Originally Posted by
A.Winthrop
Hi,
.
There is a "Cinelli\Windsor\Centurion" listed on
eBay at the moment...
Yes, it certainly does appear to be a rebadged Windsor Profesional made by Acer-Mex. In fact, if we assume that it's just a re-badging, then we can date it pre-1975 by virtue of the Universal 61 center-pull brakes versus the Universal 68 side-pull. It also appears to be missing the brazed-on bottle boss that the Windsor Profesional had by 1975, Finally, it's a different fork crown.
I've never heard the name Robert Mateo associated with Acer-Mex. The name that is usually associated with these bicycles is Remo Vecchi, who had worked for Cinelli for over 20 years prior to joining Acer-Mex.
Additionally, I wonder about the exact relationship between Acer-Mex and Cinelli. If these bicycles had Cinelli's full support why was the integral, fully sloping crown not used and why weren't they being produced under the Cinelli banner, like the Mexican Benotto and California Masi? In fact, from what I've read, Windsor was not even an Acer-Mex brand but contract manufactured for a US company.
Regardless, it would seem we now have anecdotal evidence to state that Weiner originally had the Centurion Pro made in Mexico, prior to moving manufacturing to Japan. Certainly, the database has no records of Japanese built Pro (or Semi-Pro) prior to 1975. It would be nice to get the serial number and some components codes to substantiate this sample.
Too bad the wheels are non-original. I'm suprised there is no downtube decal and would really like a good look at the strange looking decal under the top tube, where the Columbus decal would normally be.