Hi everyone,

I found this craigslist listing for a 1984 Centurion Lemans 12 women's Mixte.

I'm in need of geared bike, I'm only 5ft AND I love mixte's so I thought this might be a great candidate. However, its a 2.5 hour drive and $150.

This is more information on the specific model: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/centurio...lemans-12.html

Is it worth it?

Thanks!

The ad reads that it was $1800 new, not quite. Maybe $250 or something new.

Its a nice bike. $150 isnt bad. 2 1/2 hour drive, thats bad. See if you can talk him down for your gas money.

to tell you the truth, it might, but that lie:

would make me not wanting to drive for 2.5 hrs... might be a decimal missing there

yeah i just assumed it was a decimal mistake... but maybe it was a lie. thats one ballsy liar!!!

ballsy? Let me put it this way: you could put $1800 for a down payment for a house in ' 84 and an SR panto'd everything Italian bike of your choice was about $800-$1000 max

Wow - So he's just an outright idiot then.

I'm sorry, but it is rather hilarious that the seller thought he could make insane claims like that.

That bike was for sale some months ago, I remember it and its odd mix of a plea for sympathy with blatant misrepresentation.

FWIW I bought four Japanese mixtes last summer and fall through CL, one here in Chicago, two in Michigan, and one in Ohio while on a family trip, at prices from $75 to $85. A Miyata, two Shoguns, and a Niko/Centurion. That Centurion is probably a decent bike but I am sure if you look hard you can do better. If it was in town and easy to go check out, maybe, but if it's a long drive, forget it. Funny thing about bikes on CL...you may miss a great one, but the next day there's a whole new list.

In fact as you are apparently local here I'll keep my eyes open for you and PM you if I spot something. Chicago C&Ver Jasmijo is also a mixte fan, haven't seen her around here lately though.

Remember that very few people know what a 'mixte' is, so check out every listing for a 'girls' or 'womens' bike.

If you are looking for a harder-core road bike (and can spend more money) you might also look into 'Terry' style bikes, made by that company and others, which have a smaller front wheel so the frame can be small (47cm and less) without causing the feet to hit the front wheel in turns.

I would venture to say the original retail was about $299 judging from this catalog page. I agree I might call him and plead the case about the gas and the long drive ...
does this have a RD hanger? or a claw?

Thanks, Chicago Al.

I have been feeling somewhat anxious about finding mixtes lately since I saw what I thought was a generic hi-ten Nishiki mixte frame on eBay go for $350 last week(see here). I think they are gaining some popularity. But I was also fond of the pink color on this particular bike...

I am going to try and talk the seller down for gas money and see where that gets me. But I would still love if you can keep an eye out for me. FYI I live in the Champaign-Urbana area and so Chicago is still a far drive for me and not really local :/

$150 is way too much. i sold a slightly older model for $60 in san diego.

https://milwaukee.craigslist.org/search/bik?query=mixte

$150 is too much, unless you're in San Francisco or some place with elevated prices and a mixte-happy populace.

The advantages of a Nishiki, Shogun, Centurion, etc mixte is that they are not French. They use normal parts.
That's worth about $25-$50 in lack of aggravation, but doesn't make the bike worth $150.

Around here, $40-$60 for a Peugeot mixte, and $25-$50 more for a Japanese model, pre-overhaul.

After overhaul, the single speed mixtes go to hipster girlfriends for about $150-$200 depending on the wealth of the hipster. A powder-coated one that looks like new can go higher near campus; it's all about image.

Geared mixtes here with upright bars can go $200-$250, but I doubt there's much profit involved because it's a lot of work and fuss to get them just right. Labor can easily come out to about $2/hour by the time you find what you need, put it on, etc.

The hardest thing to find in many cases is the bottom-pull rear caliper.

I can sell alloy wheeled mixtes all day long in Tampa for $150.

Just a bit of warning, you may be too short for this bicycle. I purchased a 19" Nishiki mixte with similar set up and 27" tires from a guy who intended it for this 5' tall girlfriend. Turned out the bicycle was too big for her. Maybe you should try to try out a similar sized bicycle locally before making a road trip out of it. I paid about this much for my Nishiki in the Seattle market, which I thought a fair price. I think whether the price is fair depends on how bad you want it...

Here's an interesting alternative on eBay, being sold from Cape Girardeau, MO (ends this evening/Saturday):

https://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...:B:WNA:US:1123

It's a 'Terry' style Centurion Ironman, a *much* better bike than the LeMans. Though if you're just looking for something to ride around town, probably overkill. Only up to $100 so far, and might skate 'under the radar' as it's an oddball, then again, they do have a following.

hmm... well this is in the chicago market... and is geared... so is it not too much then? i'm slightly confused, lol.

yeah... i was specifically looking for a small mixte chro-mo frame... mostly because i like mixtes and just want to use it to commute and lug things around (i.e. groceries)... maybe "tour" a little.

thanks for the PM btw. i didnt know about that cl search site!

UPDATE:

I just talked to the seller on the phone. She doesn't want to go down in price b/c she claims she just spent $100 on new tires and a tune-up. I think I might buy it anyways because I really like the color...

Isn't it also true that it is hard to find mixtes with a forged crankset and chro-mo tubing?

Yes, it is. Most mixtes were really low end. I have a Centurion Lemans 12 mixte myself. I bought it as a frameset, and used various donor parts to complete it, including desirable 700c wheelset.

I am with Jim, any mixte with alloy rims in good, ready to ride condition and a cromoly frame, will have a market value of over $150.

+1 I have a real problem with sellers that are liars. Its one thing to be a little mixed up on your memory, its another to make up outlandish stuff.

The seller may be telling the truth about the tires and tuneup, lots of 80s bikes turn up with original tires and I don't think Kenda was around then. But the supposed original price is a crock and would make me doubt whatever they say.

But....looking at that catalog, for 1984 it's a good mixte; very few of them even had downtube shifters. If it is really recently tuned up, including overhauling the hubs, bottom bracket, and headset, $150 is a fair price. And it's evidently *the bike you want* so there's nothing wrong with paying for it.

I know I said otherwise before, but I can be a little too thrifty at times, to put it in polite terms. It's about getting a good bike and riding it, not getting the best possible price.

Concur with Chicago AL. There's nothing wrong with paying a little more for the bike you like and want. You said it's the right color, right size and model, so go for it! I paid $150 earlier this winter for a 1982 Taiwan-made Motobecane Nomade II mixte here in Phoenix. I bought it because it was an unusual size (56 cms. frame), all black and didn't have the infamous "French-threads".

By the way, my favorite bike is my Nishiki Century mixte. I read Imetazoa's post from yesterday and I can't believe that a Nishiki Century mixte "frame only" recently sold for over $300 on Ebay. I keep seeing/reading about Nishiki mixtes in several forums. Can anyone tell me what's making this particular manufacturer/brand so sought after?

Its not particularly highly sought after. It was the result of two stupid bidders. Another Nishiki mixte frame set went for $80 the next week. Welcome to ebay, stupid bidders are liable to bid up anything, until I try to sell one like it!!!

Imetazoa: We haven't heard from you and I guess we all want to know... did you end up buying this bike?

I hope that she bought it...

At my neighborhood's annual garage sale (60+ houses), late in the day, I spotted a pink Bridgestone 200 mixte off to the side in one garage. Of course I thought of imetazoa. Sold, unfortunately, 'to a friend' which likely means the guy next door, for who knows what low price. If that bike was out first thing this AM, I missed it, and I would happily have bought it on the chance that imetazoa or someone else would be interested in it. It was less of a bike than that Centurion though, having stem shifters. I did pick up two other bikes though including a Raleigh Ladies Sports.