Bike Forums - Hi from aspiring SoCal bike commuter

Hello,

Been lurking on the forums for a bit and already got some help picking out my new bike, which is a c. 1980 Univega Sportour mixte, which I aim to use to commute to work and around town.

I'll be building it up with my local bike shop/workshop over the next few months, and hope to pick up a bit of bike mechanics in the process.

My commute to work is ultra short - about a mile. I had been walking but since climate change has turned LA into hell on earth this summer, I switched to driving, which is really unforgivable and doesn't help said climate change.

I've had a Jamis Ventura Comp road bike for about ten years, which I rode, oh maybe 3 times during that period. As an inexperienced cyclist I always found it too scary to ride with drop downs through city traffic, so decided to add a proper commuter bike to the stable.

I wanted something on the lighter side with at least 7 gears, since SoCal can throw hills at you quite often, with a classic style and a preference for step through design. I thought it would make it easier to wear "normal" clothes biking, maybe even the occasional skirt. I didn't like the look of Dutch bikes, though, and settled on mixte. Me along with apparently every other style-conscious hipster.

I test rode Linus, Public, Tokyobike Bisou (which I really loved, and still want but was freaked by how "nice" it looked and the price for someone who does not yet have a real cycling habit) and Breezer Downtown. Then I started getting curious about vintage mixtes. That's where the BikeForum help came in handy and helped me eventually get the Univega Sportour mixte. It had already been converted to upright almost flat handlebar. Still deciding if I'll keep the ones on it or go for something more vintage-y mixte feeling like Velo Orange Left Bank.

Wish me luck and an anti-mixte-theft force field.