Collin2424

Greetings! Well, I'm a Univega guy, a Miyata guy, a French guy, so why not be a Centurion guy too? I found this poor bike about a month ago five hours from my house. I eyeballed it and noticed what a great deal it was for weeks and finally gave up because it wasn't worth the drive. Well, this weekend my dad took a trip to that exact city and the seller was kind enough to deliver it to him. Score!

So what we have here is what I believe to be a 1982 (manufactured in 1981) 59cm Centurion Semi-Pro. It's all original other than the saddle and missing the front derailleur. It's a lousy photo, but I plan to fully restore this beauty and touch up the paint. It's got a Cyclone drivetrain with Super Mighty drilled cranks, ProAm hubs, Kusuki stem/bars and Tange Champion chromed frame. Should make for a really nice commuter and I'll certainly add some fenders and a nice canvas bag to it. Anyway, just wanted to share and see what y'all thought of the latest acquisition.

Here is the seller's video he posted of the bike: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a-CyF91hF4

Here is my photo:

Cheers,

-Collin-

P.S. RobbieTunes and Khatfull talked me into this one. Big surprise?

Japanamount

Very nice!!! I'm sure you'll enjoy it!

T-Mar

Congratulations on your new acquistion. Enjoy. Would you care to submit the serial number for my database?

Collin2424

Sure Tom. I referenced your thread in the first place to figure out the year. Serial number (according to the seller, so take it with a grain of salt) is: M1F15677. What other information would you need?

-Collin-

RobbieTunes

You know what I think.

Score to the bone. My size, and I'd have paid to have it shipped.

And thus, assured entry into the space-time Centurionum.

Collin2424

Maybe I should ride it how it's set up currently. Stem up to the sky and the saddle sitting on the frame. I like it. This could be a new kind of frame geometry here...

cooperryder

What a great bike. I had a 75 orange model and really liked it a lot.

Jon has a 1979 catalog scan on velobase.com
https://velobase.com/Resource_Tools/CatalogScans.aspx

Just scroll down to Centurion.

Good look on your restore of it.

cooperryder

Good luck on your restore is what I meant to type.

T-Mar

Thanks, Collin. That and the pic is all I need. I've got very high confidence in the interpretation of this serial number format. Right now, extra data, like yours, is being used to to corroborate and expand the time spans for the different Centurion models. For instance, the data indicates that the Semi-Pro was produced from at least 1975-1981 inclusively.

The only place where I'm lacking the data is for the boom era, entry level models.

BTW, based on the serial number it's almost certainly a 1981 model. That's too early in the year for a 1982 model, unless it had to go back though the process for correction of some defect or they were stockpiling frames. When you get the bicycle, the components date codes will provide further evidence.

Collin2424

Good to know. I had guessed a 1982 model because of the 1981 manufacture date. The rear derailleur date code is XE, which equates to May of 1981. So, I guess it could be a later 1981 model. I don't know if Suntour's date suggests model year or manufacture date, but 1981 or 1982 is good enough for me. Also, the frame is Tange Champion #2, not #1 if that helps at all.

Now I'm on a hunt for a saddle. The 1979 model came with a Kashimax according to the catalog. No idea what this one came with. Robbie says a Turbo. Maybe I'll just stick a Brooks B17 on it and be done

-Collin-

allysdad531

hi,great machine you found!............that bike was obviously one model below the "pro" model which i think was same frame but superb components;i think semi pro was 375-4004 when new and pro was 500$...........never rode one but heard they are nice with tange #1 or #2 tubeset.................enjoy your bike!

RobbieTunes

Close as you'll ever get to riding a cruiser and still being cool.

frantik

*drools*

hope to see a better pic when you're all done

also glad to see T-mar is back and still doing the data collection thing!

Collin2424

It was a sad day on Friday, guys. I stripped the frame of all the components/parts. I was cleaning the RD, brakes, hubs, etc. when I noticed something out of the corner of my eye. Upon closer inspection, I noticed there were not one, but four creases in the seat tube. I bought this bike sight-unseen and the seller swore up and down the frame was straight. I don't know how I missed this once it arrived, but I did. It's almost like someone hit the frame four times with a wrench. I wouldn't call them dents, but sharp indentations that are very profound.

Will the bike still ride fine? Oh, probably. Do I still think I got an insane deal? No. Am I willing to take the effort to "restore" this bike? Probably not.

Ugh. Not sure what to do now. Part of me wants to start over on a new project and part of me still wants to ride this bike. Decisions decision. Either way, I'm bummed.

-Collin-

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Not sure what your build plans were but why not just put the parts back on it and ride the piss out of it. A few hundred miles will tell you what you need to know and a Cyclone + Sugino Mighty drivetrain is nothing too shabby at all. I outfitted my Team Miyata with Cyclone + Sugino Mighty crankset....I only intended to ride it for a few months to determine if I wanted to go further with it.....2 years later Its still Cyclone + Sugino Mighty and now I'm debating with myself whether I really want to change it!

Collin2424

Built plans were to restore it to stock condition. I was also going to touch up some of the chipped paint revealing chrome underneath. That was before I saw the dents and realized I'd never get my money back out of it. I have plenty of bikes and therefore, none are really my every-day riders. I enjoy the wrenching aspect, so very few bikes end up being keepers. Knowing that whatever I sink into this I will not get back out of it is sort of a bummer. It's very painful to think of breaking up the original groupset and selling that, but at the same time it's the only way the bike is worth anything monetarily. I didn't buy the bike to be an investment, of course, but it does change somewhat knowing that dented frames are virtually worthless on Craigslist or eBay. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly a grail bike for me and it won't be in my collection forever.

I guess I still have to consider what my intentions are here.

-Collin-

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

Why not just have fun with it? Build it up in a strange configuration you wouldn't normally try....perhaps make it your test bed frame that you can try components on before you make decisions on other bikes.

anyway you cut it you're right in your thinking about the value and the longer you keep it and use it the more you'll get out of what you put in.

When you talk about breaking up the original groupset are you referring to what's on there right now?

Collin2424

Yeah. I hate pulling pieces off original bikes because they're worth $$$. I mean, I have a Univega Super Speciale which came complete with a Super Record group. The frame? Probably worth a hundred bucks. The group? Much more. But I want to keep them together. I hold some loyalty in keeping things original, I suppose, even if valuable parts can be sold on their own.

Anyway, I guess you're right. It does leave me in a unique opportunity to own a very nice frame that I don't have to worry about. Most of my very nice bikes, I'm afraid to ride!

-Collin-

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

For what its worth, those Cyclone bits, while very awesome both functionally and IMHO aesthetically, aren't particularly rare or super special or anything. .....although if you know I'm wrong let me know because I have several sitting in my parts bin that I'd love to cash in!

I guess what I'm getting at is there's enough 1st Gen Cyclone out there that I don't think you don't have to feel bad pulling it off and doing something with the frame and something else with the Components.

I feel like if you enjoy wrenching this is a golden opportunity and you've got a blank canvas that you don't need to worry (any further) about the value of.

Collin2424

Very true and honestly if I'm going to do anything with this frame, it's going to be turning into a wicket commuter. I'll likely stick a 14-30T freewheel on and use a Shimano Deore rear derailleur from a MTB. I think the geometry of the frame is a good balance for longer/comfortable rides, even though Centurion calls this a "race" bike. Doesn't seem like too steep of angles to me, so we'll see. The Super Mighty drilled crankset (52/42) has to go though

-Collin-

RobbieTunes

3cm smaller, and I'd solve that there problem....

Tende

Nice bike. Ive been wanting to find one cause they had a 25.5 size. Sorry about the dents. I bought a frameset several months ago, and found the fork steerer tube had holes in it. From a acetylene welder, I think. I dont know what they were trying to do. It's always a bummer to get excited about a build/restore project and then find a fundamental defect.

unterhausen

just out of curiosity, did the semi-pro become the "turbo"?

T-Mar

I'd be more inclined to say that the Semi-Pro became the Comp TA. Though it appears to have dropped out of the line for a few years, the Pro/Professional exhibits more lineage as the Turbo's predecessor.

unterhausen

Thanks, after I asked that I read the article on the Harris site and picked up on that. I just picked up a Turbo, it's a really nice frame. If the paint hadn't half fallen off, I'd feel more guilty about using it on the rollers