It rides very well -- with the sprung saddle she get's a very smooth ride, even on rough city streets.
Yes, the Le Tour series are quite nice, and this one was (from what I could glean online) made by Panasonic. There are still lots of them out there in garages and they pop up on Craigslist pretty frequently. They are a step up from the World Tourist (made by Giant in Taiwan, I believe), and certainly lighter than the old Varsity bike, which may have still been cranked out in Chicago back then. Was that the one you were thinking of? The original catalog page for the Le Tour Touriste can be seen here.<http://www.trfindley.com/flschwinn_1980_1990/1981_10.html> The Mixte isn't prominent, but the lower left photo shows one. My only regret is that she will be too tall for it in another year or two and will need something else. And even though it will fit my son by then, he probably won't want what he calls a "girls bike". On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 4:28 PM, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote: > > > 1981 Schwinn Le Tour Mixte< > http://www.flickr.com/photos/aydelotte/2577031655/> > > > > ...which had a nice Japanese lugged frame, but otherwise rusty and/or > broken > > components, and turned it into this: > > Thanks John. That really turned out well. > > When I warned against Schwinn earlier, I was thinking of the old > Chicago cruiser models with the one piece crank, and old north > american standard stem and seat post sizing. The Le Tour - I believe > there was another as well, conform more readily to modern parts. > > And it has the nice center seat tube join design. I bet it rides > pretty well. > > On Sep 1, 5:07 pm, John Aydelotte <j.m.aydelo...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Another vote for the Schwinn idea -- I took this Craigslist special: > > > > 1981 Schwinn Le Tour Mixte< > http://www.flickr.com/photos/aydelotte/2577031655/> > > > > ...which had a nice Japanese lugged frame, but otherwise rusty and/or > broken > > components, and turned it into this: > > > > Birthday Mixte <http://www.flickr.com/photos/aydelotte/2577051527/> > > > > ...for my daughter. I wouldn't call it "Riv'd Up" so much as "Velo > Oranged > > Up" but I think the outcomes might be similar. The frame was stripped & > > powder-coated locally, and my total cost was less than $400 plus some > parts > > (saddle, pedals, brake levers) I had around the garage. > > > > I didn't want to spend a ton as she's gonna outgrow it in another year or > > two, but she loves the bike and gets more compliments on it than I do on > my > > Atlantis. > > > > Good luck! > > > > > > > > On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 3:19 PM, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> > wrote: > > > > > > Its a middle ground between a Betty and a Beater but have you > > > > considered Soma's Buena vista? > > > > > Certainly good looking bike, and I really like the fork. For whatever > > > reason, Soma went with the double skinny tube design with only a brace > > > attaching to the seat tube. > > > > > If the rider is not a tiny little thing or carries any sort of loads - > > > and a mixte is meant to be an errand bike - the ride will be less than > > > ideal. > > > > > I have seen a lot of people on these bikes. But with all my 165 lbs > > > to carry around, those I have ridden just did not feel right at all. > > > Maybe I am fussy. > > > > > On Sep 1, 3:29 pm, RoadieRyan <rya...@hotmail.com> wrote: > > > > Its a middle ground between a Betty and a Beater but have you > > > > considered Soma's Buena vista? A quick google search shows them > > > > between $375 and 475 for the Frameset. I don't have personal > > > > experience with them but it seems like a sweet frame and good bang > for > > > > the buck. > > > > > > I am actually building up a Mixte for my wife right now from a older > > > > CroMo Schwinn that I actually found for free at the side of the road. > > > > After taking it all apart its going to need some lovin' but I can't > > > > argue with the price of the bike. In Seattle I frequently see > "Ladies > > > > 3 speeds" for decent prices on Craigslist an older english ladies > bike > > > > will be plenty strong (IMO) but not light. > > > > > > R > > > > > > On Sep 1, 12:41 pm, JoelMatthews <joelmatth...@mac.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > - Rene Herse > > > > > > - Alex Singer > > > > > > - Jack Taylor > > > > > > > Well, yeah, I'll concede those three ;) > > > > > > > But the chances of finding a Herse or Singer on Craigslist or on > eBay > > > > > with a starting bid less than $1k are virtually nill. Jack Taylor > > > > > does not have quite the cachet in the U.S. as its French > counterparts > > > > > (though indeed, it ought to), so you might get lucky. More once in > a > > > > > blue moon type of thing. > > > > > > > There are any number of bike boom French mixtes, Japanese came at > the > > > > > tail end of the boom. Some good and some not so good. Schwinn > made > > > > > some nice middle weight mixtes. I would hesitate to recommend them > > > > > here, as the proprietary sizing will make squeezing in Riv parts > more > > > > > of chore than with the French and Japanese. > > > > > > > On Sep 1, 1:16 pm, Steve Palincsar <palin...@his.com> wrote: > > > > > > > > On Tue, 2009-09-01 at 09:57 -0600, PATRICK MOORE wrote: > > > > > > > > > On Tue, Sep 1, 2009 at 7:45 AM, JoelMatthews < > joelmatth...@mac.com > > > > > > > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > > Off hand, I cannot think of one brand better than > another. > > > > > > > > OK, here are three: > > > > > > > > - Rene Herse > > > > > > - Alex Singer > > > > > > - Jack Taylor- Hide quoted text - > > > > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > > - Show quoted text - > > > --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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