NukeouT

I got this bike from the father of one of my classmates. He is a retired bicycle mechanic who now runs the Santa Clara Bicycle Coalition in the Bay Area. This frame was donated to them, and he took it home to pry off the very unique Centurion/Raleigh badge to add to his collection. He didn't have a use for the frame itself, so he gave it to me and my fiance to build up into our 3rd backup bike.

I would like to know how old this bike is and what its model is called.

The most telling peice is probably the Centurion headbadge, which I cant even find online. It was pretty much the shape and graphic design of the Raleigh badges. Instead of a phoenix it had a full white horse rearing on its hind legs, and it had a big bright red capital "C" under it. Under the "C" was something along the lines of "centurion bicycles, north america".

The serial number on the bottom I also could not figure out. It says S111 111, how ever when I looked it up on Sheldon Brown's website it said that there is not alot of information out there on centurion serial numbers.

pictures (I added the seat stuff, rear brake, rear reflector, and water bottle. Bottom bracket cup came with the frame, because I still have not found a tool to remove it. I am also holding the headset that came with the frame and I identified as a Tange MA-60.)

CMC SanDiego

I'm betting that was a Carlton frame, and not a Centurion. If it's not Carlton (and Ive never seen one with a horse on it) then you may find it in this Headbadge Photo Gallery. https://velobase.com/HeadbadgeGallery.aspx

NukeouT

I took a photo of the badge from this frame when I got to see my friends rare head badge collection couple days ago.

It actually says the name of the bicycle on the badge. "Centurion: Super Sport"

Funny thing is... this bicycle does not exist on the internet. This, even though I have a photo of the head badge and own the frame itself.



its not here or here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centurion_%28bicycle%29
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/centurion/index.html

TugaDude

It is not the same "Centurion" that you commonly see on ebay or CL. That is a brand, whereas this Centurion is a model, Centurion Super Sport. I'm going with the post above in saying I believe it is probably a Carlton frame. The lugwork is outstanding. Should be stripped and repainted, too nice a frame to go to waste.

jacksbike

As much as I am intrigued that it could be an English frameset, I strongly believe that it is an older japanese frameset. The lugwork and the dropouts , to me, are copies of English bikes. The clincher is the heart shaped down tube shifter, or cable outer core clamp stop. I am quite sure that older Japanese framesets used that type of braze on.

gaucho777 

Unless a frame is damaged beyond repair, I wish people would just leave the head badges on the frame (where they belong, IMHO).

NukeouT

The person I got the frame from was the one who removed the head badge. & my fiance wants to restore the frame at some point.

Yes, the heart struck me as something the Japanese would do from the moment I saw it. Their pop-culture was always into cutesy stuff. Yet the frame itself is very Raleigh/Carlton because my first bicycle was a Raleigh Grand Prix 1977. This is why I feel it may be one of the first Centurions. As the story goes, Raleigh USA sent an order to Japan for some Raleigh frames outfitted with Japanese parts. When the first batch of 2000 bicycles arrived to Palo Alto, CA (a town two over from me to the west, im Sunnyvale), Raleigh England threw a fit and made them can the deal. The bikes were re-branded as Centurions and sold well enough to start the Centurion line.

If im wrong thats fine, but am I? Or is this one of those first couple bicycles shipped from Japan for sale in the United States?