Hi everyone, I have just been led here by researching on the 'net about my recently purchased bike frame which I'm building up and I have been spending some time reading some of the Centurion threads here.

But I don't even know if I'm properly qualified to post it here on this thread because it's an Aussie version 'Expert' (1987 model) and it doesn't say 'Ironman' anywhere on the frame... does that mean I can't be part of the cult?!


Plus it's a bit of a bastard build, far from original and still unfinalised as I decide on stem length, bartape, saddle... I bought the frame and a few parts on gumtree from a guy and he told me it could accept a 10 speed upgrade. Later I measured the OLD and sure enough it could, it was 130mm. He didn't say whether he'd coldset the frame from 126mm himself and I didn't ask but the rear wheel with a 5500 105 hub he also sold me had fit straight in no problem. I happened to have a 7 speed cassette with a nylon spacer I'd rejected from another bike that worked ok with that. I couldn't wait to try out 7 speed (well, 14) downtube shifting once I'd gathered enough parts
to ride the bike.

Bought some new cables and toe clips and straps and took it out for its inaugural ride on 52/42 chainrings (non-biopace but that's ok, I've read they can be bad for your knees.. could that be causing texaspandj's knee problem...?) and 12-13-14-15-17-19-21 cassette and it was so exhilarating that I didn't even really notice that to be a very hard combination. Probably because I was adjusting to new-to-me downtube shifting, i was excited, people were doing double-takes... and everything.



The guy was likely the original purchaser as he also told me that that saddle was original, but I'm not really fussed about the saddle. It seems that I got more recent-than-original (better? so far that front derailler has worked flawlessly) 105 derailers from him (1055, not the older SIS ones), but I happened to have a 600 rear derailer and 600 dual pivot brake calipers that matched so I put those on (anything to earn me 'Ironman' status... whether it's 'Master', 'Expert' or 'Novice'...). I'm also not fussed about doing anything about the scratched up paint except rust-prevention, it's beyond trying to touch it up... I call it 'character'...

I've also recently found a Centurion 'Team Pursuit' from 1987 but I'd need to take some pictures before I post about that, probably in the Centurion serial no. thread (along with this bike), is that data still being collated usefully? having bought these used I'm a bit scared to do that in case someone tries to claim them back from me!