Issac

I agree with Miki and the labels of
Miki small and squarish even seem
similar. I saw a Performance brand bicycle by
Miki and same type font on decals.
Those are so cool with the forks and brake
Mounts. Chrome adds a touch of
Class

msl109

Here's the Prestige (Ser #N8S0031)and some of its more interesting aspects. None of the components are original except the bb cups (standard Tange stuff) bought it as a stripped frame. Seller had sold the headset, so I installed the blue Hatta track headset you see. Annoying thing about these bikes is the stack height limitation the Shimano headsets - with no spacers - presents. Responsive and comfortable ride. Different from the Ironman in geometry as well, I believe, though I'm not sure about the '89 ..
Note the attachment of the seatstays to the seat lug, the points on the lugs, even on the bottom bracket and the way the dropouts blend into the chainstay and seatstays - very different from at least my 86 and 87 Ironman.

Issac

Simply Gorgeous!

Issac

That's a Panasonic beauty and it's got that chromenwrap around huh? I Love them . Id buy it and shove the seat back and clean the thing , and a new bottom bracket I'd beg you to sell

vascoboy

purchased a Centurion LeMans RS, looks to be either 1986 or 1987...the SN is 6A5415


while I'm on the subject, I have all of the components & fork of 1987 Centurion that I took apart (Shimano 600) when the frame was damaged beyond repair; and I'm tempted to "gut" the LeMans and put use the components of the Ironman on it...I'll keep the LeMans fork since it has more clearance and I'd like to run size 30 or 32 tires since I'm going to use it as an urban beater. I already have a fleet of nice road racers...
is there anything I should watch out for?
Christian

coolkat

Centurion Super Tour 15 (kind of a weird bike) serial N1G5028

T-Mar

Based on the serial number number, the Lemans RS is a 1986 model. The component swap itself should be straight forward. Despite your comment about the Lemans RS having more clearance, the spec 400N calipers are the short version (38mm-48mm) which is almost identical to the short reach Shimano 600EX from the Ironman. There will be a little more to the chainstays, due to their 5mm increase in length but I can't comment on the bridge and crown clearance with 32mm tyres.

T-Mar

A handful of these have surfaced and they all have been from 1981, so it may be a one year only model. They were definitely entry level, with the sole 'touring' amenity being the triple crankset. IIRC, the head badge seemed to have been unique to this model.

vascoboy

i could only fit 28 size tires...right you were...ill have to save the 32s for another project. Anyway, build is finished and it's a fine bicycle. I am having trouble with the SIS shifting when it's on the small front ring so i'll have to put the shifters in friction (which is fine...i'm getting to like friction just as much as index) Would you know what rear freewheel would work best for SIS (7 speed)? thanks!!!
Christian Iribarren

AustinFitz

Just picked up this 1985 Ironman.

AustinFitz

I was just looking through some of the bikes in this thread again and noticed that the red 1985 Ironman I just picked up is VERY close in serial number to yours. Thought that was kinda cool. I'm also not sure what the 4th digit is on mine... In fact, I'm not even positive it's a digit at all. Mine almost looks as though it might just be an unintentional indentation left over from whatever tool was used to hold the "KG5" digits while they were stamped.

itchy_

I just picked up an old beauty in great condition that I'm pretty sure is an old Pro Tour, but the lack of a second letter in the serial number is making me unsure.

I haven't had a chance to clean it up (though it hardly needs it TBH) and / or take any glam shots, but a quick one I snapped this morning can be seen on imgur ... /CNkGgLT.jpg [My account on here is too new to post direct links, sorry]

The serial number is A725564. Does anyone have a guess why it's lacking a second letter?

Cheers, and thanks for keeping this amazing thread going for over ten years T-Mar!

cdmurphy

Any chance you could post some more detailed photos? Just from what I've seen, it doesn't look like a Pro Tour - they had either brazed on center pull, or cantilever brakes. Some detailed shots of the decals, seat stay caps, and rear dropouts could help narrow it down. Also, it looks like a Tange #5 sticker on the bottom of the seat tube. One possibility would be the Schwinn Le Tour 12.2 - it came in a chrome version that pretty closely matches this bike.

T-Mar

Centurion were manufactured by a wide variety of sources. I believe I've documented well over a dozen different formats. This thread documents the most common handful, which comprise about 95% of the collected data. So, another format wouldn't surprise me.

However, having said that, I believe cdmurphy is on the right track. The serial number format is consistent with Bridgestone and, if so, indicates 1977. Bridgestone was a known manufacturer for Schwinn and the frame features, visible components and even most of the stickers are correct for a 1977 Le Tour. The only thing that I might take issue with is that this is the chrome version, as I see two distinct lustres of chrome on the fork, with a visible demarcation about half way up the blades. This suggests that the forks were originally painted and the paint stripped.

So, what makes you think it is a Centurion? Does the head badge say Centurion? More pics please?

itchy_

Unfortunately there are very few stickers on the frame, some of which I'm positive are aftermarket. As for what gave me the impression it was a Centurion, nothing too substantial. Mostly I'd say it was the combination of the bike feeling like an older Japanese bike and finding photos of full chrome Centurion's online while trying to find a match.

That being said I'm coming around the the Schwinn idea as well; it definitely makes sense with the stamp on the stem & crank arms. Plus looking at this, oldtenspeedgallery ... /owner-submitted/mike-vs-1977-schwinn-super-le-tour-12-2/ is pretty convincing.

Snapped a handful of quick pics yesterday when I had it up in the stand. Only had time for a very quick tune-up as a friend needs to borrow it this weekend for a wedding. Planning to dedicate some time to cleaning it up properly next week before getting some better glamour shots!

Album is currently uploading (09:55 PST) at imgur ... /a/dWTJu

kreuserj

Here's a 60cm Centurion Carbon 89. I picked up at an auction a couple months ago. It has original Shimano tri-color 600 front and rear derailleur, crankset, gear and brake levers and back brake, front brake is Shimano 105. The fork is a BRC Profile Design that's beat up. I replaced handlebars and stem to make it comfortable to ride (6'5" 200 lbs). Rides great frame is in good condition with no cracks. Not sure if I'm going hang on to it and restore by finding original fork and decals or resell it's a little small for me.

RobbieTunes

The Carbon may have been '89, as the Ironman Carbon was 1988, $1295 and full DA vs. the Carbon full tricolor and perhaps in '89.

Serial # is inside the L rear dropout, dot matrix printed.

The fork was pretty flexible, rounded "shoulders" and long thin fork legs. In 1989 or 90, WSI had a model in the Asian market called the Carbon-R. They changed the fork and took a lot of the flexibility out of it by lowering the "shoulder" to below the rim, angled instead of rounded and the shorter fork legs helped.

I believe that model was tricolor as well.

If you need decals, I have a full set for your bike.

diomekes

The serial on my '87 magenta and yellow Expert is N6P7503. It's a 58cm with Shimano 105, Wolber rims, Vetta brown suede saddle, Sugino post, Nitto stem and Nitto B115 bars.

I just posted a pic in the Ironman pics thread.

AustinFitz

Here's an early Diamond Back Ridge Runner I just picked up. Almost all original, but in rough shape.

I'm pretty sure it's a 1983 model with Tange Champion no.5 tubing. I'm really curious to know what manufacturer made it!

Serial number is: K3G01834
Located under the BB.

cooperryder 

That is a nice find and I expect that is going to clean up to be a terrific looking bike.
It really has some nice features.
It's a model I wasn't familiar with.
If I could find one in my size I would snap it up and turn it into a stunning looking Urban rough stuff bike.

What are you envisioning for your new to you bike?

T-Mar

The Ridge Runner is almost certainly a 1984 model . The serial number indicates July 1983 frame manufactutre and this is in the grey area where it could a 1984. This is supported by the presence of the SunTour Superbe Tech rear derailleur which was introduced in the autumn of 1983, for the 1984 model year.

Sorry, I can't tell you who the manufacturer is, but the format has turned up on Campania and Sekai models and is similar to one of the early the early 1970s Fuji formats. It also doesn't belong to any of the three big "K "manufacturers; Katakura, Kawamura or Kuwahara.

curbtender

History of Diamondback

AustinFitz

Thanks! I'm really excited about it. So far the plan is just to totally break it down, clean, de-rust, and polish everything, then reassemble and test ride it!!! Then I'll decide what to do from there, but I do have an itch to do a drop bar conversion with big fat slick tires, full fenders, and racks!

Thanks for the info! I was wondering if it would have been an '84 with the July manufacture date, but all of the '84 models I can find online seem to suggest that they had changed the name to the Mean Streak that year and added a couple of similarly named sub models. Maybe that was in '85 then??

I've been doing tons of research looking for clues as to who the manufacturer may have been, but I haven't been able to find much on Diamond Back's early MTBs. I know most of the Diamond Back bmx models at that time were being made by "Koizumi" but from what I know of them their serial format was different than the Ridge Runner, and included a Japanese symbol that resembles a baseball. Researching Koizumi I found that they also made frames for Kuwahara. That brought me to this little article that seems to suggest Kuwahara did use a serial number format that almost matches up with the Ridge Runner on some of their bikes. Difference seems to be a 4 digit production number where the Ridge Runner has 5.



I'm on bed rest at the moment with an injured ankle, so I've been keeping myself busy by researching lol. I love getting into this kinda stuff!

AustinFitz

Some more interesting info! I just found a few scans from the 1984 Diamond Back catalog, and I don't see a mention of the Ridge Runner.

I also read that the reason for the sudden model name change was a conflict with Miyata who also had a MTB model named "Ridge Runner"?? I'm not exactly sure when that took place. I've read that they may have changed it in the middle of a model year though.

Anyway here are the scans!

T-Mar

Regarding Kuwahara, the only 1980's serial number format that I've seen for them is yy mm xxxxx. It is typically stamped on the lower seat tube and was also used on the contract manufactured frames for such private label brands as Apollo, Soma and Takara, to name but three. I've also seen it used on both ATBs and road models ,so there doesn't appear to be a unique format based on frame style. Also, as previously noted, the format used on your frame has been noted on other private label brands. It seems strange that Kuwahara would have two different serial number formats for contract manufactured frames during the same period. Consequently, I'm still leaning towards your format indicating a different, unknown manufacturer.

Yes, Miyata did have a model called the Ridge Runner. It came out in 1983, so there would have been a conflict. Your frame could still be a 1984 model if the solution was to simply drop the Ridge Runner from the 1984 line and reissue the catalog but that seems a bit drastic. I would think that they would simply have re-named it. Still, that leaves the issue of the Superbe Tech rear deralleur. Due to the front pull, the chainstay cable tunnel is dedicated and therefore it's obviously not a replacement rear derailleur. Yet, we have this derailleur appearing as "New" in SunTour catalog 61 in autumn 1983, suggesting a 1984 model. The only way for it to be a 1983 derailleur would be a if it was a late introduction and wasn't catalogued until autumn 1983. Since everything is still very gray, I'd be checking for component date dates, especially the rear derailleur. Hopefully, that will lead to a decided sway, one way or the other.