Swoopy indeed!

I had an appointment this morning and since I biked there I didn’t hear the mazillion calls from The Baker. Fortunately I checked my phone before heading in to see the doc. He’d found this bike was on CL and he was on his way to pick it up. (Damn I love CL!) He told me it was exactly the bike I’d been wanting for eons – orange and swoopy. Not only did he get there before anyone else but the price was quite good for Denver, a high-bike-price town.

I really like that chain guard

Peugeot branded bell

By the time he got back to town (it was in a far away ‘burb) I was at work so he brought it by my office. These are the only pics I have as the bike’s on the repair stand at the moment.

Fancy lugwork

Because he rocks, he cleaned and repacked everything that needed cleaning and repacking. He straightened the fenders and fixed the rear light. It needs new tires, new grips, new saddle, cables, rack replaced, front generator light replaced and the wheels could use truing. I think I might replace the handlebars as well. They’re original, but I love the look and feel of a flatter, rounded bar. We’ll see once I get on her for a ride.

Nice tail light on the chrome fender

Thanks for submitting your bike, Maria, it looks wonderful!
-Doohickie

Maria sent me some more up-to-date pictures of the swoopy bike, so I am swooping them into Doohickie’s post!  Jonny G

Canvas panniers are just so right for this bike. All that is missing is a baguette sticking up out of the bag!

Love the black lugs!

The orange non-swoopy Peugeot mixte I built for my friend Carol has this same bell.

A lovely bike on a lovely ride!

That is a very nice bike, Maria!  I’ll be watching for you, around Denver.

Jon

x

This is a 1983 Bianchi (Japanese) Mixte that I recently restored and upgraded.  Some parts are vintage N.O.S. and some are new upgrades.

Thing is .. this was a graduation present for my daughter. I shipped the bike out to Cleveland where she lives, to a bike shop where a friend worked, and he put it back together.  So a month later the bike was STOLEN out of my daughters’ back yard where it had been cable locked to an iron fence and hidden under a bike cover.

The cable was cut w/bolt cutters.  Ces’t la vie .. Please keep your eyes open for it.

With the fenders, paint and decal job I did,  the bike is distinctive and I can identify it.  Thank you.

I learned the hard way, a few years ago, about relying on cable locks.  I feel for Mark’s, and his daughter’s loss.  If you have info on this bike, please let us know, through the comments.

The old Hispanic man even gave me the original manual. He knew it was a “unisex frame, and really enjoyed it”. He said he “rode it a few times for a few years around the neighborhood”. As he grew older, he said rode less, and “wanted to find  someone who would appreciate this bike”. He bought this new back in 82.

Almost everything on this bike is original. All Dia-compe, Sugino, and Suntour parts. Although the wheels and tires need to be replaced, I don’t doubt that they are original as well.

I always like the Tourist bars on a mixte...

He gave me both drop handlebars, and the swept back bars. Also incIuded were the Kyokuto toe clips.

I'm thinking that Rob's girl will enjoy this bike, a lot!

I put my other Raleigh project on hold, to rebuild this black beauty for my girlfriend. She is very excited, and I as well am eager to finish off the rebuild and get us road ready. =)

EDIT:  Rob sent some newer pictures and description of the final build:

Awesome! I have updated pics of the build. This is Yasmine’s single speed cruiser. She decided to keep the black and yellow paint scheme, and I build upon that. I installed a Shimano UN-54 bottom bracket, and an Origin 8 crank, with some eleven 81 track pedals. The wheels are Aero Max, which I copped off of Amazon for a good price, and some Yellow Cheng Shin’s (700X23). Also, I had to tack on some Tektro long reach brakes, as we decided to put 700′s on her. the handlebars are pipecut mountain risers hugged by some soft Oury grips, and the saddle is a Womens Specialized Riva. Now if I could only be so lucky to find another for myself!

Looks great.  I don’t doubt that Rob would like one for himself!

Hi everybody!  Jon Grinder, here.  I am honored that Doohickie asked me to help out with the Gallery.  I am a huge fan of the mixtes, and this blog provides a wonderful opportunity to see some fine examples of them.  Bear with me, as I learn the ins and outs of this particular blog template.   It might take me a try, or two, to make it look right!

Partly out of guilt, I made The Mixte Gallery a private blog for a while, because I wanted some time to determine what I would do next with the blog.

Even that didn’t work. People who know me through other venues started asking questions on my other blog and through email. There is apparently at least a bit of a following for this blog, so I have no choice but to resurrect it. Again.

And in an effort to ensure my laziness doesn’t kill the blog, again, I’ve accepted the generous offer of Jon Grinder to help with the posting duties.

Stay tuned; new posts should be appearing shortly.

Love the reflectors!

Hello!

I’ve been admiring all the wonderful mixte bicycles on your gallery, and thought that I would share mine. I don’t know much about it except that it’s a Kettler Alu-Rad. The headset badge says that it was made in W. Germany.

Headbadge

It has all Shimano components, except for the brake levers which are Weinnmann. The integrated lighting doesn’t work, but I plan to tinker with it and see if I can correct that. I picked it up through Craigslist for $30 and only needed to replace the brake pads and tires/tubes. I added a Brooks B72 that I already had from another bike, mirror, headlight and a Pletscher rack.

Rear view

I’m really enjoying riding it! It’s great for getting around in the hills of southern Appalachia.

~Amy

Flair

This is quite a unique bike in several ways. I’ve never seen a Kettler before, and I believe the Alu means it’s made out of aluminum which is pretty rare for a vintage mixte. The aluminum probably makes it very light. Enjoy your ride; it’s definitely special.
-Doohickie

In the garden

The mixte came with 10 gears and a great potential for beautification!

Little by little during the month I have worked on cleaning the bike, waxing the frame, and getting some parts worked: greasing chain, crank, adjusting brakes and getting new pads. My wonderful hubby really helped me with this part of the process!

BROOKS

I also started to get and install some “beauty accessories”, picking out what to get was lots of fun. The final item on the list was a Brooks B17s saddle, shellacked cork handle grips, a crane bell, and a Pletscher vintage rack. I installed the rack at the Bici Centro with the help of their nice and helpful volunteer crew.

Beautiful details

For now I think I’m almost done, front light and fenders will come shortly and I will probably add some panniers too.

After posting this, Carmen did indeed send me a picture of her updated Univega
-Doohickie

Hi Paul,

I love you blog. Thanks for posting about my bike. Her name is La Relampago (the lightening bolt in Spanish). I added VO hammered fenders, light, new wheels, turned her into a 12 speed, replace the rack by a planet bike one, got new brakes and nice basil panniers. She is lighter, faster and great looking!

Much better!

Cheers,
Doohickie

All photos © 2010 Rebecca Olds-Bartlett. Used with kind permission

A well composed shot. I bet Lorelei stands out like this in real life.

After so many months of drooling over all the lovely mixtes in the Gallery, I finally have one of my own to submit! It’s not cosmetically perfect but may be of interest as something different amongst all the Raleighs and Frenchies…

A closer look

I’ve got quite a mixed bag of photos up on Flickr.

I don’t know the exact vintage but think it’s almost certainly late 1970s. The frame no. is 6312620. I’ve only ever seen this particular Puch head badge (with the laurel wreath) on the Prince and Princess models – no idea of its significance – an anniversary year, maybe? I’d love to know more, if any of your readers are in a position to help.

Unique headbadge

This bike came to me in late May 2010, purchased for just £27 on UK eBay. All the components seem to be original: 5-speed Simplex gears (including intact plastic-capped stem-mounted shifter), Weinmann side-pull caliper brakes, factory issue saddle and pedals, Bluemels Sprint Veloce mudguards/fenders (albeit broken) and incredibly ancient Michelin tyres (still lots of tread but sidewalls quite cracked). As for the frame, there are some scratches and scrapes – with attendant surface rust – but no dents. Some very light pitting to the wheel rims, chain guard and other chromed bits. The chainset all looks original with very little wear.

Ready for commuting

So the only work the bike shop did to get her back on the road was a good clean & lube (basically a standard service) including:
* replacement of brake and gear cables
* new Continental Gatorskin tyres (with gum-flecked sidewalls as a nod to the bike’s vintage) & tubes & rim tape
* new SKS chromoplastic mudguards in black
plus the following ‘upgrades’ at my request:
* Blackburn rack
* Brooks B17 Flyer saddle in Honey
* Pashley Guv’nor handlebars – I intend to remount them soon “upside-down” as on the Guv’nor
* Brooks leather bar wrap in Honey
* Shimano brake levers (to accommodate my short fingers).

Brooks saddle and matching grips are a nice touch

This bike rides like a dream! Very smooth, quick and almost eerily silent on the streets. Handling is very responsive without being unduly twitchy – giving an experience that’s quick and exciting yet still manageable for a road bike novice like me. The bike is incredibly lightweight, lighter even than my Brompton. All the weight is in the rear hub, which does make me very tempted to convert to singlespeed…!

She's beautiful just as she is

Very statuesque

All the best

Rebecca

Hi Doohickie!

Bet you haven’t seen a Sekai Mixte before. Just picked this up at the local thrift shop for $14.99 and I’m pretty tickled with it. Rock solid, just seriously neglected. It’s in the early stages of overhaul – just couldn’t wait to dig into it.

A work in process

Dig those cranks!

I love the alloy handlebars, just hope they’re original. It had a junk kid seat on it – the frame is all that’s left. Will update you when it gets more presentable.

Aloha,
Jim

ps – from yellowjersey.org:

We proudly sold Sekai bicycles from 1973 until their death around 1986.
Mr Katsu Yamashita worked tirelessly from his family’s firm, Shinwa Trading Company, to ensure the very best quality and arrange all the myriad details of these wonderful bicycles. Frames were built by Yamaguchi Frame in Osaka. Professional Sekai frames, models 4000 and 5000, both road and track, were built by Miki. Assembly was done at Sakai Export, Osaka.

Original drivetrain

My original assessment was correct – it needed no more than a good cleaning and overhaul of the bearings (wheels, bottom bracket and headset).

Headbadge

All fairly solid stuff. I did soak the chain and put new tires and hand grips on it. Other than that it’s pretty much as it left the factory.

Aloha,
Jim

A good looking bike, coming...

...and going!

In alphabetical order, I have a Concord, a Myata, a Raleigh, a Schwinn, a Sekai, and a Univega mixte.

A mixte fanatic!

I must confess, they’re all fairly short on the seat tube (mostly around 49cm), but they work for me and I’m around 5′ 9″ these days. Because they’re so stable, you can really extend the seat tube. One of my best rides is the silver ’79 Schwinn Le Tour Mixte (exactly like the one from Liz on the Old Ten Speed Gallery) and it’s a 49cm. I just love riding it.

All the best.

Aloha,
Jim

Thanks a lot for sending this, Jim. I don’t have much to say, mostly because the pictures say it all. Thanks for some great shots.
-Doohickie

Side view

Rear Derailleur

If you have the time could you give me some idea as to when it was made or any other info you might have, web links etc. It’s got 27″ wheels.

Twin Top Tubes

Thanks for any info you provide, thanks for the great site you have too. It’s really interesting.
Have a great week!
Parks

Headbadge

For the record, it’s been a “week of months” since Parks sent this. Sorry ’bout that, Parks. Anyway, here is what I found out. Based on the rear derailleur and shifters, I would say this is from right around 1980, give or take. There is a 1979 catalog and a 1984 catalog online. Neither shows a Custom DLX, but there a Sport DLX model. Perhaps in mixte form they called it the Custom.
-Doohickie

Soon, I will be posting the submittals that people made to The Mixte Gallery before I shut it down last year. I was trying to simplify and get some time back in my life, and this was one of the things I cut.

That said, I have never really been comfortable with that decision. I feel like I let my readers and submitters down, and myself too, for that matter.

I hope you will forgive me and check out the Gallery when I start posting again.

Later this month, I will begin working off the backlog of submittals that were sent to me. During that time, I will not be accepting new submittals. I want to get the backlog down to a manageable size first. (When I have a big backlog of submittals, it gives me the same guilty feelings I get when I have a big deadline at work that I can’t possibly reach, and at that point, the Gallery is no longer fun.)

Anyway, once the backlog is burned down, I will re-open the gallery for submittals.

If I ever fall that far behind again, I will temporarily closed down submittals by removing the link, and put the link back when I’m caught up again.

Does that sound like a good deal?

Anyway, I’ll be out of pocket for several days, but maybe in a week or two you will see the Grand Reopening of The Mixte Gallery.