrected on that "easily" part, and this is cheap! Style on, man!

https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/d...970821201.html

Motobecane Grand Touring Mixte - $255 (Woodbridge)



condition: excellent
make / manufacturer: Motobecane
model name / number: Grand Touring Mixte

For sale is a 1982 Motobecane Grand Touring split tube Mixte in great condition. I realize this will only interest a select group who appreciate vintage bikes and how hard it is to find nice, well built quality bicycles. This is a great example of a Motobecane and would make a great campus or commuter bike that someone would be proud of riding and owning.
The bike measures 19 1/2" from crank to top of seat post and is best for someone 5'4" to 5'8" tall.
-Vitus 888 lugged steel frame
-Front and rear fenders
-High flanged hubs
- Huret front and rear Derailuer
-Stronglite triple front chainring
-6 speed rear (18 speed)
-Downtube friction shifters,
-Weimann center pull brakes
-Alloy 27" rims with new 27 x 1 1/4" tires with quick release front and rear
-New Stella Royal Viper seat
Nice riding bike and all componets are in good working condition.
( pump pictured not included)

If interested please email.
Located in Woodbridge 2 minutes off 95 at Lake Ridge exit. Cash only and my price is FIRM so please don't make offers. Ad will be removed when sold so if posted it is available.

Work in NW DC downtown and can meet M-F between 9am and 2pm if interested.

Thanks for looking and if you have questions let me know

badmother

Nice bikes but this is NOT the place to sell them!

thumpism 

Thanks, mom, but IT'S NOT MY BICYCLE!

LouB is looking for one for his wife and I found one that meets his specifications and notified him. If you don't want to be helpful or tolerant, bug off.

romperrr 

^^now now you two, let's all try to get along. Good find @thumpism. I especially like the creative pump attachment.

thumpism 

I'm doing the same thing, expecting to eventually have trouble swinging a leg over my diamond frames. I already have a ladies' 23" Raleigh 3-speed waiting in the wings. I'm on the lookout for a 22-23" mixte. Schwinn made the Le Tour in 22" in the '80s and both Peugeot and Gitane made 23" in the '70s and '80s. All these were for 27" wheels. I would not expect to find a true mixte that was built for 26" wheels so if you find one that is the right frame size, it will probably be for that wheel size. In addition, these were general purpose bikes so would have longer, rather than shorter, chainstays.

Lascauxcaveman 

Probably been mentioned upthread somewhere, but Soma fabrications currently sells a true mixte frame up to 62cm; pretty big!

thumpism 

The Soma has been mentioned before, thanks for the reminder. I got the impression that the guy was looking for used (and therefore cheap) mixtes so did not mention anything like that. I have not priced Soma's offerings, but it's almost certain that no oldies exist in that size unless custom.

badmother

American??

most charming..

Thread name is "Show us your mixte (mhendricks' new happy place), not Craiglist. A PM is sometimes an option.

thumpism 

The bike is French, not American, and yes, it is charming. Mine is in post #1170 on page 47, but I am now trying to help LouB find one. I will resort to PM in the future so as not to ruffle anyone's feathers, but here's another look at this treasure for those who might have missed it.

badmother

Most French bikes tend to be French indeed- at least my French bikes are, and yes the bikes too are charming

Shiseiji

I can get a Soma through the coop where i volunteer, but as you noted, am looking at vintage first. Thanks for the info on the 27" wheel size and stays.

LouB 

Thanks Thump, but still too tall for my gal. She is currently riding a 13" frameTrek (from crank to top of seat post.) She's 4'11, a vintage mixte my not be available. But anytime your wife sats, hey I want a cool old bike like the ones you have--well--ya just gotta try!

motogeek 

LouB- my wife is also 4'11' and rides a 19-1/2" Motobecane Grand Jubilee mixte. The best one is a 1975, has Reynolds 531 frame tubes, and has the somewhat rare and exotic Huret Jubilee long cage derailler, and Nervex lugs. They tend to be hard to find and I think they came in 19-1/2" and 20-1/2" versions. I had a 20-1/2" and it was a tad too big for her, sold it last year and go the 19-1/2 which is a bit better. They are beautiful bikes. And French! The pic of hers is with the seat tube higher than she rides. Also the bent fork has ben straightened by our Gugie.

primo123

What bars are these?

LouB 

Thanks much. There is hope for the vertically challenged! I'll be on the lookout. Anything that keeps that girl riding (and not thinking I'm insane) is a good thing. Lou

thumpism 

If you are using the separate seat pin with clamp, as pictured here, you can drop the seat an additional inch by inverting the clamp so the seat rails are below the bolt instead of above it. In some cases every little bit helps.

dr1445

my 1984 fuji espree with valite tubing. not crmo but real good tubing. it has a 128mm OLD, i built up a set of sun cr-18 rims on tiagra hubs and went 8 speed in the rear, triple up front. in the mid 26 lbs range.

holden west

I spotted a matching pair of 1980s department store mixtes being auctioned later today. They still have the hang tags and show no signs of being ridden. I don't know the story behind this remarkable find.

merziac

I've said it before, but it's worth repeating, "mixte" literally translates to universal and was originally used by companies that did not make anything else, no men's or women's, just universal.