sd5782 

My sister has a later model Schwinn comfort bike with wide tires and suspension fork. She wanted something a bit faster for more efficient exercise. She lives right next to a nice paved bike rail trail. Kinda a small market to choose from for her, but I found an Austrian Daimler SL mixte. I know there are several levels of this bike. Lower level here, but aluminum wheels and stem and 25.4 mm seatpost.



No tubing stickers


Lower one, but decent equipment with a V-GT rear. 42-52 front and what looks like a 14-28 Regina 5 speed rear. I hope one of my freewheel removal tools works for it. Stamped dropouts point to lower end. It rode fairly solidly, and felt way better than a sprung front end comfort bike.







I’m thinking bearings, cables, a mirrycle mirror and maybe some of those half style toe clips. Perhaps a 48t chainring in place of the 52 and see how she likes it. A bit of cleaning and touch up paint and it should look good for the $100 price. As I said, a less than racy bike for a woman is not an easy order to fill.

juvela

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a nice find, should make your sister a fine bicycle

odd that Puch chose to fit it with a Juy cable guide when the gear ensemble is all MAEDA

it may take her a time or two to get used to the "backwards" action of the top normal Compe-V front mech but they operate just great

spanner twistin' tip: MAEDA mounting and adjustment instructions for the VGT-Luxe rear mech recommend to adjust the angle of the pantograph so that it is parallel to the chainstay for optimal operation

pedal tip: the machine's pedals appear to be Mikashima QU-2K. these do not have a kick-up tab for flipping them up to get the foot into a toe clip. you mention adding half toe clips (also termed "ville" or demi). Mikashima and others offer separate kick-up tabs which can be mounted to the pedals to make it easier for the rider to get into the toeclips.


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52telecaster

I had a puch mixer about the same level. Terrific bike.

squirtdad

solid mix of components that may not be flashy but just plain work, well and dependably I would guess early 70's based on components. should make a great ride for sis

Velo Mule

That bike looks great for what you or your sister want/need. I don't think that bike is that low end It has a nice chrome plated fork crown, which would not be done on a budget bike and it is an older frame, so they tended to be made this way back in the early 80's. Compared to the forged dropouts that were used more on 90's and up frames.

European build with a mix of European and Japanese components and parts. The lug lining, pinstriping and color on this frame is elegant.

If it were for my wife, I would go with upright handlebars that require slight weight on the hands, rather than full horseback riding upright. And I'd skip the half toe clips. Oh, and I might want to go with stem shifters. But these are personal things for you to work out with your sister.

A new chain, cables, perhaps housings and regrease the bearings and it should be a great riding bike. And then progress pictures. Some of us love mixte's and this is a particularly nice one.

sd5782 

Yes to all the responses. The paint looked especially lustrous and the components are solid and dependable. I recently for one of her adult daughters put upright bars on a Miyata 210 mixte that she owned. I think this may be a notch up on that one. As it sits, it will be a blank canvas for my sister. The steering head sits higher than the Miyata so the bars are already fairly high for a medium sized gal. Perhaps she will like the drops as they aren’t really too low.

As I said, I was in a bit of a quandary on what to look at. She did say that her newer Schwinn didn’t index well so she can do friction. 40 years ago she rode a Continental. Suntour ratchet stem shifters might be nice too. As Juvela said the FD is odd being backward. The pedals seemed very nice also, and for going faster, those half clips looked interesting as well as being a little safer. I was thinking it was perhaps around 1980 with the foam grips. Of course, more pics and progress reports to come. It should clean up nicely and be fun.

juvela

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in case you are curious as to a specific date many of the cycle's fittings will carry date codes/marks

MAEDA gear mechs, Sakae Ringyo crank arms, stem (portion down inside steerer), hubs, rims saddle pllar are all candidates for markings

there is a decoder ring here if you would like to explore...

Date of Manufacture of Bicycle Components can be used to date a bike: component dating

my recollection is that distribution of the A-D marque in the U.S. began ~1978 but others are sure to know more accurately


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John E

Nothing wrong with Austrian bikes (says the man with three Capos ). I agree with the others that it is a great find for the intended application.

When I wanted to buy a bike for my wife, my boss at the Peugeot/Nishiki dealership was afraid she would want a white 22" UO-18, but, to his relief, she wanted a 21" UO-8. I did put UO-18 straight-across bars and stem shifters on it, as well as a 16-32 freewheel (with 52-42 TA Professional crankset).

sd5782 

And being vintage, I have almost anything to upgrade or change it besides the bars. I’m thinking perhaps a 14-32 freewheel and maybe something along the lines of a 39-48 front combo. I will have to check the gear calc though. Is the stock 14-28 Regina French? Hope not.

juvela

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if rear wheel original to cycle it will be BSC/ISO


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thumpism 

Interesting. I built and sold several men's SLs back in the day and they were all 531 butted main tube bikes, but there's no indication that your mixte has a Reynolds sticker. Perhaps the mixtes were constructed differently.

sd5782 

I’ve not worked on more than a few dozen bikes, but I’m sure I could count on 1 hand the number that have been previously maintained. Around these parts, a great many get used for the first few years and sit for a decade or 3. Same thing for boats, motorcycles, and snowmobiles. Bargains may come up, but one needs to be ready for neglected maintenance. This bike is the same. Mostly apart except for wheel bearings. I don’t have the two prong puller to fit the Regina freewheel. Perhaps time to buy one, although the co-op will have one.

Of note is the seemingly bent FD:



Funny angle on this derailleur

For some reason this had a shim under for mounting to the seat tube also. Others I have fit properly. The cable anchor bolt also snapped off. Looks like a co-op FD replacement time. The RD Suntour hanger was bent also which isn’t a great problem. The long cage V-GT luxe is an odd choice given the 14-28 freewheel. I have several of the mid cage VXs on hand and may try one of those unless a 14-32 freewheel is going to be put on.

Headset and BB races and bearings are fine, although the BB lock ring was very difficult to get off. The 124ish spindle has 38 mm drive side which I think is more than needed for the double crank and I may look for something with only 35 mm. That would get the driveline about perfect. I’ve encountered others with the crank side having more spacing than needed.

Weinmann Normandy hubs were stamped 77, and I saw a 76 on the drive side crank arm, so looks like a 77 bike. I kinda doubt anything except the seat and tires were changed on this one. I will have to see where I go on the gearing. Probably replace the 42 small ring with a 39. A 48 big ring makes more sense, but the 52 has the chain protector. Will have to have sis take a spin and evaluate. No fancy tubing on this one and 28.5# on the bathroom scale, but a fun project anyhow.

52telecaster

Under 30# for a gas pipe mixte ain't bad at all.

sd5782 

That’s kinda what I thought. It also includes the kickstand that put some fairly substantial dents in the chainstays. Oh well.

juvela

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front derailleur mount shim -

if it is clear plastic affixed with adhesive it is from the MAEDA factory

this was their method for compensating for metric 28.0mm seat tubes

unnecessary here since cycle constructed to BSC dimension

oversight on the part of Puch not to remove it

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deformation -

happily the pantograph is of all steel construction so "cold set as needed"


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Cycle Tourist

I wouldn't change the 52 to a 48. The 14t isn't going to give her much speed. Too bad about the binder on fd although getting used to the backward action can be an adjustment. Maybe drill it out and and use a nut and bolt. If you have a short cage rd then save that long cage for a triple crank build and the shorty will probably shift better anyway. Stem shifters are fine but how about some bartends? (personal preference). Mixte bikes are underrated and the paint on this one looks nice also the dark color is easy to match.

sd5782 

Well, chainring swapping may not happen as it appears that this may be the SR 118 bcd crank. It definitely isn’t 110. Gear calc shows a better spread with that 14-28 five speed cluster using a 40t rather than the 42. Looks like not so many options now. As to the FD, not only did the bolt break, but the cage appears bent and it had a metal shim. to fit the seat tube. Too many problems so an easy co-op replacement will be used. Perhaps a chainring too, but kinda unlikely. So far nothing pricey.

juvela

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the proliferation of BCD's with Sakae Ringyo chainsets can be both a blessing and a curse...

hope you are able to get everything sorted with a visit to the co-op


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sd5782 

Ready to give to my sister now. I am waiting for the delivery of some half clips for her to try. The drivetrain as usual presented the most challenges. The bent FD was replaced wit a SuntourAR. The V luxe rear was fine, but a VXs is more appropriate.. The Regina freewheel was replaced. First try was a Shimano 14-28 Uniglide, but it played poorly with the stock chain with the protruding rivets. A Suntour 14-28 worked better.

Stock chain line was skewed outboard a fair bit, so a different spindle got it in line. The 42T front sprocket made poor gear progressions. The 118 bcd rings are hard to come by, but luckily I had a 40t on an 82 Trek 412 that is waiting for a build. Nice gearing now, although perhaps a bit tall. The chain is old and wide, but hasn’t seen much use, so will be used for now.






One brake lever was very bent, so a pair from the co-op was added and new cables too. The brakes work nicely and surprisingly I skidded the rear wheel just with the safety levers. I tightened spokes and trued up the wheels. A quick and amateur paint touch up made it more presentable. Of course she wanted a mirror and I had one from a bike swap. Bottle cage added, and good to go, with less than $20 in parts since I had most of the stuff.





Now, I will see how she likes it after riding it for a bit. Perhaps she may want upright bars and stem shifting? The seat will be lowered a bit to suit her. This A-D has a somewhat taller steering head vs a Miyata 210 mixte that I worked on for her daughter. That one was converted to an upright style. My sister has an upright cruiser, and wanted something more fitting of exercise, so we will see if it fits the bill. The ride on this was soft and quite nice on the cheap Kendas that came on it. Surprisingly, the geometry made the ride fairly lively too even with the gas pipe tubing. It was a fun project.

P.S. forgive the self portrait in the mirror; amateur mistake.

52telecaster

Nice ride!

Velo Mule

That looks great @sd5782 . It is an elegant bike. I hope your sister loves it.

Keep us update if you end up changing things.

I kind of like the self portrait, now that you mention it. Who was it that said "A man of genius makes no mistakes; his errors are volitional and are the portals of discovery.".

bwilli88 

Looks great, it will make for a smooth ride.

jdawginsc 

For longer leisurely rides, the bars and turkey levers will likely suit her.

Though the straighter upright bars might be more comfortable. You can even use some ratcheting thumb shifters!

sd5782 

Sister has a very nice rail trail 100 yards from her house. One leg goes mostly through NW Ohio farmland for 10 miles. A very nice little 20 mile exercise out and back. The A-D was interesting in that with the taller headtube, the drops might still be viable. She is quite fit and her comfort bike is just that. I’ve never tried half toe clips, so I am curious too. I will be delivering bike Wednesday and doing the first test ride and fitting with her. I will instruct her to note any desired changes for the future.

sd5782 

Now it is ready to deliver since I installed the half clips. Kinda blew the budget with extra $9.





This is my first experience with these items. I took a 5 minute ride, and I have to say I am impressed. I always keep my straps loose for easy foot removal on my other bikes with clips, but may have to rethink things and order a few pairs of these. I also ground down the quill nubbins so as to make the top of the pedals flat and street shoe friendly. Pardon the rust on the pedal dust cap.