Originally Posted by
TugaDude
I'll post pics eventually, but I scored an Ironman Expert on the local Craigslist a couple of weeks ago,
and finally had time to give it a good, long ride.
Wow is all I can say!
Anybody else have an Ironman and want to share?
Very nice of you to ask,

In all fairness to the other members here, asking that here is like asking "do you have any grandchildren?" in Sarasota.
Most of the Ironman bikes shared on this forum are here in about 3-4 places already.
I recommend cruising through the Centurion Serial No. database.
You could also check in the STI/Ergo thread.
Great score, great bike. I see you've drunk the koolaid (ridden it).

So I'll just send you mine in PM, so as not to bore the others.
As far as yours goes, it is an icon in an icon. The Ironman bike has a following and a past, and almost all active road cyclists have had one, knew someone who had one, or encountered one or more in their journeys. Inside that brand, yours is a well-known version. The ad that featured Dave Scott has your particular model, and the ad, so 80's in itself, has generated many lively comments, some that touch topics not acceptable here... and I mean that in a most non-confrontational way.
Yours is an '87, the first year of "the split." In 1985 and 1986, the Ironman was a sole model, but in 1987, the Ironman line split into two models, the Expert and the Master. The Expert featured Shimano's new 105 line, the 1050 series, and indexed 2x6 shifting. The Master used Shimano's (by then) older Shimano 600 series, the EX (6200). Many people realy liked the new 105, and the Expert sold very well. Other than the component groups, the bikes were identical, and the Expert/Master twin lineup sold very well until it ended in 1989.
There was a carbon fiber model produced in 1988 to go along with the 105 Expert and the 600 Master. It ran Dura Ace.