Bicycle Mechanics - Centurion Ironman restoration

I am in ther process of restoring my old Centurion Expert Ironman (Dave Scott). I bought it in 1989, and road it for about a year, then stored it away as I took up MTB'ing. Road it a few times in 1995, just for fun, then back on the wall of my garage. Now that it has been many years, I pulled it down off the wall of my garage and I have started complete restoration, beginning with the Tires. I have completely repacked and installed new ball bearings, and they run smooth.

But, I do have a question. The tires have been sitting up there for 9 years, and I have noticed the adhesive holding the wire to base of the tire is starting to get a little brittle. The tires are still in good shape physically, ie no cracks etc. However, is it really worth reusing the old tires? Or, should I just go to the local shop and get some new ones?

I kinda like these old tires, (Technova Panaracers) as the tread is still in good shape, and would hate to chuck them if I don't have to. Other than the adhesive looking a bit old, what else should I be looking for?
Thanks,

Patriot

The bits of tire around the wire are what lock the tire into the rim. If this gets
brittle and crumbly, the tire may well decide to lift off the rim at an inopportune
time and blow catastrophically. If you are just tooling on the flat at low speed
this may be ok but in a more sensitive situation where time is of the essence,
say 35mph downhill into a curve, or making a turn across traffic it could put in
the deep stuff. 9yrs is pretty old for cheapo rubber like bike tires which don't
have all the UV and other protectants car tires do. Be safe and replace unless
you ride with the gaffers group a few miles on Sundays. Tubes by comparison,
being encased in the tire are much less likely to be a problem, except for
random stem separations or failures. Steve

Change the tires even if they look good. After 9 years, it's quite possible they've lost some of their flex and are brittle. Play it safe and get new tires...

I had a Ironman Expert in '89 - lot's of people did. I seem to recall that that year they came with Suntour GPX and the Master had 105. Tange tubing, classic geometry. A bit heavy by today's standards but a very solid bike. The worst part of the bike I recall was the wheels - can't remember what they were (the name started with a "A") but they were always needing truing.

Mine was stolen in late '90 and the result was that I stayed off bikes for almost 13 years. Marriage, kids and career can do that to you. Now, I have my priorities straight...:)

I miss that bike....

55/Rad

I have the Expert Ironman, with the Suntour GPX equipment. Not top of the line, but sure was nice in its day. The rims are Araya, and so far they haven't needed much truing, but then it probably only has a few hundred miles on them.

I know this bike is a little heavier than todays bikes, but I weigh about 200#, and the extra pound or two doesn't really bother me. If I decide to get into some local tours, then I may use this one for training, and invest in a newer one for racing.
I do love this bike though. I like the white and bluish/gray airbrush paint job. I just got done cleaning up the wheels, and they look alot better than I thought they would. Nice and shiny for a 15 year old bike.
I got some new Pedro's white cork wrap off ebay, which resembles the original. I need some new stuff, but don't want to deviate too much from its original setup, just because I like the way it was originally made.

I just went out to the garage and really eyeballed the tires. When I really bend them in my fingers, I notice tons of cracking in the rubber. Bad, bad, bad. I need new tires, no big deal.

I will soon post some pics of the work I am doing, just for fun.

Patriot

Just got the new tubes and new cork wrap in the mail today. I now need some new tires. I talked to the LBS and they said he has Vittoria Rubino's (Kevlar belted) for $20/ea. He said they are a good touring and trainging tire which is what I am looking for. What do you guys think about that brand? Are they descent? I looked at the MFR's website and I like the design. They seem good for the weather here in WA.

Also flushed (Tri-Flow) and re-oiled the freewheel with some good synthetic blend motor oil. It runs nice and smooth and very quiet. Not bad for such an old freewheel.

Patriot

[Vittoria is a good brand. Not familiar with the specific model but the price is attractive and kevlar
belt helps a little. Also check your brake pads, they are rubber too and should be replaced also.
Pull your cables completely out of the housings and inspect for occult rusting or strand breaks and
the housing for plastic deterioration and exposure and rusting of the wire coil in the housing. Steve

Will do.

Patriot

Well, I got both wheels completely restored the best I could. They have been completely broken down, and scrubbed with Simple Gree. All grease removed and hubs repacked with some green, waterproof ball bearing grease. New ball bearings were installed as well. All corrosion was removed from parts and polished. All spokes were also scrubbed and surface corrosion removed and polished with steel wool. Used a dremmel in the tight spots.

The front hub had alot of paint peeling, so I just stripped the paint off with Gun Scrubber solvent down to bare metal and polished the hub shiny, then clear coated to protect the finish. Looks beautiful, even better than the original. I have to admit, I really like the bare metal shine.

The back wheel hub is still in excellent condition with no paint peeling etc, so I will leave it alone.

The rubber rim liners appear to be in excellent conditon with no cracks and are very flexible. So, I will reuse them. Got some new tubes, and just waiting to get back off vacation to get some new tires.

Here's a couple of pics of my progress so far.

Patriot

Well I have been busy with work, etc but trying to get time to get this thing restored as carfully as I can without damaging anything. So far, it looks great, but I am thinking someday, I may just strip it all down and repaint it with my own personal colors, and or have it powder coated to match the original paint job. Not sure yet.

Included is a pic of the brakes. Completely torn down cleaned, lubed and reinstalled.

Also, the handle bars I have stripped, cleaned the white rubber grips with some strong stuff to get them white again.

I then polished the handle bars, and rewrapped them with Pedro's Milano cork. Looks puurrrrrty.

Included is a pic of the latest addition. Ya know I never had a water bottle on my bike before? Can't believe it myself.

Patriot

Just to let all of you know. I got rid of the old tires and got some new Vittoria Rubino Pro tires with blue. Also installed new cloth rim tape, and new tubes.

I of course had to get rid of the old Panaracer tires, they were cracking. Glad I wasn't crazy enough to try and use them again.

Just got done restoring the rear derailer. It got a bit scratched in a fall, but I buffed out most of it, so it's good. I am amazed at how well the old Suntour GPX componentry still works. The index shifters work beautifully for their age, and the abuse they went through when I first bought the bike. Although I have to admit, it took me a while to tune it up. Luckily, all of the old cables are in great shape.

Patriot

Patriot,

Thanks for your updates on your restoration of your Centurion- it was cool to see it coming together. Do you have a larger picture of your bike to see how the blue tires go with the bike?


I'm also a large guy like you- 200# so the lightness of a bike doesen't matter that much. I'm just starting out with riding road bikes- I'm tired of riding an old mountainbike to work...

How hard was it to pull out the brake and shifting cables?

Someone here in LA is selling theirs for $200 and I have been looking around and researching it.
Do you think $200 for this bike in OK condition is a good deal?

Yes, I think $200 is worth it, if it hasn't been in any serious crashes, and everything is straight, and works the way it should.
I really think for $400, when I bought it, was worth it as well, back in 1990. At the time it was one of the most reasonably priced bikes for what you got. At the time, a Tange #1 frame was some of the best stuff out there, as Aluminum was just coming onto the scene, and was still way too expensive for the average person.
I got some decent tape for the handlebars for about $8.00, real cork, which is so comfy, better than the original. I will post more pics when I get the new pedals and finish up with a new seat, etc. But you will have to wait. :)

Patriot

Someone here in LA is selling theirs for $200 and I have been looking around and researching it.
Do you think $200 for this bike in OK condition is a good deal?
No! Not even if it was near perfect.

At the time, a Tange #1 frame was some of the best stuff out there, .....

PatriotTange #1 was far from the best stuff around. Even in the Tange lineup both #2 and 3 were better, in having more aressive butting which made them lighter. It was plain cromo and not even hattreated. Marketing was at work even back then.

bumping an old thread rather than starting a new one

i just bought a centurion ironman frame off ebay with fork and headset for 77. does anyone by chance happen to know the standard headset size for one of these? its threadless so im guessing its just 1". also, is the BB 68mm? anyone know the seatpost size? my caliper has been a little fishy lately and i really wanna build this up.

Tange #1 was far from the best stuff around. Even in the Tange lineup both #2 and 3 were better, in having more aressive butting which made them lighter. It was plain cromo and not even hattreated. Marketing was at work even back then.

http://www.desperadocycles.com/Tubing_Properties_For_Non_True_Temper_Tubing.htm not according to this chart.

http://www.desperadocycles.com/Tubing_Properties_For_Non_True_Temper_Tubing.htm not according to this chart.

Well, sydney tragically died in a distracted-driver accident (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=155557&highlight=sydney+death) two years ago, so I'm afraid he's not going to have much to say on the subject.

The mechanics forum just hasn't been the same without ya, sydney... :-(

bumping an old thread rather than starting a new one

i just bought a centurion ironman frame off ebay with fork and headset for 77. does anyone by chance happen to know the standard headset size for one of these? its threadless so im guessing its just 1". also, is the BB 68mm? anyone know the seatpost size? my caliper has been a little fishy lately and i really wanna build this up.

The Ironman takes a standard 1" threaded headset, and the seatpost size is 27.2mm.

I used a Campagnolo Chorus 1" threaded headset on mine.

Change the tires even if they look good. After 9 years, it's quite possible they've lost some of their flex and are brittle. Play it safe and get new tires...

I had a Ironman Expert in '89 - lot's of people did. I seem to recall that that year they came with Suntour GPX and the Master had 105. Tange tubing, classic geometry. A bit heavy by today's standards but a very solid bike. The worst part of the bike I recall was the wheels - can't remember what they were (the name started with a "A") but they were always needing truing.

Mine was stolen in late '90 and the result was that I stayed off bikes for almost 13 years. Marriage, kids and career can do that to you. Now, I have my priorities straight...:)

I miss that bike....

55/Rad
Mine had Araya rims although I recall mine having 600 components (1990 model?). They did need truing often but the braking surfaces wore out quickly giving me an excuse to upgrade to Open 4 CD. It was fairly light back then (26 lb iirc) but heavy by today's standards as you say.

i just bought a centurion ironman frame off ebay with fork and headset for 77. does anyone by chance happen to know the standard headset size for one of these? its threadless so im guessing its just 1". also, is the BB 68mm? anyone know the seatpost size? my caliper has been a little fishy lately and i really wanna build this up.
If the headset and fork are threadless on a bike from that era, they are replacements, not OEM.

i didnt reread my post. meant to say threaded here.

can this frame take recessed short reach brakes? i bought some without thinking clearly.

If it is not puke purple and yellow forget it.

If it is not puke purple and yellow forget it.

Like this?

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p183/top506/Ironmanbefore1.jpg

Recessed short reach brakes should work.
Top

Tall Centurion beauty:

http://steelbikes.googlepages.com

Like this?

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p183/top506/Ironmanbefore1.jpg

Recessed short reach brakes should work.
Top

HA! I had that exact bike in high school. As my first road bike, I loved it...plus purple and gold were the school colors. I ended up selling it my band teacher right after I graduated....lord I'm such a nerd. Anyway...back to the thread... ;)

Yep that's the one.

anyone know the max width tires this frame and fork can take?

^^^ 700x28c.

I have 700x23c's on mine with fenders, and very little clearance, but it still works. Without fenders, you could go up to 28c with no problems. Something like a Conti Town and Country, or Schwalbe Marathons would work great for around town.

thanks. i measured and it seemed like 28s but i wanted to make sure.

I just picked up a Centurion Ironman at a garage sale for $20. It's not in the best of shape, but everything still works. It has been spray painted white and, believe it or not, I would like to get it back to the purple and gold color. Any ideas on the best way to get the paint off without damaging to original paint and decals. It f it helps, it was a pretty bad paint job and the white paint is chipping off in some places.

Graffiti remover... apply it to the rag and rub. Work fast and be careful. Do one tube/junction at a time. Try it in an inconspicuous spot first. Rinse with water when finished.

did you guys get confirmation on the 28c compatibility? I just picked up a pink/yellow Expert Ironman myself and was curious.

Thanks.

I had a red & white Centurion that I bought new in the summer of 1987...I want to say it had 105 on it, but I can't remember :). wish I still had that bike.