More detail pix of my 1989 Centurion Ironman Expert. It appears to be mostly stock with a few exceptions, noted in my earlier post:
- Terry brand saddle, Lycra over foam. (I like these and have a similar Bell saddle on my Univega. Comfortable, just wearing unpadded baggy shorts and regular wicking fabric underwear, without sacrificing much efficiency.)
- New Bontrager handlebar tape and bar ends. (I need padded tape. Soon! It's too hot to wear two pair of gloves.)
- New 700x23 Vittoria Zaffiro tires. (Not bad but I'm planning to try 700x25 or 700x28 shoes soon to soften the ride on chipseal.)
I'm trying to puzzle out the adjustable rear dropouts, which appear to be modeled on the Campagnolo 1010 horizontal dropouts. Googling around, opinions differ about the purpose of these dropouts and how/whether they should be adjusted.
This discussion on another forum offers some useful tips, including one based on feedback from a frame builder -- reportedly the adjustable screws were just quickie reminders of the appropriate position for installing the wheel, which needed to be aligned by eyeballing it against the frame. The screws can't really be used to fine tune the position of the wheel with the QR unlocked, unless you have three hands or remove the chain via quick link to relieve the derailer spring pressure fighting you.
My rear wheel appears to have been installed by the factory or dealer in the most forward position years ago - I don't see any signs of paint marks that would indicate it was ever set farther back into the dropouts. So for now I'm leaving it as-is.
The dropout thumbscrews are spring loaded -- that's actually the spring visible inside the dropouts, not the screw/bolt threads.
My only remaining question is whether significant adjustments to the rear wheel position would affect rear derailer shifting and noise. The Suntour driveline is awfully noisy compared with the Shimano stuff on my other bikes. I'm accustomed to hearing nothing at all while pedaling but the Suntour driveline never lets me forget it's there. I'm planning to clean and wax the original Suntour chain in paraffin to see if it quiets the system. Wax worked nicely on my errand bike's chain -- dead silent, smooth, stays clean.
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Seems like there's enough clearance for up to 700x28 tires, although I'd need to be sure bigger tires would clear the brakes without deflating. These 700x23 shoes are rough on chipseal, not bad elsewhere.
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Chain hanger/peg. Nice touch. Don't see that often now.
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Chainstay guard tape is deteriorated. I'll replace it with helicopter tape or something else.
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Winpista bar and stem, with maximum safe elevation mark. I have it right at that mark now for comfort. Not sure my neck will ever be able to handle a slammed stem.
