jade408

After my Soma got stolen, I started looking for a replacement and there were no stock frames that worked. The Soma sizing changed with the discs. And I had some fit issues that wouldn’t have be solved in either of my potential sizes. So I decided to go custom.

My bike is still in progress, but I thought this thread would be a great place to share a little of the in progress. My Sixth Law frame is in the final stages, waiting for some accessories!

sunburst

As usual, lots of inspiring mixtes on this thread. Well, I'm into them too. It's irrational and I lose all value perspective when I see one listed on craigslist. I ride one too, a 56cm Peugeot that is the same size as my road bikes. And I've got another 56cm in a different color (currently stripped to the frame) in the queue for restoration.

Anyway, I've restored probably five Peugeot mixtes by now (and 3 or 4 other Peugeots), and four other mixtes brands either for friends or to flip. But lately Motobecanes have been coming into my life. I've got two road bikes: Grand Sprint, Grand Touring, and now these two mixtes. This is before restoration, although the green one is in better shape than any vintage bike I've restored to date. I'll be adding some Promenade bars, a Brooks B67 (of course), some Schwalbe HS159's, a rear basket, maybe regrease some things, but it's close to perfect as is. The yellow one needs a complete redo.

Will post "after" pix when done.

88Tempo

There is a Soma Buena Vista Mixte for sale in the Colorado Springs Craigslist. Very nice looking bike I would be more then a little irritated if someone stole a bike like that from me.

Velo Mule

It is nice seeing a frame in w/o paint. Is someone making these top headtube lugs for twin laterals? Or is this being hand fabricated?

Nice looking frame.

jade408

Thank you! Pretty sure my builder got the head tube lugs at Frambuilder Supply!

I have about 2-3 more weeks to wait.

Oldsledz

I have 2 of them the blue one is a Concord Mixtee the silver on is a Motobecane I think a 1976 Super Mirage.

curbtender

Centurion LeMans.

Oldsledz

Are these Mixtes .

3speedslow

Sweet! What tubing is it?

Salamandrine 

Wow, that is nuts cool. Somehow I missed it until now. This bike deserves its own thread for sure once you get the finished frame. A custom high performance mixte frame is just not something you see everyday.

jade408

I knew this one looked familiar! Saw a Craigslist post.

curbtender

Yes, trying to move it. Has some nice brazing and pinstripe details.

Stealthy Ninja

Mixties are awesome and I'm a manly man.

JaccoW

I don't think I have posted the end result of my Gazelle Lausanne build yet.

Reynolds 531ST frame and fork with 42mm x 700C tyres and dynamo lights since this is supposed to be a year round commuter bike.
Changed the original Shimano SLX RC 3x7 drivetrain for a 1x9 Microshift with friction thumb shifter.

Upside down stainless steel North Road handlebars and Nitto stem. Mostly a mix of second-hand parts and some new classic looking parts.

Oh, and it's a 57cm frame.

kross57

My wife's 1984 Centurion LeMans 12 Mixte. After a good deal of work. One of the few mixtes made with downtube shifters. Nice bike. My wife loves it.

rdlange

Now I have two.


Someones took my 'nice' mixtes [Raleigh, Peugeot, Puch] a few years back. So I slapped together this 'old' one from parts back then. Old:





Yesterday I got a 'new' one.





we are grateful.

jade408

Yay, got my bike this weekend. Check out the thread here. And a quick snap.

rdlange

OMG I did it again.! C-list. Looks OEM too; killer stem, Simplex, Mafac. Early 1970s. Any ideas? Am I supposed to be posting this here or on the regular 'classic/vintage' forum? A bit of TLC. Feel blessed. Just sharing.

Shiseiji

6'1" and I am so jealous!

Stealthy Ninja

Looks like a 1975 UE18 to me (judging by the head badge and cranks). It's the Mixte version of the UO8.

What's the serial number? The first number denotes the year with the amount of numbers the decade, for example, 473637U = 1964, 5217218Y = 1975 (so I read somewhere at least)

rdlange

No serial number sticker I can find. So figure then, with the AVA stem supposedly dangerous, get a new one and road bars and cables at least. And a new front derailleur, a better seat, and pads, and... Slowly cleaning it up. And there is like, NO rust.!!! Only where they wrenched the seat nuts. Not on the spoke nipples. Not even under the removed alloy kick stand. Just grungy. Restoration to stock is fairly clear. Any ideas for appropriate upgrades, lighter stuff, etc? Refinements? The paint is pretty flecked up after 50 years. Tks.

Stealthy Ninja

From my limited research the serial number might be on a plate under the bottom bracket. I think I still don't have 10 posts on here so I can't post a URL, but if you google: "bikeboompeugeot serial number" the first link is useful.




No rust. That's impressive.

On my Raleigh Sprite Mixte (which I will post a picture of as soon as I'm allowed) I...

1. Scraped off any rust patches, painted over the patches with automotive paint that matched as close as I could the original paint (I had quite a lot of rust patches on mine), I left on as much original paint as possible. I then sprayed over the whole bike with automotive acrylic clear topcoat. The topcoat can be polished and waxed if you want, adding to the rust proofing. I didn't bring it back to bare metal if I could help it, because if I did I'd have to prime it, and that's annoying.
2. changed the cranks (I had a cotter pin crank that weighed a ton, similar to what you have on your bike. Your bike being a French bike there's a limit to what you can do with things like the cranks since the bottom brackets were threaded differently. You could try and work that out, you'll need to get a french threaded bottom bracket Velo-Orange make one
3. replaced the heavy steel hubbed 27" wheels with 700c alloy wheels (alloy = lighter than those steel hubs)
4. Replaced the rear derailleur with a more modern one (but still old), I wanted to replace the front derailleur too, but that bike's setup required a particular front derailleur, so I left it in.
5. Converted from a quill to a threadless style setup using a quill adapter (go to amazon or similar site and search for "quill adapter")
6. Put on some bullhorns and brifters (brifters work fine on drops if you prefer that)
7. Added interrupter/in-line/cross brakes
8. Changed the terrible stock brake calipers to Tektro long reach brakes (needed because I changed from 27" wheels to 700c wheels)
9. NOS genuine 1990s grip tape (not needed, but I happened to have some I got from a guy who bought a whole bunch back in the 1990s when a shop closed down)
10. New rear cassette with a lower gear so I could climb hills (basically it's an old mountain bike one)

I think that's about it. The main thing I'd do if I were you is swap the cranks and wheels for weight, then maybe put in some brifters if you want to have easy to change gears.

rdlange

Thanks for all the suggestions. Not my first French bike so I'm going easy. Broken fixes and rideability are the primary focus. Trying not to be impatient.

Oh, serial number... Well, there are two tiny holes on the underside of my bottom bracket. Her age may never be revealed.

Be well...

Stealthy Ninja

I guess it will remain a mystery. I'd say it's probably a 1970s bike by the look.

daverup 

Here are ours, although some will say only the first one is "genuine mixte".