umm..thinking of selling my Misty Mixte :(

moonio

Yes I am thinking of parting with my beloved Mixte mainly because I don't feel safe riding her, she is too stiff and heavy with bad brakes...

Maybe I am too spoilt with Harry my Boardman Hybrid, he rides like a wild antelope bucking and twisting whilst charging down london streets, Misty on the other hand rides like a dead donkey on wheels..

I think something changed when I had the wheels replaced, wider tyres and the new gears fitted, the bike suddenly felt unstable and i was more aware of her weight..

I basically need a bike like Harry, but with wider tyres, more upright position, ability to carry loads and sturdy enough for long distance. Have been looking at the Marin Sausalito again or possibly the Fairfax.

I really do need a bike that feels great to ride, very responsive, light, fast etc with great brakes!! Even when loaded up and riding upright...

I have realised that its not how the bike looks that counts, its how it rides!!

Any ideas??

Jay dubbleU

You have taken the first step to enlightenment - looks are less important than performance
Sad about Misty though

EKE_38BPM

This news genuinely saddens me.

Lighter aluminium wheels should have livened her up but wider tyres would have slowed her down again. If you put, for example, 38mm Marathon Plus tyres on it, it will slow it down and make it feel really heavy.
Good caliper brakes with good pads on aluminium wheels should give reasonable stopping power, but as you are used to discs, nothing else will compete. The only thing that can compete with discs is riding into a brick wall.
When you changed the wheels did you change to long drop calipers? You may not have needed to, but if you do need to and haven't, your brake pads will be rubbing on the tyres and that won't work as well. Modern calipers are better than old ones, and the pads that were on there weren't exactly Swiss Stops. Perhaps consider putting a disc wheel and fork on?

Other than filling the frame and innertubes with helium, there is nothing I can say about the weight though. Think of the steel frame as "over-engineered to last forever". I'm paraphrasing what Sketchley said the other day in the Morpeth with regard to his wheels.

That was the most stable bike I've ever ridden. Riding no hands and weaving in and out of peds through the park where you did the test ride was easy.
Maybe your 'upgrades' were anything but.

You may have to adjust the way you ride to suit the bike. I don't think it was really designed to "charge down London streets". Think soft focus 1970s Cadbury Flake adverts, enjoying the scenery and stopping to take pretty pictures when something catches your eye.











But if you do sell it, please make sure it goes to a good home!

lost_in_thought

Just out of curiosity, why do you need wider tyres?

And I'm sure bikes vary enormously but I love my mixte...

rolf_f

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Good caliper brakes with good pads on aluminium wheels should give reasonable stopping power, but as you are used to discs, nothing else will compete. The only thing that can compete with discs is riding into a brick wall.

Not quite so. In dry weather, decent calipers on a road bike are as effective as discs on an mtb. Obviously, older bike with older brakes and heavier is a different story but it isn't correct to suggest that discs on a road bike are in a different league to calipers.

Plus 1 to LiTs comment about wider tyres. I'd not go wider than 32.

moonio

I put marathons on her, mainly because I do a lot of woodland and riverbank cycling whilst filming and photographing things.. Misty is actually great for that!

However I usually need to cycle to the particular location that I'm filming and thats where she lets me down, I'm a real throw the bike down the road and manoeuvre though any difficulties type of cyclist more Sigourney Weaver in Aliens than Flake girl I'm afraid
I tried to cycle that that on Misty once and ended up on the floor, and have felt unsafe on her ever since, also it made me hesitant on Harry even though he can take anything I throw at him!!

Plus her weight means I cant really do any long distance cycling on her and I dearly want to go on long trips into the wilderness.. hence I am actually thinking of getting a cx bike rather than the Marin now

lost_in_thought

I'd pop some CX tyres on her and have another go. Rolf's comment is accurate re size.

Of course, different frames are going to handle differently, the mixte is quite a learning curve initially, but once you're used to it it's fantastic - well, that's my experience anyway. And the experience of the roadies I overtook on it. :twisted:

Are you sure you're not just feeling rather anti- the mixte since you fell off, and you're making excuses about not wanting to ride it? Hmmmmm?

Either way, if you don't want to ride it, then don't!

EKE_38BPM

moonio wrote:

...I tried to cycle that that on Misty once and ended up on the floor, and have felt unsafe on her ever since...

Take the pedals off and turn it into a balance bike or put some stabilisers on?

Seriously though, I think you may have messed up the handling/stability with the tyres and lost your confidence in it due to the off. Get the tyres right and you'll fall back in love with it, methinks.

moonio

Yes I think the fall has affected me, but I also checked the tyre pressure today and it was really low 20psi
So think that was causing the instability and sluggishness..will take her out next weekend and see how things go...

EKE_38BPM

moonio wrote:

Yes I think the fall has affected me, but I also checked the tyre pressure today and it was really low 20psi
So think that was causing the instability and sluggishness..will take her out next weekend and see how things go...

20psi!!! Do you use a gnat farting in the general direction of your bike as a pump?!
I remember hearing a racing driver (possibly Ayrton Senna) say "A good car with bad tyres is a bad car." and the same thing applies to bikes.
I think that you have put overly wide (you haven't said how wide), heavy tyres on your new wheels and are currently (but maybe not at the time of your off?) running them at ultra low pressure. Your contact patch will be massive and this will slow you down by a huge amount.
Stick some CX tyres on there and run them at the right pressure and see what it feels like then.

t4tomo

my brommie goes horribly unstable if the rear tyre pressure is low - I found out the hard way when I had a slow puncture.

And 20 psi fat tyres will be riding through treacle.

rolf_f

moonio wrote:

Yes I think the fall has affected me, but I also checked the tyre pressure today and it was really low 20psi

Go and stand in the corner and stay there until you're told!

(I'm surprised you couldn't see the frame wobbling whilst parked with that sort of tyre pressure!)

moonio

Ok thought i'd return and say that Misty is perfectly fine now that I am riding with the correct tyre pressure, I guess the hard walled tyres made me think the tyres were more inflated than they actually were :roll:

But all is good now.. and I wont be getting another bike


...for now :P

EKE_38BPM

Very glad to hear it.

Cafewanda

Good on ya.

Jay dubbleU

Let that be a lesson to you - take better care of Misty