Mixte

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                            I see more and more bicycles around Chicago sporting upright handlebars, fenders and bells. This one also sports a more comfortable seat.

This particular bike is an old steel-framed mixte. Mixte is a French word which means "mixed" and refers to this type of unisex frames, with the third pair of rear wheel stays.

Stronger than the standard step-through, mixtes also have the geometry of fast-going road bikes. Their taller, skinnier tires also match the racing bike trend of the '70s, rather than the cushier tires of a more upright city-bike.

Mixtes have reputation with commuting women who want a machine more sophisticated than the standard step-through ten-speed, yet still friendly to skirts, dresses, easy mounting and two feet on the ground.