Hey All (but probably mostly A.Winthrop, T-Mar or RobbieTunes!?),

I've got an old Centurion catalog, and I'm wondering what year it's from (it doesn't say anywhere!).

I'm also wondering if this is something that would be of interest to Sheldon Brown's site (he's got the 1984 catalog on line... this one's a little older), and if so, does anyone know who I'd send it to now (I've got it in .pdf format)? Obviously, I can send them an e-mail, too, but I thought I'd try to nail down the year first, and I know that there's a bit of familiarity over here with the guy that wrote the Centurion page over there...

Anyway, here's a very low-res picture of the cover, and their top bike that year... Like I said, I've got the whole catalog in a .pdf format, but it's too large to post here (though it's only 8 pages), and I need to find somewhere that I can post it to make it available to anyone that might be interested.

Let me know if you know the year (I was guessing 1982, but...?).

Thanks!

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Edit:
All right, I think I've got a final home for this catalog over at Velobase.com. The links I've posted here in the past have all failed at some point or another. Click the velobase link, and you can scroll down to the Centurion catalog there.

Thanks all, and sorry for the problems with the links in the past.
-Paul

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The date isn't in the copyright notice anywhere on the bottom back?

Hard to believe, but no. I even asked a friend to check because I figured I was overlooking it. But.... no.

I've no idea what year it is, but I'd like the pdf if you get a chance. My email is mitchellbowman at live dot com.

Often it is possible to to narow down the era within a year or two based on components and decal schemes. While the resolution is a bit low, the pictured Semi-Pro appears to have the original generation SunTour Cyclone derailleur, putting it 1975-1980. The presence of what appears to the round headbadge, puts it into the latter end of that range. If you can post a good resolution copy of the spec page somewhere, or send it to me, I may be able to narrow it down further.

All, I've edited my first post to include a link to the pdf of the catalog. It's about 4MB and is a little slow to load.
[Edit... The link doesn't work... I'll put it elsewhere.]
[Edit #2: The link should work okay now. Sorry about that.]

Exit.: I e-mailed you the catalog before I figured out where I could put it on line.

T-Mar: Thanks for the input (as always!). Yes, to my knowledge it's the original generation Cyclone derailleur (definitely not MkII). It looks like six speed was just making an appearance, too: only two bikes (super LeMans and LeMans) had six speed freewheels if I'm interpreting things correctly. Also, the Sport DLX has a "freehub"... did Shimano use a freehub that early? (Sheesh... and I thought I knew something about bikes...)

I have a relatively high degree of confidence that his is a 1979 catalog that was put out in late 1978. In the specs for the Sport DLX, they refer to Shimano's Altus derailleur not by its proper name but as a "new Centeron". This derailleur was introduced for the 1979 model year and it's main feature was the Centeron, self-centering mechanism. Furthermore, the Sport DLX page does not mention this feature and the picture shows a Sky Lrk or Lark II in place of the Altus. All this would seem to imply that the deraileur that would become the Aluts was brand new and not available at the time of the layout of the catalog.

FYI, Shimano introduced their freehub in 1977, as a single speed and in 1978 as a multiple cog, cassette format. So that would be in sync with a 1979 model year catalog.

Awesome !!
Thanks for the PDF upload !!

1979 it is then! Thanks for your input/wisdom T-Mar. (For both the catalog date and Shimano freehub knowledge.) I've had this catalog for years, and just ran across it the other day and started looking more closely at it. Among the things that I thought were interesting was that a couple of the low end bikes (LeMans and Omega) have braze-on cable guides on the top tube, while all the higher end have clamps. Is that odd? Frames made in different factories perhaps? Anyway, thanks again.

You're welcome ₤em. Glad you like.

The use of use of cable housing stops on the top tube, in lieu of clips, was very common throughout the 1970s. Most manufacturers used stops on the entry level models while the higher end used clips. The only rationale I have for this is that it was cheaper. Presumibly, the time to braze the stops was was shorter than the time to manually install the clips. There may also have been material savings due to the shorter housing but this would have been offset, to some extent, by the need performing an extra cutting operation and the two extra crimping operations for the end caps. Still, the Process Engineers would have performed their Time & Motion studies, worked out all the material costs and employed the most economical method on the entry level models, where even smallest savings add up quickly due to the larger volume.

The real interesting thing is that while the LemMns and Omega and use stops, the bottom line Sport DLX uses clips like the upper models! Perhaps the Sport DLX is a last minute mock-up or even an old model photo, due to the lack of an available Altus?

I'd like a copy please, wandson1@msn.com

could this have been the first year of that headbadge?

JRrestore: I've e-mailed you the catalog. (Also, I've fixed the link in the first post here, so if the attachment doesn't make it in the e-mail, you can download it from there.)

T-Mar: I noticed that about the clips on the DLX like the upper models. Interesting, it hadn't occurred to me that it would have been cheaper to do the cable stops, but that makes sense. Does make me wonder what the actual bike might have come with (clips and derailleur wise). Why did they use the six-speed freewheels on the two LeMans models and five-speed on everything else (asked in a tone that just assumes you'll know)? Was thinking that maybe the five-speed shifted better (because it was wider spacing), and they didn't want to mess with that at the high end... but, after writing that, I'm not sure how plausible that actually sounds.

edgpc,

I appreciate the time it took to provide us all with that download.
We owe you.

Listing me with T-Mar and A. Winthrop?
They're the experts.
I'm the wingnut.

Well, wingnut you may be, but you're a Centurion wingnut from what I can tell.
And hey, you don't owe me, I'm just trying to pay off the my debt from the knowledge/wisdom I've acquired here already. Wish I had more to give you.


Wow, you are a classics guy! I remember those laptops...

Glad I was able to provide something that you didn't already have (well, in color anyway). Thanks for all your Centurion knowledge; I've always liked Centurions (my uncle used to be a rep for Western States quite a few years back), and your articles have been a great read for me.

Hi from Hamburg, Germany,
i just came across this thread - i was looking for any information about the ca. 1979/80 Centurion Professional frame i aquired.
Tried to download the catalogue, but the link is not working!
Can you please send it to me: toddio@web.de

Thank you very much, cheers from thorsten



Gerr