So I'm back at the old home this week, and my dear old ma has decided she wants to get back into cycling after I convinced her that not all bikes are as aggressive and uncomfortable as her old aluminum Trek 1400. I've decided to build up something for her, natch, but I have zero knowledge or experience in the comfy-and-capable-AARP-bike world, so I'm really open to whatever ideas you all might have. Here's what I'm thinking is important at the moment:
-Mixte
-Upright
-Plenty of clearance + eyelets for wide tires, fenders, racks
-Sub-700C would be great, but not crucial (but toe overlap is a concern)
-Reliable, reliable, reliable.
-Not geared too tall (it's hilly out here)
-Steel
Anything else I should be thinking of? I have no experience with internal hubs, but this might be a good situation for one. I'm pretty much 100% against belt drive. For simplicity's sake, I like the idea of a single chainring, but I'm not sure I want to venture into 10/11 speed territory.
Frameset: Mixte. I'm thinking either a nicer late 80's/early 90's Japanese frameset (Miyata or nicer Tange), or on the pricier end, a new Soma/Velo Orange/Handsome.
Wheels: I dunno, 36H 105s laced to something wide? With Marathons? Yeah? 38? 45? Help me out. I'm pretty clueless here.
Gruppo: 105 RD/cassette with a barcon. Parts bin brakes and levers.
Otherstuff: Probably a Brooks, some sort of sweepy bars (Nitto or Soma or something), shallow and wide front basket (wald?) with bungies. Parts bin post, pedals, stem. Suitable (new) BB, FSA or CC headset.
Pricewise, I have more to work with than usual. Basically, "Sub-Rivendell" is the range I'm looking at. This should be a lifetime bike.
I'll probably end up putting the thing together in Seattle, shipping it back to NH, and having it assembled by someone I trust out here.
Ideas?
Marley
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 3:36 pm
Joined: 08 Sep 2014Posts: 428
How tall is your mom? You should test-ride/look at the mixte Univega I bought impulsively at 20/20. I love that bike...but I don't really need it. It's a 53 (but fits me and basically meets all your specs. I'd be willing to part with it for the right price.
-New cassette
-New brakes/housing,etc
-New chain
-New tires
-Front fender (but not a rear)
-Rear rack
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tehschkott
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 4:16 pm
daywalkerJoined: 09 Nov 2007Posts: 6108Location: Hatertown
That's a fucking cool bike. Downtube shifters are dumb and should be done away with at earliest opportunity, but a cool bike.
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Alex
Posted: Wed Jan 13, 2016 5:00 pm
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
Downtube shifters are rad! That is a cool bike.
The modern mixtes often have stupid geometries in the smaller sizes. I'd be tempted to look at the 80s bikes like Cass' mixte.
jimmythefly
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 10:35 am
Joined: 10 Jan 2007Posts: 1491
Marley that Mixte is fantastic.
jimmythefly
Posted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 11:30 am
Joined: 10 Jan 2007Posts: 1491
walker wrote:
So I'm back at the old home this week, and my dear old ma has decided she wants to get back into cycling after I convinced her that not all bikes are as aggressive and uncomfortable as her old aluminum Trek 1400. I've decided to build up something for her, natch, but I have zero knowledge or experience in the comfy-and-capable-AARP-bike world, so I'm really open to whatever ideas you all might have. Here's what I'm thinking is important at the moment:
-Mixte
-Upright
-Plenty of clearance + eyelets for wide tires, fenders, racks
-Sub-700C would be great, but not crucial (but toe overlap is a concern)
-Reliable, reliable, reliable.
-Not geared too tall (it's hilly out here)
-Steel
How tall, how old, and how athletic/flexible is your mom? how much did she ride her drop-barred Trek 1400? Is she trying to go fast and get fit, or just tootle around on local gravel paths?
For reference, my mom was never a "cyclist", but she rode around with us as kids in one of those kid seats on her back rack (no helmets of course). As an adult she played ladies over-40 indoor soccer fun league. She'll be 60 this year, is about 5'2" tall, and has had knee and now flexibility issues. Her current ride is a sweet Giant shown center of the pic below. Here and my dad regularly do 30+ mile rides on the rail-trail, which is dead-flat gravel.
(note my Dad's total dadgyver additions: super-long rack struts from aluminum flat bar, custom rear-rack bottle cages, custom huuge neoprene sunvisor velcroed to her helmet, custom pants guard over big ring on his bike)
If it were my mom, I'd start with something very much like this:
[img]goddamit so much, spent 5 minutes trying to embed an image no idea why it won't show[/img]
It's $430. It's aluminum, and that doesn't matter, it'll be fine and not really too heavy. My mom absolutely wants the bolt-upright riding position -need a tall head tube and riser bars for that. She absolutely likes the super-low step through.
I wouldn't put her on a vintage mixte, honestly not tall enough head tube, too much step-over, plus other assorted parts weirdness. I want something that has mostly modern parts and that any bike shop can repair or at least be familiar with.
With what sounds like your budget, I would look at swapping out as many heavy/oem parts as I could. This sounds kid of dumb, but I still think this frame has advantages as a base:
Swap on a 1x11 drivetrain, including a crank/BB that will certainly be lighter than OEM. Find some kickass XC weight-weenie MTB wheelset to swap on. Absolutely swap for nicer tires, maybe with some tubeless type sealant in the tubes. (would probably not go full tubeless). Keep in mind that on a bike like this the saddle is more of a seat, and that big pillow-top might be just what she wants.
walker
Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2016 4:56 pm
Joined: 05 Aug 2015Posts: 1855Location: beastcake
Awesome, awesome advice Jimmy. To answer your questions: she's 67, about 5'4", and fit (uses the elliptical every day) but not about to start racing.
Marley, let me talk to my madre about the Univega and get back to you. I think it's totally badass but she might be looking for something more modern.
I'm really torn between building the awesome vintage mixte of my dreams (something like the Univega) and the more practical modern mixte (something more like the Trek).
That visor is badass.
Moira
Posted: Thu Jan 21, 2016 1:25 am
MoistraJoined: 28 Nov 2014Posts: 712
My mom expressed interest in a bike and Public bikes was having a sale on their Dutch bike things, was pretty impressed with it for the price and what it is. Shipped mostly-together in the box, felt sturdy and rode nicely.
Honestly I'd recommend a look-see at Public - I had to get over what I wanted my mom to want vs. what she really wanted (in her case, a cruiser with a basket and no gears to think about). http://publicbikes.com/Bikes
walker
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2016 4:35 pm
Joined: 05 Aug 2015Posts: 1855Location: beastcake
Modern pseudo-mixte it is. Sounds like she's going for a Trek Chelsea 9. Anyone have a good reason to not buy one of these?
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Alex
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:18 am
Joined: 18 May 2006Posts: 3128Location: Roosevelt
The 53cm one doesn't suck too badly geometry wise (but 74 sta is pretty steep).
How flat is it where she lives? 45/32 isn't a very low lowest gear.
It's nice to see Trek building more steel bikes.
walker
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2016 9:53 am
Joined: 05 Aug 2015Posts: 1855Location: beastcake
Alex wrote:
The 53cm one doesn't suck too badly geometry wise (but 74 sta is pretty steep).
How flat is it where she lives? 45/32 isn't a very low lowest gear.
It's nice to see Trek building more steel bikes.
There are rolling hills, but not crazy Seattle hills (central New Hampshire). It'll be mostly for puttering around the neighborhood, so I think 1.4 on 700s should be fine. Worst case scenario, I'll throw a smaller chainring on next time I'm back East.
Thanks for the input though. STA was a concern of mine too; I'm thinking it might be a good idea to mitigate a bit with a new post with some additional setback
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Park your car right on my face
Baby pump those brakes
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