High-spin states in the 164 68 Er 96 region were studied using 9 Be + 160 Gd reactions. Pulsed beam conditions were exploited for enhanced sensitivity to delayed γ -ray transitions. New isomers were identified in 161 Dy, 163 Ho, 162 Er, and 165 Er. The 162 Er isomer is interpreted to decay by E1 transitions to the ground-state band with a reduced hindrance of f ν = 33. A plot of f ν values for all K = 7, E1 transitions from two-quasiparticle isomers to the ground-state bands of even-even nuclei reveals only a small influence from the dynamic to kinematic moment-of-inertia ratio, which provides a measure of Coriolis K mixing within the ground-state band. This is interpreted to imply that the relatively low hindrances are due to K mixing in the isomer, caused by a combination of Coriolis and octupole band mixing.