T-Mar,
As always you are a wealth of information...A few more questions for you, you mentioned Miki as the Japanese builder and I am curious about your comment regarding the differences between Acer and Miki....please elaborate a bit more if you please.
Did Miki only make the Semi-Pro, what is the difference between the Semi and the Pro, components, geometry, tubing etc.?
Thanks very much, Ben
Originally Posted by
T-Mar
+1, very early Centurion Professionals were built by Acer-Mex and came equipped with Camapagnolo (Nuovo) Record and Universal brakes. When production was moved to Miki in Japan, the component mix was SunTour/Sugino/Dia-Compe. As noted, this was for US market models. I've seen European Centurion Professionals with Campagnolo components but cannot vouch for their originality. Also, like many pro level models of the day, it's possible that these were also offered as framesets which would be built with customer selected components.
The Miki built frames look similar to the Acer-Mex versions but there are differences. The easiest way to tell, without appearing obtrusive, is to check the dropouts. The Acer-Mex models used Campagnolo, while the Miki used SunTour or Shimano and sometimes vertical versions. The Acer-Mex will typically have the serial number stamped on the seat lug or upper seat tube while the Miki versions have it stamped on the BB shell, which often has four large "petal" cutouts.
I've never seen an Acer-Mex Semi-Pro. They've all been Miki sourced and a SunTour/Sugino/Dia-Compe component mix.