RobbieTunes

We're just two old runners with nothing better to do, eh? I'm indebted for your packing prowess, and will produce the best bike I can.

And I have word today that j mazz, a recent cult addition, has acquired another Ironman to compliment his 1988 purple smoked fade........the man has a knack. No clues, but his is the only one of that year and model that I've seen with 100% of the original items, especially the group.

j mazz

It's true - I was shocked I got it. Haven't had much luck on ebay lately. As I told Robbie... here I am getting number II and I have the purple fade in pieces. It got me motivated on a nice (45 degree) November day to go out and start cleaning it. I hand cleaned the chain, bottom bracket and both derailuers. That included wiping the grease off of each ball bearing after a good soaking in Simple Green and a squirt of dry lube to keep them clean until they can be reassembled. The other parts got the same bath and a good scrubbing with a toothbrush. They clean up nice.

I'll post pictures and update the database when I receive the bike. I also need to add the purple fade. I can't read the serial number but I will after a strip and powder coat. Thanks to JR who recreated all of the 88 Master decals. He now has them on file. I'm looking for a good airbrush guy to recreate the purple fade and smoke swirl. Getting close...

curbtender

Picked up a LeMans at a garagesale for $25. White and yellow with southwest accents, all sport exage components, vetta/centurion seat, gold annodized rims. S#L6142 on BB. He said he paid $800 for it at the time, which I found hard to believe, but a friend said that may have been true because the yen exchange rate had affected the prices on late 80's Japanese bikes. I'll post a picture when it gets cleaned up.

JoeTool

Thanks for the extra info A.Winthrop. This forum is really cool. I bought the bike from a Local Bike Shop in Tallahassee (the sticker can be seen above the "Made in Japan" sticker on the bike's main downtube). He must have put that set on - I wasn't a very educated bike buyer but it sounds like the LBS did me right anyway. I remember the guys at that store told me that the Centurion LeMans' were a steal for the price at the time. Before that bike, I was doing about 13miles per day on an old beater 10 speed. I couldn't believe the weight, acceleration and smooth function of the Centurion. I really thought that I was a pro with that bike and I put a large number of miles on it in Tallahassee. I would start on campus and go south to the airport and then swing around the Seminole Reservation (Lake Bradford) and then catch Pensacola Street back to campus. We also did a 110 mile ride from Tallahassee to somewhere around Cape San Blas. I did a lot of riding in Charleston, SC and Isle of Palms. I always kept the bike stored inside but I many times rode in the rain and had it on my bike rack when it was raining. The keeps many great memories for me but also works like new now.

curbtender

cstamper

Very nice.

RobbieTunes

That bike wasn't $800 new, but you certainly stole it this time around.
The Lemans has generally been a great value for the money.
And a Lemans with yellow, be it the fade, the two/tone w/white or black, is a hot ticket.

RobbieTunes

https://cgi.ebay.com/CENTURION-57CM-C...ayphotohosting



1988 Centurion Carbon. Likely an Ironman, because the graphics weren't consistent on that model.

geekrunner

I really am diggin' on that WHITE on that Le Mans!

geek

RobbieTunes

N6M7490.

mrmw has scored an '87 Ironman, the likes of which seem to elude me. It doesn't fit him, so he flipped it to me, and we'll be making "arrangements." I greatly appreciate it.

Though I'll have two in red/white, geekrunner's had OEM red hoods, so I'll stick w/the red theme up top, while mrmw's has the white thing going on, and that will continue.

revelstone

well for better or worse i traded my nishiki custom sport for another bike. the nishiki was large, kept hurting stuff. loved the bike. but a guy on craigslist had a centurion sport dlx that was just my size. we traded one for one. i'll post pics when the sun comes up tomorrow. here's a really small picture from his post.

revelstone

well here's a better picture. the centurion sport dlx is the newest one to me. the serial number says its a 1980. the serial is N0H80488. it also looks just like the one in the catalog i got a couple of weeks ago. so that means i now have two bikes that might be 1980 centurians. and they both fit me.

revelstone

P.S. fuan saddle, shiman rs shifters and derailers front and back, sugino crankset, dia-compe side pull brakes, on the sport dlx. the other ones with one of my dogs is a lemans.

RobbieTunes

Those are nice bikes, revelstone, and the components you list will last, along with that frame.

nemo

Ok today i picked this up from the trash heap It would appear to be a centurian super lemond
As you can clearly see it is in very bad shape. seeing a great old bike treated this way makes me want to cry and then try to fix it!

According to the database, it would have to be a 1984 model, however it is not in the 1984 sales brochure on sheldon brown's site.


the rear derailer was removed and replaced sometime before it was thrown away this is surely the replacement. Looks to be one from an x-mart mtn bike or something. beyond that and the saddle all parts are there just in need of cleaning and repair.





Please help me id this bike more positively this will help me to decide wheather to try to find period correct perts to repair it with or not. interestingly enough I was coming back from delivering my restored GT outpost for loan to a needful soul and was real bummed thinking i will not get it back. now i find my next project for free.

nemo

I agree that it is identical, i guess the only difference would be the decal?

nemo

Further digging reveals that the bike was originally purchased from Alan's schwinn Cyclery in OceanSide CA. Phone number and street #matches Alan's bike shop, the street name apparently has changed. however it will have to wait untill after work. I doubt anyone would answer the phone at 5 am.

martl

a humble question about the serial number pattern:

we have a lot of Centurions here following the "Letter"-"Number"-"Letter"-- pattern.

Most (not all) have an "N" as first letter - all of these seem to date from the 80ies, right? some have an "M" tho, and these seem to be from the 70ies. Could it be that the letter points to the decade?

i'm asking because on https://www.rennrad-news.de/forum/showthread.php?t=50780
a Centurion(?) emerged with the old style 4-pointed star headbadge, and a very eighties paintjob. It also has Suntour droputs (the linked thread contains pictures)

i'd say its serial# says its 1978... what do you think?

martl

Thanks for the answer!

this is a Panasonic found in Germany, and it is known that the german importer fitted the frames individually. hence i don't think the parts can give us much help. The setup with Zeus derailleur and Mafacs that are clearly pre-78 makes me think someone bought the frame to replace a broken one and had the parts moved over.

i do think that the work on the chainstays/dropout connection might be significant.

RobbieTunes

I finally got an Ironman like roccobike's !


And with SRAM components!


And it's got the ultra light frame !


And it's not just the base model, it's the PRO!


I was afraid I'd never find one. Now I've got the helmet, the watch, and the bike. Woohoo.

Al, we have got to ride these.

roccobike

Robbie,
You've got the PRO model!! I'm Soooo jealous.
Tell the truth, when you saw that decal didn't that bike just scream "Buy Me, Buy Me"
Yeah Man!
I can just hear all the other C&Vers wish they had one of these Ironman bikes under their Christmas tree.

RobbieTunes

Man, you know it.
I chain it to my back porch.
No way is anyone gonna steal that back porch.

ascayola

Hi guys,

This is my first road bike, a red 1984 Centurion Turbo.

It had been in storage for 6 years so it does need some TLC. So far I've put new tires on it (these were the only tires my LBS had on the size needed. Not the original look, but I think they are OK) and I have some handlebar tape and new hoods on the way. We can call these the "before" pictures.





The serial number is 4G13500. As far as I can tell, all the components are original except the rims.

I'll post some more pics once I have her nice and shiny!

RobbieTunes

ascayola,

You now have the top model from Centurion that year, and you are extremely lucky to have what appears to be an OEM model. I believe the group was Suntour Superbe or Superbe Pro, and that is one smooth ride. The bike is worth whatever money you put into it, and will last years.

Congratulations on your first road bike, a fine C&V "score," and if you ever want to sell it....

IMO, it's kind of like getting your first sports car, and it's a '68 Camaro. Good job.
Tires look great, too.

ascayola

Thank you for the kind words guys. I really like the bike, hopefully it will come out looking great!

I used the catalog on Sheldon's site to know what the components should be when I went to see the bike (1 hour drive each way!!), that's how I'm pretty sure everything is original. I'm the third owner of the bike, the first being the owner of a bike shop here in Florida.

Mr Winthrop, thanks for all the tips. One question though, the saddle is a Bernard Hinault edition which I believe is suede, can I still apply your shoe polish method? That would be great, since the saddle is the one thing on the bike that looks rough and I would hate to replace it.

Thanks!

Andres