Brandi and I took the Mixte down to City Island and made a few laps around the bike path to shake out any mechanical problems.
Everything appears to work, but Brandi had a few complaints.
- Handlebars too low — my hands hurt
- Seat too hard — my butt hurts
- Downtube shifters hard to reach — they suck
I’ve already taken steps to fix #2. I had to order a “seat sandwich” to get the B.72 to work with the micro-adjusting seat post. I also placed an order with Rivendell today, mainly for stuff for me, but I also got a Nitto Technomic long-ass stem for her, which should bring the bars up a few inches.
I think I’m going to get different handlebars, grips, and shifters. To fix #1 and #3. I was going to go with Albatross bars, but I think they may sweep back too much, so we’re going to give the Nitto Promenade bars a try (thanks for the recommendation, Jim), probably with thumbshifters. The only fly in the ointment is that the downtube shifters are clamp-ons, so I’ll have to rig up some sort of clamp-on cable stops.
There are several versions of the Promenade. Make sure you get the one you want. As far as I know, none will work with bar-ends. Thumbshifters seem like the best idea. Don’t go for the ultra-cheap SunRace thumbshifters. They are really crappy.
No need to rig up cable stops. I have plenty of old clamp-on down-tube cable stops. Send me your address and I’ll send you some. Just let me know if you prefer SunTour, Huret or the cryptically named “333”.
Thanks for the offer, Jon. Luckily, I was able to order a set of stops from Hiawatha. I should have them next week. If they don’t work out for some reason, I’ll let you know.