Let's see your bicycles!

[DyerStraits]

"I'm thinking about upgrading the Nishiki next year with a Dutch style step through bicycle better suited for running errands / shopping and would love any feedback our members might have on them."

So let's see your bicycles!

Cheers

Jamie[/QUOTE]


A step-through would be a good choice, Jamie, but I personally might opt for a mixte instead. It would likely function just as well for hop-on/hop-off commuting/grocery-getting/etc., but what really impressed me about the one mixte I've owned--a late 1960s Liberia that I found in a thrift store for about US$40 and always wish I'd kept--was how great it felt off-road. In retrospect it's not surprising: the mixte frame geometry is not too different from the "compact", sloping top-tube design so common now, especially on cross-country and hybrid bikes. An older mixte with the original center-pull brakes that would allow for a fairly fat tire (and fenders) and upgraded with a contemporary riser, flat or "mustache" handlebarwould make a very versatile AND unique, do-it-all, retro-cool "29er" machine.