12 August 2009

Mixtes across the Hexagon

While I couldn't possibly photograph all the mixtes I saw in France, here are a few of the photos that were convenient to get. I've mentioned that I came to urban cycling after living in Paris, upon returning I'm convinced that the archetype of the mixte frame entered my subconscious while I was there and that is why I love it so. They are so very practical, always have fenders and little platform racks, are lighter than most city bikes... I still don't own one, but they are lovely, aren't they?

This lady in Paris has the only reflective ankle strap I saw in France:



There's no lycra here in deep Provence! Monsieur was pumping up that tire and fiddling with the bike. I couldn't wait long enough to get a photo of him riding, but he must have gotten it running because the next day the bike was gone.

old man mixte Provence

Fully loaded for camping in Lyon, that may be a 2 Second tent but I learned it's two seconds to put up and about twenty minutes to fold back down again:

Lyon camping mixte
This one looks better if you click to expand the image:

Paris mixte hat
Finally, a pink mixte in Lyon:

Man's pink mixte Lyon

5 comments:

jamie said...

They are my favorite! I own two of them. Sushi (my Nishiki) and Lola (my restored Univega). I feel like such a classy dame when I ride them, too. =)

Anonymous said...

i just painted and built out a mixte. i have been looking for one obsessively for 2 years and now i have it!

Thom said...

Do y'all know about the new Mixte Gallery?

http://themixtegallery.wordpress.com/

lagatta à montréal said...

I love mixtes, and I love my black Raleigh Sprite mixte. We have a lot of Peugots here as well.

My Sprite needs a name, jayme. I've already had Dolorès (a brown 3-speed Raleigh) and Graziella (a silver mixte assembled here in Québec by Mikado), but I can't seem to name her.

They are lovely things for city riding in places like Paris and Montréal where there are a few more hills and inclines than Copenhagen and Amsterdam.

kfg said...

I've been drooling over the new Rivendells and counting my pennies ( a lot of them), thinking that my "mother" needed one (so I could "borrow" it), when what appeared on my doorstep but a 1979 Peugeot UO-19C; so original it still has one of the little plastic protector acorns on a brake bolt.

$50 later it was mine.

Judging from the chainrings and tires (original, completely dry rotted, but still holding air) the bike has no more than 500 miles on it.

And to make it sweeter it has city riser bars on it, instead of the drops they were typically sold with around these here parts.

Maybe mom will decide she really wants a 3 speed roadster and I've got a new "goin' ta da liberry" bike.

One can hope.