Craftsmanship and art combined . . .

awesome craftsmanship

Better late than ever.... your mixte is featured on The Mixte Gallery. (For the title to make sense you have go look at the previous post.)

Just saw this on the Mixte Gallery - fantastic!
If you're on flickr, please contribute your pictures to the Handbuilt Bicycles for Women group!

This frame is stunning. I would buy one for my girl in a heartbeat, if I could.

pics no longer load

Server change, fixed now.

Beutiful work. I'm a couple years from starting a frame. Will be trying to build wood rims first. Then TIG a frame. Then lugs. Great work!!!

I like the bike without fenders. Fenders tend to rattle and such. I live in San Diego County, and we are usually experiencing drought conditions. Rainy days are for relaxing in front of the fire place. Beautiful job, by the way. You should look for an older metal SA 3 speed shifter.

Beautiful bike, excellent job! Wish I had your skills, because I'm looking at a mixte myself.

Gorgeous frame. I am also needing to build a mixte frame for my wife as mounting her diamond frame is an issue now. I will use an old 531 kit I have had for decades. I have tried to find 1/2 or even smaller diameter chrome moly, but in the inland northwest, it is hard to find. Can you suggest a source for that tubing? I am also wanting something around 10 mm for a rack. Did you build the braces custom or the stays to attach to the seat tube? They look great.

I wouldn't use smaller than 1/2"
McMaster, Wicks, and Aircraft Spruce have 4130 in 1/2"
see the suppliers thread

You should probably sell the 531 (and other vintage parts?) and buy something less collectible. Nova usually has specials on tubing that is the equal of 531.

Thanks for that information. The smaller diameter was for custom racks. I have had the 531 kit since around 1975. I mitered it for a diamond frame for my wife with some old copies of Prugnant lugs. I will probably keep it for later if you think it would be a sacrelige to mixte it. THe Nova kits look pretty nice and Cassave has proven what can be done with them.

I'm not sure what you mean there. The short tubes joining the mid-stays to the seat tube are just short mitered lengths of 1/2" 4130 (same stuff as the twin top tubes.) Behind the seat tube the mid stays are ST 14mm seat stays.

Since it is mitered, I would use the 531. It is becoming difficult to find and has value because of that, but modern stuff is as good or better

Thanks to both of you. One more question on the "midstays", did you make some kind of internal lug where they meet the head tube? Thanks in advance.

The twin 1/2" top tubes are seated in the recess of the modified upper head lug. I removed the socket and brazed in a plate to fill the hole, same as the seatlug.
The plate has cutouts to accept the end of the top tubes which were then brazed (with small fillets) into place.

Awesome indeed. The rack is equal to the framework. Thanks for providing the concept for others to ponder and dream on!

I am thinking I will do one for my misses also. Only change would be to use a set of compact cantilevers for the brakes, Koolstop pads, a 5-speed or 7-speed IGH with a front dyno hub and fenders of course!

Noted the reinforcing plates on the chain stays. Last week I would have said "cool." However had an opportunity to read on the Surley web site an article about putting a kickstand on one of the Surly LHT's. The discussion definately changed my thinking on kickstands and may apply to your frame. Recommend a read for before you finish the frame up. I don't think the plates currently inplace preclude the issue they warn of.
BTW: Any thouights of putting a fender mount or two on it, a headlight mount, and maybe low rider rack holes on the fork. It would be very cool if you would braze up a set of cromoly racks, maybe integrated into the frame.... Just a thought

I've always thought that that piece by surley was just rationalization to cover up for the fact that they think it makes the bike look cheap to have a kickstand plate or some similar issue. I don't think I would put a kickstand plate on some super-thin stays, but the lead pipe they make the LHT from could withstand a plate, they just didn't want one. I'm not sure I blame them, I'm pretty sure it would cost them some sales.

The small plates on the chainstays are internally braced by 3/16" diameter pins running vertically through the stays, they take all the compression loads of the kickstand clamp.
The bike has been in use for 2 1/2 years now.

The bike HAD to have a kickstand by order of it's owner.

that's a nifty idea

Maybe even better than nifty! Definately wrote it down on my "WTFO" notepad where I keep my "fixes" for the impossibles. Also glad to hear some other views on the Surly thinking on kickstands... At least now we all know how it can be done (and done well) when such is needed to meet firm requirements...pins are so old school neat. Glad to see them resurrected and repurposed. Thanks to Cassave for the ingenuity.

Hello Cassave,
Referring to the rack, the look of the nickel silver and stainless is beautiful. I think you indicated that brazed CrMo was stronger. Is there a good way of getting a beautiful finish short of having it nickel plated if you made it out of CrMo?

No not if you want something that looks similar to the stainless. Even polishing and clear coating carbon steels will fail since the clear is not a sacrificial pigment layer.

This rack is AISI 304. Approximate yield strength is 32 kpsi, UTS is 73 kpsi. Plenty strong for it's job.

4130 is ~ 52 and 81 kpsi depending on condition.