Anyone know anything about this?
 

I'm about to buy this bike and was wondering if anyone knew anything about this company Avenir/Centurion. I've already searched the forums and i'm not sure if this bike is an Avenir brandname or a Centurion brand or if that denotes its model. I'm getting it for cheap ($30cdn) and was wondering about any possible history of info on it before I make the purchase.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3293/...9e9cc49f_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3203/...df15b26d_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3176/...0e69c386_o.jpg

that's a Centurion Accordo (make and model, respectively) and a great deal for $30CDN! Seems to be very clean and tidy. I believe that the Avenir line of components and accessories (sourced from all over Asia) was sold by the same distributor as the bikes (but there are other experts here that know everything about Centurions, do an archive search).

Centurion is the bike company. Avenir made the seat or seat cover. Centurion made a lot of bikes in Japan though I believe it was an American company. Earlier ones may have been made in the UK. Yours looks Japanese. I don't know anything about their model line up, but most I have seen are pretty decent bikes. In general I would say this looks like a low-mid-range bike based on the components (mid range), the forged dropouts without adjusters (mid range), and the reflectors, spoke guard, and plastic pedals (low range). In any case at $30CDN it's a great deal.

Cheers,
Karl

Heh, you posted while I was typing. So there you go, more than I know. :)

It's a Centurion. Generally good bikes. Frequently copies of the Italian bikes of the era, those were good bikes to copy. The Accordo is toward the lower end of the range, so while it has pretty much the same geometry as the high-end, the tubing is a little more bullet proof against dents and the like. Excellent find for the price, and will make a nice fixie.

[Edit] Nice red paint. And Centurions are known for tough paint jobs, unlike my chip-at-a-glance DeBernardi trackie. I'll guess late 70's, very early 80's based on the solid paint. If you post the serial number, someone will give you the exact year.

I hope you didn't lose out on this deal while you were here on the forum, a bike in great shape like that wouldn't last long at $130, let alone $30. Sweet deal if you do get it.

Here is a link to a treatise by our own A.Winthrop that tells you everything there is to know about Centurions.
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/centurion/