I found this great forum while looking up info on my 1989 Centurion Dave Scott Ironman Expert, bought new and rode a ton before marriage and four kids intervened. I've been on (and off) a bike since a teenager in the late 1970's, when I got my shiny red Raleigh 10-speed, with yellow, white and black lettering.
I got the Centurion when I was 25 and, as I worked nights, I rode 20-40 miles/day and a little extra on the weekends for a few years, with a century thrown in for charity.
The century and raising a little cash for the Lung Assoc. in memory of my mom were my only goals. Unknown to me, there were prizes. I raised more $$ than anyone and got a call out of the blue a few months after that charity ride to say I could pick out a new mid-range Trek from a local bike shop. Thus began the collection, which went up to three when I bought something to pull a 2-kid trailer (which became a caravan--that trailer attached to a peddle your own trailer as the family grew--adding a new dimension to "ON YOUR LEFT.")
A few years ago I thought I'd bike to work, but on day TWO of my long term commuter plan, in broad daylight and in front of a busy gov. building in Wash., DC, the Kryptonite cable got cut and some crook rode off with my Trek, leaving me with just the seat (which I had inside with me) and back to being the owner of just 2 bikes.
But that was then. Now, it's sooo good to be back on the Centurion, and it's as responsive today as it was new. It took me about 5 minutes to get back in the groove of shifting the Suntour GPX components, which are as tight as ever. If all goes well, I should have my pace back and be passing the lean "youngsters" on my vintage steel by mid summer.
