Classic & Vintage - Univega Maxima Sport mixte

I picked this up off of craigslist to get the wheels, which are 27" alloy, front QR, rear bolt, to put on my 1974 Schwinn Varsity. The wheels fit the Varsity, although the front fork seemed to measure at 90mm instead of the normal 100mm. It went in with a little pressure. Also changed the Varsity from a 10 speed to a 12 speed. :) It was cheap, so more than worth the effort just for the wheels, and the tires are still decent.

So now I'm wondering about this bike. It has Mangalight tubing. What is that? It also has Shimano components and a "Custom" crankset. The hubs are also "Custom". The frame is too small for me, I figure I could sell it to someone looking for a mixte fixie, because of the 120mm rear spacing.

Any information about this bike? Google doesn't have much. Pictures to come when I get back out to the garage.

We love Mixte frames here, and some of us love Univegas. They made great frames; I have their, and their colors and tubing is really nice.

I'd love to see some pics. What size is it? Trade some 27" wheels for the frame? :D

Mangalight is a trade name for a steel-manganese alloy.

Based on the tubing, it's an entry level model, made by Miyata, probably in the mid -1980s. Miyata's manganese steel was between hi-tensile and CrMo in strength. so it's a better entry level model, but still entry level, around $200 US at the time. The Custom cranksets were made by SR. The Shimano components are proabably Z-series.

We love Mixte frames here, and some of us love Univegas. They made great frames; I have their, and their colors and tubing is really nice.

I'd love to see some pics. What size is it? Trade some 27" wheels for the frame? :D

I'll get pictures this evening. I believe the seat tube is around 53cm bottom to top.. I didn't measure the standover height before I took the wheels off, but I normally ride bikes with a 33"-35" standover height, and this is far below that.

I just sold one of these recently. It seemed like a pretty solidly put together bike, if a little bit small under my 6'1" frame :)

I just sold one of these recently. It seemed like a pretty solidly put together bike, if a little bit small under my 6'1" frame :)

Did you sell it to a guy in Michigan? :D

We love Mixte frames here, and some of us love Univegas. They made great frames; I have their, and their colors and tubing is really nice.

I'd love to see some pics. What size is it? Trade some 27" wheels for the frame? :D

Here's the pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericphillips/tags/mixte/

I'm keeping all of the components except for the crankset, which has one chainring riveted.

Based on the tubing, it's an entry level model, made by Miyata, probably in the mid -1980s. Miyata's manganese steel was between hi-tensile and CrMo in strength. so it's a better entry level model, but still entry level, around $200 US at the time. The Custom cranksets were made by SR. The Shimano components are proabably Z-series.

They are Z-series. Are those decent? I took them off to use elsewhere. The Custom cranks have one riveted chainring, so I'm leaving that.

Oh, I forgot that one of the chain stays says "Laulee Design".

Oh, I forgot that one of the chain stays says "Laulee Design".It's "Lawee Design." Bicycle importer Ben Lawee had them built to his specs and imported into the U.S. T-Mar could tell you way more about who bult Univegas-- and the Italvegas that preceded Univega-- than I could, but at least some of them were built by Miyata.

Lawee also imported Motobecanes.

Make sure you measure the horizontal virtual top tube. Its the only important measure (ok next to seatpost length) in deciding if a bike is too small, and mixtes and 27" wheelers tended to have longer geometries.

Make sure you measure the horizontal virtual top tube. Its the only important measure (ok next to seatpost length) in deciding if a bike is too small, and mixtes and 27" wheelers tended to have longer geometries.

I took pictures of the tape measure next to the bike:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericphillips/tags/mixte/

I know that even 6'2" guys like me can ride BMX bikes, but I'd rather let someone else take this frame.