I recently found and fixed up a vintage Frenchie for my friend, that was a 1980 Motobecane Grand Record. Now I am looking for something for his wife. This will be for around-town plus casual, moderate-pace rides of 20-50 miles.

The difficulty is that she is short (needs a 50 cm) and is rather particular about what "looks good".

I ran across a CL ad for a Peugeot "mixte" - probably an early 1980s PH18, white, from the blurry NDS pic can't tell much except that it is complete, has alloy cranks/rims, is about 52 cm (but because of the mixte frame, she'd be able to ride it) and looks cosmetically decent. Not a high-end bike by any means, spec was 28 lb and has the dreaded stem shifters (as did all mixtes, I think?), but to my surprise she thinks it "looks really cute". Price is $140. Allegedly new tires.



Whaddya think? As w/ the Moto, I'd do any needed rehab work for the cost of parts, so the usual bearing regrease + adjust + new pads + new cables will only cost her about $22. Unless something is quite wrong, her all-in cost should be <$200.

What I don't know is, are mixtes worth anything or are they the red-headed stepchildren of bikes? I have always sneered at them, but that's mostly from a misogynistic bias against "ladies" bikes.

Mixte's are pretty hot right know expspecially nicer ones which are pretty rare most of the ones made where fairly low end. As for value they seem to have about same value as similar quality regular road bikes or even a a bit of a premium in bigger markets. As for shifters most had stem shifters I have never seen one with dt's. Some of the higher end and touring models had Barends.

I would agree - mixtes ride nice and are popular right now. I built a Shogun to give to a friend and bought an all original Moto Super Mirage - with downtube shifters - which rode fantastic. I recently gave it to a friend who's in her 60's so she could ride something other than her X-mart mtb on the road. She loves it! It was a little heavier but she didn't seem to mind.

In Portland it's probably gone by now. There great bikes grab it.

Before the advent of those awful stem shifters in the 70's almost all mixtes had downtube shifters.
Brent

Can't tell from the NDS photo, but are we talking about the basic, largely plastic Simplex derailleurs here, or no? Those can present a bit of a durability issue, I gather.

I don't know my Peugeot models, so I'm not sure what you'd expect on there. I do know that my girlfriend had a similar bike to the one you've posted (hers pulled out of a relative's shed), and considered it a perfectly good ride (not raving, but no complaints). I also know that UO8s I see around where I'm living these days (lots of Peugeots in Quebec!) either look like they could use an upgrade in the derailleur department, or already sport replacements (like my girlfriend's follow-up bike after the above-mentioned mixte bit the dust - a UO8 with a nice, somewhat newer Deore RD in back to keep things running smoothly).

Generally speaking, it is my impression that mixtes are popular these days as good utility riders for the right person, and that they have a bit of 'camp' value. I've certainly heard the term 'cute' a few times from female acquaintances. It is relatively unusual to see a particularly well-appointed example (one built with a top-tier tube set, say, or kitted out with higher-end components), though they are most definitely around. See the thread posted recently about this Nishiki mixte with 26" wheels, for one nice example - or take my word on the Cromor Marinoni I recently spotted in a shop window here in Montreal. I don't tend to "sneer at" mixtes, necessarily - since relatively few are particularly well-appointed, I find the nice ones really stand out for me.

It's not on the Portland cl site anymore. You need to look at every ad for a woman's bike because 80% of the sellers don't know it's a mixte or spell it mixtie.

I have bought and sold many mixtes that I have done frame up work upon. Currently restoring a 1960's PUG in near mint condition via ebay. The Motobecane Super Mirages are particularly nice. They were easy to find and sell this spring, but have all disappeared. The white Peugeots are in demand when they have touring bars, less so if blue or with drop bars. The specs on the MB and the PUGS are virtually the same, except there are many more PUGS from the 1980's that have the internal lugs rather than the earlier 1970's versions.

Raleigh made mixtes as well. I missed out to another BF member on a Super Course Mark II (531) in Montpelier, VT, kind of rough, but very hard to find.

Fuji mixtes are nice and light, but the Nishikis and Panasonics are rather bland. I have a Shogun currently for sale that is quite elegant.

The Simplex Prestige RD is fine, but typically the jockey wheels are worn and are impossible to find. Auchencrow says Suntour jockey wheels are a direct replacement. It is the Simplex Prestige FD that will blow up on you.

I have certainly heard here and there from some people that those RDs have an undeservedly bad reputation, perhaps from being lumped in with their brethren! They do tend to end up being replaced, though. It may well be the jockey wheel issue more often than not, so if there is an easy solution, that's good to know. The plastic weathers poorly, too, from a cosmetic point of view, so they can look quite funky...even when they are still functional.

Nice Fuji, BTW!