canklecat

A few more detail pix of the 1989 Centurion Ironman Expert.

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Araya CTL-370 "Super Hard" rims. Only one still has the original label. So far, so good, none of the problems some users report. Another local rider has these rims on his Univega. No problems. We're about the same height and build, 5'11", 160 lbs, so maybe these rims are okay with middleweight cyclists and 700x23 or so tires, rather than the originally spec'd 700x18.

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Decals, paint, etc.







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Bottom bracket paint looks like it wasn't ridden much, so I'm assuming the other paint chips and wear are from storage and handling.

Also, check out those brazed cable guides. No plastic like my other bikes.

canklecat

Oh, and a little trick I found for aligning the brakes so they don't rub the rim.

The Suntour GPX brakes cleverly hide the springs. Looks clean. Hard to adjust if the alignment is off. On this bike one caliper/pad rubbed the rim slightly even with the quick release opened. I noticed the brake position was sensitive to the cable housing position. So I tugged the cable housing until it was more or less vertical and the brakes were fairly evenly spaced. Then I zip tied the cable housing to the handlebar. Inelegant yet effective.



The rear GPX brakes will go wonky and unaligned when the handlebar is turned tightly, but that should never happen in real world riding. It's also sensitive to the cable housing position. There are several lugs/guides brazed to the frame, plenty of places to secure the cable housing to ensure the cable won't interfere with brake alignment.

MookieBlaylock

Thanks!

fleslider 

@canklecat That expert is really clean..congrats,I wish my 89 expert was in that good of shape.

Make sure you get some grease back on that stem.

canklecat

Yup, I got lucky. Seller apparently found a stash of new old stock or lightly used Ironmans. Very pleased with it as my first road bike in almost 40 years. Great bike, well within my budget, won't lose money if I decide to sell (I'm still trying to get accustomed to drop bars again, but it's coming ... slowly).

Thanks for the reminder about the stem. It is creaking a bit while climbing out of the saddle, reminding me to regrease it.

jan230

Here's my '88.
I'm the original owner.
The bike has gone through a few iterations over the years but I still have most of the original parts.
This time I've decided to go with Campy Veloce.
Finally got the right configuration together and can start putting it together!

texaspandj

Alert, alert..... Breaking News.....alert Alert.

I have aquired what I believe to be the hens teeth in Centurion Ironman.
It's a one owner garage and or storage kept what I call a.. wait for it...... Summertime Blues Ironman. That's right a 1989 master. I've only seen two for sale and all in Texas.
I don't have it in my possession yet, in fact my son is holding it for me in Austin a 100 miles away. Here's the CL pic.
I figured eventually I'd get an 85, and then possibly an Carbon Ironman. But I thought the chances of me owning a Summertime Blues Ironman was a pipe dream. Wow I'm stoked. Just by looking at it I can tell it's gonna be as fun to ride as my 87 Miami Vice and as close to my heart as my 86 Classic.
I believe this to be a 52cm and will make a perfect size road or possibly tri bike for me.

canklecat

@jan230 -- Looks like a good project. And I have that same Topeak pump. BTW, how do you set the adjustable dropouts on your bike? Does it seem to make any difference?
@texaspandj -- Sweet! Never even heard of that one, although I've only researched the Ironman models for a couple of months after first seeing the one I bought. That bar tape has me thinking I might go with a less vibrant blue padded tape to match the blue smoke finish on mine.

I think you're right about it being a 50cm or 52cm, not 54cm as the seller describes. Mine is a 22.5" or nominally 56cm and has a noticeably longer head tube.

It took me a bit of adjustment to get used to the Ironman after a year riding a 58cm Univega. The 58cm frame is technically slightly tall for me, but I really like the high riding position in traffic. I can straddle it, no problem, but there ain't much breathing room for Johnson and the twins.

jan230

canlklecat...Thanks, hope to have it done by the end of the week.
Regarding the adjuster screws,they help to refine wheel alignment and ease of instal.
Member T-mar gives a good explanation in this older thread:

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vi...drop-outs.html

texaspandj

That is one super clean 88 master. That thing is definitely deserving of that group. That frame is so light, right and full of fight. Looking forward to your build.

MookieBlaylock

Nice! What are your plans?

canklecat

Thanks, I'd read a few dozen threads but missed that one. Pretty much confirms what I'd read from other experienced folks.

I may try a different freewheel, maybe a SunRace 13-25 if it's compatible with the Suntour GPX derailer. The original Suntour 13-24 isn't quite enough with the 52/42 chain rings for some local hills. My knees are grumbling at me for the abuse. Suntour literature said the GPX might be friction only with a 28T rear cog, but it should handle the 13-25 in one of the indexed shift modes.

Darth Lefty 

There's a small Comp TA on the local Craigslist if anyone is hunting... actually it's here in SAC but listed on SFO craigslist. Tangy!
https://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/bik/6185200143.html

texaspandj

First I'm gonna strip it and clean it like the procedure prescribed by RT on page 18. Then rob the group set from my 88 tri bike 52cm master or my 89 expert 54cm road bike. I'm leaning towards using the components from my 89 expert. But one of them is going on this.
Either way I'm gonna sell the 54cm 89 expert smoke on the water frame and rebuild my 88 52cm purple rain with my latest Ironmans tri color components and sell both. I have to pay for my new "Summertime Blues" Ironman. Very , very excited.
Although currently my 88 purple rain has tricolor group I'm gonna save that group for an 85 Ironman to turn into a tri bike. If and when I find a 85 Ironman. And then I'll have an Ironman for every year it was available, 85 - 89.

MookieBlaylock

Cool. It's always good to have something to work on. And it's always nice to sell something to make you feel better about a purchase. Haha.

Excited to see it ready for the wild.

fleslider 

@texaspandj
Nice score on the Summertime Blues IM, when you get it and out of curiosity whats the SN? curious on the build date.

texaspandj

I'm very excited about it. It's my favorite Ironman color scheme. Even though it was only last year that I found out that they existed. About a year ago or so, back on this thread there was one on CL in San Antonio, if I recall the serial number was a 9 for 1989. Then a few months ago one showed up again in Texas, it was also too large for me and a member posted it on this thread. Then this one showed up in Austin. It was advertised as a 54cm but appears to be a 52cm. I'm curious about the SN as well. I'm also curious if the 1989 centurion catalog had it as an color option on the Ironman. I checked your website and you didn't have an 89 catalog posted yet.
The original owner said she bought it in 87 (but we know she's off by 2 years). And that it's been in storage for a few years. Has a back issue and decided to sell it before she moved to california. As we know generally women bike owners are easier on their equipment However there seems to be some road rash on the rear derailleur. No matter, I'm replacing all components with identical 7 speed tri color group or 8 speed tri color sti group. What would be really cool is if it has prestige tubing to go along with the color scheme. However no way for me to tell, also it does have Tange 1 decal.
I'll pick it up late Friday and may just wash it, and ride it like that for a while. Just to get a feel for it before I make up my mind which group I'll be installing. But once I decide I will attempt to take my time so I can be very thorough with the cleaning process.
Despite my admiration for this particular Ironman it will be put on baby trailer duty for the summer. Currently that's the only way I'm able to ride daily. Later powerful Irongent.

fleslider 

I am still on the lookout for a 1988 and 1989 catalogue, if anyone has got one..please let me know!

The one that was posted awhile back had a late 89 SN IIRC, it seems like that they kept the color options to 2 during the years, my curiosity is whether the Summertime Blue Ironman was originally intended as a 1990 model , before the decision was made about killing the name Centurion and moving it over to DB.

We may never know. but it might make a good story ..lol

Whether its a trailer queen or towing a trailer with a little queen (or king) its still an Ironman!

texaspandj

Good hypothesis. Better than my hope/wish that they simply rebadged a prestige. Either way I'll definitely post SN on this thread and TMars SN thread.

canklecat

BTW, I may have mentioned my '89 Ironman Expert drivetrain seemed unusually noisy. I'd tried tweaking the derailers, relubing the chain, etc. No help.

Turns out the Suntour chain was worn more than I'd realized. I'd assumed it was relatively unused because the bike overall looked little used. But it was pretty much shot.

I happened to have a spare KMC Z72, the kind with mushroom rivets, with Missing Link. The new chain made a huge difference. Quieter, smoother shifting. Dropped the chain once on a chain ring downshift so I'll need to tweak the front derailer.

I'll keep the old Suntour chain as a collectible. It's soaking in mineral spirits. I'll dip it in hot paraffin for storage. It might even be usable in a pinch, since the paraffin runs quieter. But the KMC Z72 seems like a good replacement.

AustinFitz

Been tinkering on the '85 I picked up recently. I'm absolutely loving this bike!!! I'm so happy I decided to make the drive to go get it. I've got a few changes planned for the future, but this is how she's looking as of just a few minutes ago.

texaspandj

Bitd I would wash my bike and then completely spray chain with WD40. And that's all I ever needed to do. My guess is the oil that it was initially lubed with was enough to last a long time and cleaning it with wd40 just kept it going. It never squeaked.
A year or so ago my MV started squeaking and making noises. Although I would wash it and spray it with wd40 it was not enough. Then I remembered I had cleaned the original chain in paint thinner and It apparently removed the original lubricants. So I ended up using car oil as that was all I had, but it worked well.

texaspandj

You're Ironman is so sweet, what plans could you possibly have for it?
Are your Centurions the same size?
What differences can you detect between the two?
BTW I don't think your rear derailleur is stock. The only sis shimano in 85 was dura ace, as the 600 sis didn't come out til 86.

canklecat

I'm trying to be less picky about chains, but so far I've relaxed only with the comfort hybrid's chain, since I use that bike mostly for errands and grocery runs. It needs a new freewheel -- it skips on the three small cogs which are pretty worn. For now it's inheriting hand-me-down chains from the Univega, after about 3-6 months use on the Univega. The comfy hybrid has a long wheelbase so it needs two chains spliced together. At the moment it's two different brands and types (Shimano and KMC), but compatible link configurations, lengths and pin widths, so they work fine.

I wouldn't do that on the Univega or Centurion. The Univega has an aluminum alloy chainring which I'd like to keep running as long as possible, along with the original Uniglide cassette. So I'm replacing the chain every six months, depending on mileage and terrain.

I've found a brand new KMC chain doesn't really need any lube for awhile. The factory lube works fine for several weeks or several hundred miles before I notice any slight noise, unless conditions are really bad -- lots of rain, gravel, etc. Before installing the chain I wipe down the exterior thoroughly, including a rag moistened in mineral spirits, to minimize surfaces for grit to stick where no lube is needed.

But after trying the hot paraffin dip on the comfort hybrid's chain I'm going to try that on the Univega when I replace its chain this month. No complaints about Tri-Flow as a lube, but it's impossible to keep the chain clean enough to avoid chain tattoos. No problems with tattoos from the waxed chain.

If that goes well with the Univega, which I ride the most, I'll do the same for the Centurion next chain replacement later this year.

Meanwhile, I've stripped and waxed the original Suntour chain that came with the Centurion. It's a bit worn but might be an interesting keepsake or collectible, and looks good if nothing else. Very shiny outer links against the blackened inner links.

AustinFitz

Thank you! My plans include new tires (I don't like the current solid black), a new saddle, some different pedals, and maybe different bar tape.

Both of my Centurions are roughly the same size frames yes. According to the catalogs my Elite GT is a 23" frame, and the Ironman is a 58cm. The Ironman is a hair smaller, and has smaller 700c wheels too.

As far as ride goes they are COMPLETELY different feeling. The Elite GT feels like a big luxury Cadillac, and the Ironman feels like a tight, nimble, sports car!

According to the 1985 catalog the dark anodized 600EX rear derailleur is stock and correct though. It's not SIS. The 1985 Ironman was friction shift only.