AndyMann

Here's my Ficelle Mixte brought home from a yard sale before cleaning. I don't know how old the bike is but to give you an idea, it has Huret Svelto derailleurs and MAFAC brakes.

AndyMann

Here's my Ficelle Mixte brought home from a yard sale before cleaning. I don't know how old the bike is but to give you an idea, it has Huret Svelto derailleurs, MAFAC brake levers, a Wald basket

Sixty Fiver

Will guess that is an early 70's bike with that combination... my Peugeot was a Canadian model (c 1984) and had Peugeot deraileurs and Weinmann brakes.

Nice thing is that the Pug has standard threadings and sizes and since my last post I went and changed out the front brake for an NOS Dia Compe centre pull so that I could run some Scott Matthauser "super brake" pads front and rear to really boost the braking.

Scott Matthauser invented what are now Kool Stop salmon pads.

AndyMann

This French Ficelle Mixte's brake blocks were hardly used. Mounted on Racer centre pulls, they still have good stopping power but are a bit too noisy. And although the tires still look unused, cracks started to show once I inflated them to the proper psi. It cleaned up quite well with the use of fine steel wool. The rear tire has to be adjusted as it almost touches the lower left chain stay. Since I got it more than a month ago, so far, I've only had to replace the inner tubes and the tires. The chain appears to be a bit short as the rear derailleur seems stretched to its limit when moved to the biggest cog. Got to get me a set of those Kool Stop pads.

juls

Any updaes on this fine machine?

accordo

I used to own a Centurion Accordo myself, hence the ACCORDO name I'm using here. Its a sparkly red sweet bike that I got from an older woman who just had a hip replacement. She told me then that she chose that bike for its ugliness so no one will steal it. Well, I fell in love with that bike until some heartless people found it sweet enough to steal. I cried for a week and has not stopped looking for it since. I'm from Brooklyn New York so I'm thinking I'll see it one of these days. Anyway, my love affair with mixtes has grown stronger. I own one right now which I think I posted here 2 years ago. Its a Motobecane with all original parts and I'm afraid that's all I know about it. Someone here told me what it was but i forgot. I am so happy for you that you are enjoying your Accordo. Wish i can at least lay my eyes on your bike and run my hand down that beloved name.... And yes, I am crying right now.

cb400bill

I found your pic.

accordo

Thanks. This bike is kinda in hiatus right now. Someone played with it and slashed my tires and bashed my rear reflector. The things I have to live with in New York.

gurry

Attended the local Police Auction and came away with my first mixte bicycle. It is a Raleigh Delta with cro-mo Tange 5 seamless tubing, weinmann levers and calipers, suntour shifters and derailleurs. At least it's not hot pink!

cb400bill

I'm sorry to hear that. I hate vandalism almost as much as I hate thievery.

gbalke

That looks like my gold colored Super Mirage, except that I need to replace some of its missing parts, brake levers, pedals and shift levers.

accordo

This is a very sweet bike indeed. I had it for two years now and will really hate for something awful to happen to it. I guess I'll call this my Mirage then. I really don't know what model it is and what year. I am so clueless

michael k

..

Chris Pringle

Hi Juls! Thanks for the follow up. One of these days I will give her new 700c wheels, so I can also install the front fender that's currently sitting somewhere in the garage. However, I found out from my LBS that this upgrade is going to cost some $$. I will need new wheels, new tires, new brakes and most likely a few other things. For now I'm just enjoying the bike as is. This has become my favorite bicycle as not only does it look nice, but it also it is comfortable and rides sooo smoothly. I get asked a lot of questions when I take her to the coffee shop. Many people just stand there to admire her for a while.

mickey85

I'm still working on the old Oscar Egg. I think that it needs a new freewheel, as the stupid thing (plastic Simplex stuff) skips every time it's in 4th or 5th gear. I need to find a 5 or 6 speed freewheel. At least I know where to find a 6 speed.

nine14six

My manly mixte. This is a cool thread and I thought it needed a bump.







My solution for the rear brake cable routing dilemma:

juls

Hey Chris,
Is the rear wheel bad? It would cost for 2 700c wheels. My brakes in front usually accommodate a 700c (just); but the rear would require a longer reach caliper. That's where the addiction gets you. Cheaper alternative is just the front wheel change-for the fender fit-for the astectics of it all..........snowball effect. LOL Not sure the cost of changeing everything to fit a fender. Customize the fender to fit seems even more cost efficient. Let us hear from you.

accordo

Haaaa!!!! I love this! Same color as my Accordo. Lovely...

macman58

What makes a mixte a mixte (a newbie to the term). Are these 2 mixtes???

I'm new to this site. I had posted a picture the other day of the 1984 blue TREK and a someone replied about it being a mixte. I had no idea what they were talking about until I saw this thread.
I also bought the dark green 5 speed Paris Sport on Saturday. Is it a mixte or just a girls bike and what makes a mixte a mixte?

Also some one said a Trek mixte is not that common, is that true?

that_guy_zach

They both are. In my mind as long as it has triple chain stays, Its a mixte. Curves or numbers of top tubes should not count.

cb400bill

Mixte

One particular type of step-through frame is called a mixte. In a mixte frame, the top tube of the traditional diamond frame is replaced with a pair of smaller tubes running from the top of the head tube all the way back to the rear axle, connecting at the seat tube on the way. The normal seat stays and chain stays are retained. This provides the lower standover height of a step-through frame bicycle while avoiding some of the additional stresses the step-through frame bicycle places on the seat tube.

A direct appropriation of the French word meaning "mixed" or "unisex", "mixte" is pronounced "MEExt", although the usual North American bicycle industry pronunciation of this loan word is "MIX-ty". Both pronunciations are widely used.

Grand Bois

That's how Sheldon Brown defined it and that's good enough for me.

Bionicycle

It’s a subject that has been debated on this thread and several others on this forum. The most liberal definition of a Mixte is that it has “Three” chain/seat stays per side of the frame. After that it can have a single top tube (what some call a faux Mixte), twin top tubes that angle straight to the drop outs (called a classic Mixte). A single top tube that splits before it gets to the seat post, and a hundred other variations of bends and curves.

The “Classic Mixte” is still my favorite… But, then again it’s what I own, so that hardly makes me impartial. BTW I think that Paris Sport is really wild. I can't say that I had ever seen that variation of a Mixte frame before. I don't know how many of the Trek Mixtes they made, but it's frame reminds me a lot of the Mixte frame that Schwinn made.

Chris Pringle

I just returned from Mazatlan, Mexico over the weekend. I spent two weeks there. I saw many very old bikes... some of them that seemed to be from the 40's or 50's with rod brakes and all that. In a conversation with a bike mechanic in Mazatlan, I found out that very few people take care of their vintage bikes down there. They're used as a form of basic transportation and that's about it. He has even tried to convince a few owners who show up with what he considers "gem" bikes into restoring them but they don't seem to understand the value of these bikes. Interestingly enough, he added that even though these people are not interested in restoring their bikes they won't sell them for anything in the world either. I guess the bottom line is that most likely they love their bikes but they simply lack the means for restoration. Or perhaps they don't want to make them look nice and shiny again in fear of getting them stolen.

On the drive back to Phoenix, in the small town of Imuris (about 45 mins. south of Nogales, Mexico) we stopped to have a late lunch at a really nice open-air restaurant with delicious Mexican dishes. At the end of the meal, a Mexican man arrived in his mixte bike selling his CDs. I told him how much I liked his bike and we started to talk. I explained to him about the rage and popularity of mixte bikes in the U.S. in recent years. He was unaware of all this. However, he listened intensely to everything I had to say about the history of mixte bicycles. I was able to give him some background on his Univega bike based on everything I've read on these forums. He was indeed a proud bicycle owner. His bike was in excellent shape. He was getting new tires and was considering adding some used metal fenders and wondered how they'd look. We talked for about 15 mins. At the end he expressed that his bike was so important to him and loved it so much. He explained his bike is his main tool for the sale of CDs along the main highway. The little money he makes is mostly used for proceeds for the alcohol rehab center where he lives. Even though I didn't buy a CD, I voluntarily made a small donation. You guys had to see the happiness in his face when I asked him if I could talk a picture of him and his bike. So, here here's Juan and his Univega mixte.

ummbnb

My two newbies.

Mrs. Gale, the Nishiki will stay a single speed. She's getting fenders and a basket in the coming days (they're on the way.)

No name yet, The Raleigh will get her gears back - we just put the wheels from the SS on her so we could take her for a spin while the deraileurs were soaking.