Weird Vintage Womens Centurion
11-16-08, 02:02 PM
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Weird Vintage Womens Centurion
I picked up a Centurion bike but I cannot find out what the model is. It just has centurion stamped on the front and on a couple of decals on the frame. I also cant seem to find any info on centurion womens bikes. It is a commuter and in pretty damn good shape, just some frame surface rust and the look of a bike that has been in a garage for 20 years. The tubes even hold air. I will post a photo later to aid in identification if that will be helpful. THanks!
10-07-12, 12:20 AM
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Hello there! I know this post is years old, BUT, I have one of these, and can not find ANY info on them! Did you ever find anything out? Do you still have it?
Thanks!
Thanks!
10-07-12, 12:35 AM
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Some pics would help a lot my bet is it a early 80's mixte guit a lot of these where sold in the western US and California not real high end but some really cool womens frames tyically with decent components.
10-07-12, 10:01 AM
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+1 Based on pics so far, not weird, and not valuable.
Lots of info on the web on Centurions.
Lots of info on the web on Centurions.
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10-07-12, 10:25 AM
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Please note that the first post in this thread is from 2008.
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10-07-12, 10:48 AM
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The late 70's early 80's centurions decals seemed to be made of paper. Or, maybe, something as durable as paper.
My 79 Semi-Pro has the brass Centurion Cycle Works head badge and no remaining decals. The are no sign of any decals having ever been on there, either.
My 79 Semi-Pro has the brass Centurion Cycle Works head badge and no remaining decals. The are no sign of any decals having ever been on there, either.
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10-09-12, 09:14 AM
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I thought I gave you a reply, indicating a Centurion Sport as the most likely candidate, in the Centurion Serial Number Database thread?
10-15-12, 04:37 PM
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Yes, you did, but then two other people have told me it is probably a Lemanns. I also read online that the Sports were not made until 1976, and another source listed them as not being made until 1978, and with the early1973 dating on the componants 78 seems somewhat unlikely. Just wondering if anyone found any definative info. Like, did Centurion make womens models of all its models in the 1970s? or just 1?
10-17-12, 08:54 AM
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Yes, you did, but then two other people have told me it is probably a Lemanns. I also read online that the Sports were not made until 1976, and another source listed them as not being made until 1978, and with the early1973 dating on the componants 78 seems somewhat unlikely. Just wondering if anyone found any definative info. Like, did Centurion make womens models of all its models in the 1970s? or just 1?
Other points of reference include old road tests and advertisements. It's known that the 1975 Le Mans used a SunTour SL front derailleur and SunTour VGT rear derailleur. It's not unreasonable to assume that the same would have been used in 1973/1974. The Le Mans had it's origins circa 1969/1970 as a Japanese version of the Raleigh Grand Prix, a 2nd from the bottom model and circa 1973/1974 these same derailleurs would have been typical on models that the LeMans was directly competing against. On the other hand, the Spirt and GT derailleurs found on your bicycle are more typical of what would have been found on the competition's bottom of the line model and it's known via a 1978 magazine road test that the 1978 Centurion Sport used this configuration.
While there is no objective evidence of a 1973/1974 Centurion Sport that does not mean that it did not exist and it is difficult to believe that Centurion would have been 4-6 years into existance without offering a model below the Le Mans, as this was the 2nd largest market segment and the next logical target for a model introduction.
I agree that your bicycle doesn't perfectly match a typical 1973/1974 bottom of the line model, especially the presence of a cotterless crankset. However, your bicycle would not appear to entirely original on the basis of what appears to be a Weinmann rim. It's possible that the in addition to the wheel(s) change, the crankset was upgraded or maybe a slightly better crankset was spec'd to get a slight edge on the competition? Regardless, overall I still feel that the circumstantial evidence points more towards a Sports variant than a Le Mans.
