Gotta love an old Mixte: Part 2

I bought my first Mixte in over 35 years this week. I have been searching Craigslist and other places for a while now. I found this Nishiki in Avon, IN. (Indy). It is in excellent condition and a size I think will work OK with some slight changes. I also bought what was supposed to be a mixte but wasn’t when I got to Peru and saw it. I went ahead and bought it because of its good components. It has alloy 27 X 1 1/8 inch rims & tires, a good crank, brakes and it was only $30. Can’t have too many good rims!

For now all I will be doing is a little cleaning of the frame and buffing the alloy parts. Then changing the brakes to center pulls and swapping the old style stem shifters to thumb shifters. I like center pull brakes and they look way cool on a Mixte! I also have some old style front and rear racks for those shopping trips this summer. And maybe some fenders for those rainy stretches. Yep! Definitely some fenders!

Gotta love an old Mixte: Part 1

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 (lateral tubes, or lats) 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. That makes a total of 6 stays that give extra strength. This provides the lower stand over height of a step-through frame bicycle while avoiding some of the additional stresses the step-through frame bicycle places on the seat tube. This also strengthens the frame and increases the carrying ability. A mixte can make an excellent commuter and a touring bike. You can load stuff on the top of your rear rack and not worry about how to get your leg over the load, because you can mount from the front of the seat.The design was developed for the French and Austrian military and was adopted for Postal delivery in many countries. Mixtes are used in Europe and Asia by men and women.
"Mixte" (pronounced [mikst]) is a direct appropriation of the French word meaning "mixed" or "unisex". The usual North American bicycle industry pronunciation of this loan word is /ˈmɪkstiː/.^[8]

Just a Nice Ride

This PUCH (pronounced pook as you would say book or hook) came to the Chain Reaction Bike Shop last week. It is a Austrian made 3-spd. comfort bike in a very pleasing soft copper color. It is very good condition and a great riding bike that would be good around town or on the PumpkinVine trail.

Chain Reaction Bike Shop

On Jan. 19 I attended a board meeting of the CRBP. It was interesting to see the working efforts of the organization. The most exciting part was the fact that they are looking for a different building to house our shop. The idea of having a place with heat, electricity, water and that the roof doesn’t leak makes my mind race with new ideas. We could provide better service to the people that need it the most. More on this later…………….

Update on Dec. 20th post

Before Christmas the Chain Reaction Bike Shop where I volunteer was donated a new Cannondale CAADX bike.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 I advertised it on Craigslist and after a few disappointments we sold it. A cab driver from the Chicago area and his son came down on Sunday and bought it. It was very rewarding knowing that the sale means we can help provide our other everyday donated used bikes to others that might not otherwise be able to have one. With individuals working to own their bikes it not only shows them how to maintain their bikes but promotes self-reliance and independence. I think that cycling as a mode of transportation is good for the health of our communities and our environment.

JC Higgins Update

I am working on the JC Higgins bike again. I got side tracked on other projects over the holidays. It has been a challenge in some ways and smooth in others. Previously it has been worked on and somethings were not done correctly. Fortunately everything still seems to be there. But unfortunately the paint will not come back. Usually I have been good at getting old paint to come back when it is looking bad, but not this time. I don’t want to repaint it because of the painted on insignias and trim. The alloys and chrome parts are pretty good after polishing. I should be done in the next week.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2011 has been a good cycling year for my family.  I haven’t ridden as much as I would have liked this year but I never do. The many trips on the Pumpkinvine Trail have always proven to be enjoyable and always seem to include a stop at the Dairy Queen in Middlebury. We also made several rides at Potato Creek and other trails. The rides around the Barbee Chain of lakes have also been fun but riding on the roads after riding the trails feels more dangerous. Susie had been improving with every ride then she got a new Trek 7.2 FX and now she is hard to keep up with. No new bikes for me this year. I have to be satisfied with the seven I have. Ha Ha! I rebuilt my 1972 Follis and Susie’s 1972 Raleigh. I changed an old Columbia tandem to an up-to-date Mountain style tandem. My shop is slowly getting better.

In May this year I became involved with the league of American Bicyclist Bicycle Friendly Community. I am now on the BFC task force of Warsaw/Winona Lake to provide safe bike routes in our community. I also started volunteering at the Chain Reaction Bicycle Shop in Goshen. CRBP promotes bicycling in the Goshen community through educational programs and by offering access to bicycles for people with low income. This has been a very rewarding experience. I look forward to being more involved in 2012. My Son in Law Bruce and Grandson Andrew have been volunteering at WORKING BIKES in Chicago. Andrew is getting more interested in cycling and made me a work stool for my shop and a set of wind chime from used bike parts. Amanda moved up to a Specialized Ruby this year.

I have made a lot of new cycling friends this year and look forward to making more in 2012. I hope everyone that reads this has a very enjoyable and successful New Year, Steve