Originally Posted by
LeicaLad
Still, from some of your writing, I see you are more bike capable than my princess and may not mind the tighter frame angles, responsive handling (some call twitchy), and derailleur shifting. If so, there are several nice mixte bikes on Ebay right now. Size and frame quality are first considerations. As 5’6” you are not looking at 19-21 inch frames. Well, 21 is possible, but have the seller measure the virtual toptube from center of the seatpost to center of the headtube. As noted repeatedly here, that measurement is as important as the seat tube.
So. Keep trying. If it is specific bikes, all of us here will chime in. Check out the Basso in our own sales forum. The components are not as high end as the seller claims, but they are still quite nice.
Keep us posted as you go.
The Basso definitely is within my price range, especially if the seller has already done the work of updating/upgrading this bike for me. Or would I still need to put lighter wheels on? I'm a little confused as to whether if it would be the right size for me, based on your comments above. I'm just under 5'6" and have long legs. The seller wrote on Ebay:
Thanks for getting in touch, I knew I would forget something in the listing! The size is somewhere between 50-52 cm depending on how you measure- since there is no top tube, the seat tube is a little bit shorter than it would be on a typical shaped frame, so the measurement is based on an imaginary horizontal line where the top tube would normally be. So basically it is a size small by today's standards. The bike is in better than original condition as I have upgraded certain parts (seatpost, new handlebars, new brake levers, new hand grips, new seat, new bottle cage, new front derailleur, new brake pads and cables, and rear derailleur cleaned, polished, reassembled and installed by a professional mechanic), and have tuned and adjusted most others. Of course there is normal wear to be expected of a 30+ year old bike, but I would definitely consider it's condition to be a 9 out of 10.