Is there such thing as a proper mixte touring frame?
I've been looking around for a new touring frame and I thought it would be cool to build up a mixte. My requirements are clearance for 700x38-ish tires with fenders, stout steel tubing, full rackability, canti brake mounts, and I strongly prefer a 1" threaded fork. So far, here's what I've found.
The Rivendell Betty Foy lacks braze-ons for a low rider front rack and doesn't have canti mounts.
The Soma Buena Vista can only handle 700x28 with fenders, doesn't have canti mounts, and uses a threadless fork.
The Handsome She Devil doesn't have mounts for low riders, and uses a threadless fork.
If my search ends up being a dead end, I'm going to order the new VO Polyvalent 700c when it's released. Before that happens, I thought I'd tap the wisdom of you all and see what I might have missed.
If there really isn't such a thing out there, I say there should be.
Posted May 20, 2012, 5:09 AM UTC
buy an old steel mixte - motobecane made some nice ones, as did Miyata, Nishiki, etc - and then go to a framebuilder and get braze-ons. They're cheap (shouldn't be more than $50) and you ought to be able to get the frame and most of the bike for much less than you would pay for something like the Betty Foy. There are so many options that you can shop around if you're in any kind of decent-sized city, and it's cheap and rewarding.
On the other hand, if you have enough cash to spring on a Betty Foy (I sure don't, but you can go ahead...) you can get a framebuilder to put on canti mounts, braze ons, and paint it without adding too much of a percentage to the sticker price. Or, since it's Grant Peterson and Rivendell, you could probably email them and have them do it, maybe for a bit more money.
I've been checking CL, but haven't yet struck gold. Part of the reason is size, since I'd need around a 58-60cm frame. The other thing is using the 700c wheels (with a 135mm rear hub) I already have in a frame made for 27-ish wheels. Any idea if the wheel size is an easy thing to overcome?
You can convert to 700c. You probably need a longer reach brakeset if you go that route. I would go with the Soma Buena Vista or Rivendell mixte. My wife has the Soma with 32s and fenders. She loves it. Threadless is the way to go. Why would you go back to threaded if you have the option if threadless?
Thanks for the tip on the conversion. In a perfect world, I'd have a mixte with all the same capabilities as, say, a Long Haul Trucker. The Rivendell falls short in the low-rider rack department (and it's pretty pricey compared to a lot of touring frames), and the Buena Vista just doesn't give me quite the tire clearance I'd like (38 with fenders, maybe 47 or so without). The Buena Vista is an absolute bargain of a frame, and beautiful as well, but just doesn't quite match the specs of an LHT, Saga, or the new Polyvalent. The 1" threaded thing really is just personal preference, having to do with looks, ease of height adjustment, and the fact that I have a spare Nitto Technomic stem I'd like to use for this build.
Yes, actually!
My current bike is a 70s Fuji. It's rocking 700c no problem. My last bike was a mid 80s Schwinn. It had no problem with 700c either.
HOWEVER I am content with centerpull brakes, which actually have a bit more leeway for weird wheel size issues than cantilevers. Many old center and sidepull brakes are "long reach" and can hit 700c wheels with no issues whatsoever. Some newer ones are more difficult because they try to shave weight and don't have as large of an area to clamp pads to. My old weinmann centerpulls stop my loaded bike fine - i put kool-stop pads on them, which helps.
Re: 135mm hubs - My Fuji was built with 135mm spacing. I enlisted a very good bike mechanic and splayed the rear triangle 5mm to either side. It's steel, and it's fine. I've personally put a few thousand miles (loaded and not) onto it above the many many miles it had when I got it, and the frame shows no signs of any problem. It's totally understandable if you get sketched out by this though. My other old bike was a fixie conversion, so hub spacing was not an issue.