Comments on: Mixte – Vintage Frame Design is the New Trend in Stylish City Bikes

By: Elizabeth P

Elizabeth P — Fri, 27 Jul 2018 19:59:08 +0000

I have three bikes. I only ride one most of the time. My old Raleigh Pursuit Mixte. I ride it paved and unpaved roads. The stability and action of the frame beats out my modern bike and my vintage Motebecane Grand Jubiliee touring bike, which beat me up riding the same dirt/shale roads. Period. $100 trade and its my favorite bike.

By: Boo

Boo — Fri, 01 Jun 2018 21:45:28 +0000

It’s pronounced ‘mixtee’ in Americanese….. In English it’s pronounced in French!

By: Rob

Rob — Sat, 26 Dec 2015 15:20:00 +0000

Mixte may be mispronounced MIX-tee in American, but, I think you’ll find, most English cyclists are aware enough of the original French pronunciation to use, well, mixte . . .

By: Jay Slocum

Jay Slocum — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 04:50:19 +0000

Here in Pittsburgh, PA, the vintage market is flooded with Mixte’s and many of us who find, restore, and connect people to beautiful bikes are wondering what to do with all of these wonderful bikes that no one seems to want to own or ride. For instance, vintage cruisers, commuters, and kids bikes have a huge disparity between a mixte or step thru design and a diamond frame design. Have a Schwinn Stingray boy bike- in great condition you can fetch 700-1000 dollars here in Pittsburgh. Have a girls Stingray of equal condition- you might get 150 for it. Same goes for vintage commuters, cruisers and town bikes. I am presently sitting on a 1980 Raleigh Record Mixte, and a Ross Compact Cruiser. The bikes are beautiful but they are seen, here in our city, as “girls” bikes which translates into a bike that is less popular and less desirable and of less value than a boys bike.

It is exciting to see what companies like Public, Specialized, Jamis, and Diamond Back are doing to change things for the Mixte. In fact, the Unisex Step Thru, because it is ridden on rails to trails, and purchased by rental companies, are pretty sought after by folks over 50 here in the Burgh.

Presently, some of us in the restoration community, are trying to figure out how to either make the mite more masculine or make the bike world more friendly to what seems like a more feminine design that we presently call the Mixte.

By: Richard Risemberg

Richard Risemberg — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 10:20:03 +0000

In cold countries where everyone wears long coats in winter, mixtes are particularly appropriate. And it’s nice not having to do the dog-lift when dismounting in a busy public space. I don’t have a mixte myself, but I have a Brompton, whose very low top tube offers similar benefits.

By: Michele Chavez

Michele Chavez — Wed, 14 Aug 2013 10:11:02 +0000

My first grown-up bike was a Follis mixte. I loved that bike! It was stolen in the 1980s in Hollywood. The company has since gone out of business. Every once in a while I will see one on eBay, but my mechanic says it would be a pain to work on. I did buy another vintage mixte, but it wasn’t the same, so I sold it.