thenomad

I guess I'm to blame. N+1 is contagious.
He's got a modern bike and is now commuting to work some days after I gave him pointers and encouragement. Now, after hearing me blab on about building bikes or finding bikes to keep or sell, he spotted Centurion Ironman on CL today with no photo and no info. We jumped over to see it, and he whittled him down from $150 to $130.
I advised him to buy it and let him do the rest. He scored IMO.

The bike:
Dave Scott Ironman expert, Tange 1 in very good condition. Little dust on an otherwise new looking frame. No rust, no dents, all decals look excellent.
Full glossy black looks great!
Suntour GPX crank, single pivot brakes and levers.
Shimano 600 tricolor RD, DT shift levers an FD(I think).
Shimano 600 tricolor hubs on completely true rims.
Needs tubes and may need tires.
Rusty chain and dirty bartape and hoods.
Look clipless pedals.
Selle Italia Prolink gel saddle (I think with carbon rails).

All in all, I wish I'd bought it but I'll have fun showing him how to tear it down and rebuild it. I think he may try to sell the saddle as I guessed it could bring $40 or so on ebay, bringing his total to $90 for the bike (he has a saddle sitting around he can use).

It's a slippery slope! I think I just made him into my competitor on the local CL!

realestvin7

Nice. Now pics, or it didn't happen.

rothenfield1

Your a bad, bad person for doing this to a friend. Years from now when his garage is full of steel frames and bike parts, he's going to come looking for you.

thenomad

I'll have to get him to take a before pic. I'll make sure he takes it drivetrain side in front of a garage door.

illwafer

sounds like the rare ironman experster.

realestvin7

Very rare "misprinted" model? haha

thenomad

I thought it said expert, could have said master, now I want to know...

RunningPirate

Naah. All you did was hand him the pipe; you didn't make him take a hit off of it.

RobbieTunes 

If it's black, it's an '89 Expert.
Suntour GPX, including hubs laced to Araya CTL-370 Super Hard anodized rims.
Seatpost was SR Laprade with a Turbo saddle.
Bars were Nitto B115 on a Nitto Deluxe stem.
2x7 indexed shifting.

The geometry for 1989 was reported to have become slightly more aggressive than previous models.
The tricolor 600 FD will work fine, but was not OEM, nor were the 600 hubs or the RD.
The GPX will be compatible with the 600 tricolor stuff as long as the freewheel remains Suntour.
The spacing on the Suntour freewheel is not the same as a 600 freewheel, but it may work OK.
You may want to take a really good look at the FD, and RD, because many people confuse them with 600 tricolor.
The 600 hubs are way different than the painted GPX hubs, so that's an easy difference.
The crankset is painted, and I believe it's 52/42 in lieu of the Shimano's 53/39.

The bike is light, handles very well, and looks great with white wrap, housing, and saddle.
Thirdgenbird just posted one a short time ago.
You and your friend got a great deal, and the bike has tons of potential.
Now that you've corrupted him, it's time to get him on BF C&V, and complete the programming.

thenomad

I'll check it out again, but he swears it says Expert on it. I do know it had Tange 1 on the seat tube.
He rode it around the block and its too large for him. He said it measures to 57cm and he had an interesting time when he put his feet down on the test ride.

due ruote 

So now you've made him a flipper, too. Well done.

realestvin7

It sure ain't too large for me or Robbie. Pics or ban!

noglider 

How about how bikeforums has made me a collector/restorer/wrench, approaching hoarder status!

The Ironman is a really nice bike. I still have a ladies (24" front wheel) one, looking to find its next home. My daughter used it all summer, even though it's too small for her. It's just so nice!

thenomad

I sold one of the terry model ironmen, and it was my first flip (I think).
I'll have to start telling him to buy lots of new parts for his flips or something.

I'll work on pics, it's not in my posession, now I wish it were.

xypex982

So your the one who snagged that iron man off CL so fast! I was trying to get at that bike. Ohh well 57 is too large anyways, hope your friend enjoys the bike.

realestvin7

Did they have a 57cm in '89? Doesn't sound right.

RobbieTunes 

Correct you are, Andrew.

Can't be a 57.
It's either a 56 or a 58, even sizes only.

Centurion measured from the center of the bb to the lowest part of the concave opening on the top of the seat tube, which in their case was also the top of the top tube.

Best way to gauge Ironman size from photos is the relative position of the pump peg on the back of the head tube.
No pump peg, and there's no gap between the top tube and down tube, it's a 50.
No pump peg, and a gap between the top tube and down tube, it's a 52.
If the pump peg is dead center between the top tube and down tube, it's a 54.
If the pump peg is about 2/3 up from the down tube towards the top tube, it's a 56.
If the pump peg is about 3/4 up from the down tube towards the top tube, it's a 58.
Bigger than that, it's at least a 60, and I've never looked at those with a discerning eye, because I can't ride 'em.

If it's black, It's an '89 Expert. There were no other black models.

The Terry-framed models are all Experts with 105, and Tange 1 frames.
Most are the salmon and white. I've never had one, but there's been a few out there.
They seem to steadily go for $300-$400, though.

I had the Terry Despatch with Cyclone 7000, upgraded to RSX 2x7 STI, couldn't sell it because of boyfriends.
You know, the girl is 5'-zero and wants the cute little bike because it fits. Boyfriend/Caveman is the bike expert.
The next Lance, says "no, no, it's (gasp) steel, and you need more than 2x7 old stuff."
So she leaves and drops $500 on a Trek 1000 with Sora.

You hope, secretly, that she hates the Trek, the seed of doubt is planted, and she dumps him eventually.

No, it doesn't still tick me off....

realestvin7

Awesome explanation, Robbie. Amusing story as well. When will people people realize steel is real?

tugrul

Well, Robbie's anecdote was amusing, but that's not the point