rideandgoseek 

Hello All -

Just put the finishing touches on my newly acquired Centurion Elite GT 15

Paid $150 for the bike which had new tubes, Kendra tires and a Technomic stem.

Original handlebars were slightly bent so spent $38 (including shipping) on a new set of Nitto B135 Randonneurs

Got some NOS Benotto tape for $9 (including shipping)

Added a gently used 70's era Brooks saddle that I got thrown into a deal for next to nothing a few months back. I think I paid an extra $20 for it.

I had to realign the brake pads as they were grabbing the tires but other than that just gave it a quick wipe down. Paint definitely has its fair share of scratches that you'd expect from a working touring bike of it's age, but the sparkle in the paint is awesome in the sunlight.

The biggest surprise for me so far are the Suntour Mountech derailleurs which shift flawlessly and honestly perform a lot better than many of the higher end derailleurs in my collection.

Took it for a 12 mile spin this morning and real excited to stretch the legs on this beauty even more in the near future. For a total of $217 I'm feeling real good about how it turned out.

Thanks to everyone on the Bike Forum for guiding me when purchasing and refurbishing!

PS - Excited to see the finished product of it's sister bike that @AustinFitz has been working on the last few months!

rideandgoseek 

rest of the pics

Pemetic2006

Nice bike (and saddle too).

AustinFitz

That came out great man! I dig those bars on it I too was pleasantly surprised by how well my old Mountechs worked when I first rode it. These really are some sweet bikes! I'm not really sure what it would be worth though. Are you thinking of selling it?

I took mine out this evening too. Did 14 miles and loved every minute of it

rideandgoseek 

@AustinFitz Great saddle choice! Sure turned out well. Looks like the weather down in Louisiana is great for riding too! Unfortunately snow is falling in Denver so I'm gonna take the opportunity to start detailing the newest acquisition

bikemig 

Beautiful bike; nice job restoring it.

ramzilla

Sweet ride. Love the canti's. But, hmmmmm. What's up with those tires? IMHO that bike deserves some nice Panaracer Paselas or maybe some nice Continentals. I know you can get that up to 20mph on flat & probably 35mph downhill. Have fun. Be good.

rideandgoseek 

Tires were replaced by previous owner so I just decided to go with them. Didn't really notice them slowing me down on my short ride the other day. I could see replacing them if I'm looking to start touring in any extended fashion with this bike.

Insidious C. 

Nice! It looks like a very versatile bike too.

coolkat

I bought a bike with those weird knobbly Kendas and used them for my beater. They rode pretty bad and wore really fast, like down to the cords in a matter of months. You should treat yourself to some paselas and see just how smooth that bike can get.
The bike is absolutely beautiful though, the Benotto tape really makes it pop. You usually see these Elite GT's in the cinnamon and gold colors; I don't know if I've seen a blue one before.

rideandgoseek 

Appreciate the praise of the Centruion and insight into the Kendras! After a few more lengthy rides I am coming to the conclusion that these tires just aren't cut out for road riding. They almost feel squirrelly underneath me. You can definitely tell that you're losing energy in the transfer compared to other tires ive ridden.

Gonna look into a set of Paselas as others have suggested. Most likely won't get to it right away as this bike is gonna serve as a backup to my Miyata 1000 but I just really wanted another touring bike around for friends to ride. Should serve that purpose in the meantime.


Thanks again!

PS - after praising the Mountech derailleurs I'm having issues getting into the triple up front. Works about a third of the time. Other times just won't move over enough to engage. Thoughts on how to fix? Thanks much!

ramzilla

Try removing the FD & let it soak in a little plastic tub of diesel or mineral spirits. Put on a good pair of nitrile gloves. Grab the FD with both hands. Force it back and forth through it's entire range of motion. Drop it back into the soak tub. Repeat this procedure several times. After a day or two it should clean up good as new. When you reinstall it make sure there's no slack in shifter cable tension. If it still doesn't work after cleaning & adjusting, I'd try installing a brand new chain.

rideandgoseek 

Much appreciated @ramzilla ! Will give it a go

ramzilla

Almost forgot. Is that a High Normal front derailleur? (If it is, it will return to the large ring in the forward lever position). A design unique to Suntour. But, it drives a lot of people absolutely crazy. What I've noticed about High Normal FD's is cable tension is critical. If cable too tight, then FD cage won't make it all the way back to normal position. (Adjusting screw stop out won't help. Just makes the cable tighter). Cable has to have a certain amount of slack for the cage to pop back to normal position.