The Mixte frame is back!

[Hebe]

Here's my errand bike - a Dawes Cambridge mixte. I love it.

 

[summerdays]

Here's my errand bike - a Dawes Cambridge mixte. I love it.

View attachment 13898

Oh I love that colour ... not that your's isn't nice too @alecstilleyedye (but Hebe's one would be one of my favourite colours).

 

[velovoice]

Just found this thread. Any mixte fans fancy another fix?

Yes, @Fab Foodie there are modern mixtes out there - here's my town commuter, a Viking Bromley purchased for the princely sum of £125* (!) from Parkers of Bolton.

Last year Pashley launched what I believe is its very first mixte model ever, the Aurora -

But for me the truly drool-worthy options amongst the modern mixtes is the build-it-any-way-you-like Soma Buena Vista

and lest you begin to think white/pearl is your only option, the BV also comes in this:

Unfortunately it's no longer made in this (my favourite albeit hard to photograph) metallic gunmetal grey:

*Okay, so I got it for half price.

 

[Fab Foodie]

Just found this thread. Any mixte fans fancy another fix?

Yes, @Fab Foodie there are modern mixtes out there - here's my town commuter, a Viking Bromley purchased for the princely sum of £125* (!) from Parkers of Bolton.
View attachment 82354

Last year Pashley launched what I believe is its very first mixte model ever, the Aurora -
View attachment 82355

But for me the truly drool-worthy options amongst the modern mixtes is the build-it-any-way-you-like Soma Buena Vista
View attachment 82358

and lest you begin to think white/pearl is your only option, the BV also comes in this:
View attachment 82357

Unfortunately it's no longer made in this (my favourite albeit hard to photograph) metallic gunmetal grey:
View attachment 82359

*Okay, so I got it for half price.

Fab stuff! Like the Viking - Bargain!!!

There's something very elegant about all of them. Long Live the Mixte!

 

[velovoice]

There's something very elegant about all of them. Long Live the Mixte!

Yes! I remember the first time I saw one - from the top of a double decker bus on the A23 in Brixton. Smitten!
(My blog is FULL of mixtes....)

 

[w00hoo_kent]

Saw one of the Kona's on the train to Ashford last year. Very pretty, was surprised to find it was current as it had all modern tech on the Mixte frame, just made it look like a fantastic renovation/upgrade a bit like the modern Triumph Thruxtons. Had to compliment the owner on it, although she just looked a bit confused as it was 'her bike' rather than anything overly special in her mind.

 

[tyred]

One of my skip rescues - a 1978 Candidat Mixte - one of two German bikes given to me by a builder friend who pulled them from a skip outside a house he was renovating. They were brought here by a German couple who came to live here and they lay in a shed and the original owner's daughter had lasked a bike shop to repair them but was told they were beyond repair but I proved otherwise

I did a few hundred miles on this last summer and it rides great. It's not fancy tubing but it's not that heavy either and deceptively responsive. Everyone who has test ridden was amazed by it. 5 speed 14-24 Atom block and Sachs Mech and stem shifter, I fitted a 40 tooth Stronglight chainset I had to give a sensible gearing range. Brakes look like Weinmann but are Altenbergers. Union dynamo lighting set.


If anyone can give me more information on Candidat as a manufacturer I would be grateful.

 

[SteCenturion]

Does Mixte have a meaning as such..?

Always wondered why they are called Mixte...

Play Mixte for me....

 

[velovoice]

It's French for unisex*, funnily enough!

* literally, "mixed".

 

[velovoice]

And in case you weren't aware, there is a "Show us your mixte" thread here on CC (as there is on nearly every cycling forum in fact) for the vintage/classic stuff e.g. lugged steel rather than modern. But big thanks to @Fab Foodie for highlighting the resurgent modern day interest!

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Oh thank goodness its a zombie thread, I thought @Fab Foodie had got sick of his Brompton all of a sudden

 

[velovoice]

Hahaha! I've heard them called Lazarus threads but love 'zombie thread' too!

And the resurrection is all my fault - I did a search and found it. Yes, I saw it was from 2012 but thought it really cool that @Fab Foodie (who I'd never chatted to long enough before to uncover his latent mixte fetish) had started it.

 

[w00hoo_kent]

To be fair, most of the threads on here are desperately looking for brainz...

 

[SteCenturion]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this (having not read all posts) but I have a page saved for steel bike porn -
Hillary Stone.Com

seems to usually be one or two of these Mixte jobs on here whenever I browse.

Good place for good examples of vintage steel bikes (if anyone wasn't aware).

 

[velovoice]

Don't know if anyone has mentioned this (having not read all posts) but I have a page saved for steel bike porn -
Hillary Stone.Com

seems to usually be one or two of these Mixte jobs on here whenever I browse.

Good place for good examples of vintage steel bikes (if anyone wasn't aware).

Thanks - will check it out.
There are also Flickr groups for mixtes here and here, and at least one for classic lightweight steel bikes, if you know anyone who likes to while away a rainy afternoon now and then looking at bike porn. (We don't know anybody like that, no sir, not us!)