Monday, September 17, 2012

Another Kind of Retro Tech: The Rescued Mixte Bike



 
 One of those generic '70s steel frame ladies' bikes, branded Rüdi Altig, who is apparently a German professional cyclist (now retired). While I would have liked to say it is a classic ten-speed, I'm having to settle for six.

 I have always admired the mixte frame style, and the turquoise color is perfect. We have since found a saddle for it and pumped the tires. Other repairs that were needed: spoke replaced in back wheel, handlebar stem changed, brakes and brake levers fixed, and gears tested.

 Pity about the missing back fender, though. Perhaps it is only a matter of time before we find one abandoned somewhere...

 As I write this, she is ready to be ridden, having held the air in her tires for more than a week without much discernible leakage (a good sign). As a novice who stops abruptly in the middle of the street when I need to scratch my nose, I am not sure how I intend to ride this (the shifters are on the headset). This should be fun!

8 comments:

  1. How do you determine that it's really abandoned? Was it "trash adjacent" as we say here?

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  2. It is a nice bike though. You would need a rack of some kind to take a typewriter.

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  3. Good question. We definitely didn't pick it up like this, resting serenely next to a lamp post - we only posed it this way for pictures when I remembered to take some during the walk back!

    Yes, it was trash adjacent - shoved into a hedge on the sidewalk (where trash is put out for collection) next to another wreck (which was missing far more parts). The saddle is missing, obviously, and the handlebars were completely disconnected from the front wheel - we had to jam the stem in with a rock to get it to roll along without having to literally carry it.

    And, of course, there was no lock.

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  4. "As a novice who stops abruptly in the middle of the street when I need to scratch my nose..." Hahaha!

    Cool find, I have a feeling we will be seeing bikecasts sooner or later. By the way, your typing is near perfection!

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  5. Ton is right--tell me that's not a first draft!

    Lovely find. My own salvaged bike spent the Summer waiting for handlebars.

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  6. I hope when you screech to a halt it is in a bike lane or off to the side...
    All you need to take a typewriter is a rear rack and some bungee cords or other kind of strap that can be pulled tight or panniers. I like Richard's handle bar mount, although I would need to change handle bars to do that. I wish I had the experience with typewriters as I do with bicycles. Both are fun and I am sure as the weather gets cooler I will be doing some typing on my bicycle trips here.

    That is an amazing place where you live...typewriters and bicycles in the trash. Good ones too!

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  7. Believe it or not, but just today, I saw a Rudi Altig bike, too - it wasn't abandoned, though, and not as fancy as this one either.

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  8. Awesome rescue! It's amazing how one collecting addiction often leads to another. Keep right on collecting, and please, keep sharing the pics.

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