I've never posted a "build" thread, and as this is likely my last build for quite some time, I thought maybe I'd share.

The bike came by way of Preynmantis, responding to one of those "if you ever want to sell it, let me know" situations. We worked out a deal, and he's been super. I only hope I was worthy of his trust, because I know he liked the bike. Then again, he has a Pro Tour, so he'll get over it.

The OEM bike:
Tange Champion #1 frame,
GranCompe brakeset,
Cyclone FD/RD/shifters,
Sugino Super Mighty crankset/BB,
Sugino 26.8 post,
Suntour Arx stem.

It came to me, by agreement, sans bars, saddle, and wheels. The wheels went to balindamood in Alaska as part of the deal. (Thanks, Brian)


My plan was to upgrade to Campagnolo, as I plan to tour a bit on it, and I like the stuff. I wanted my bars clear, for my Cannondale front bag, and clearance for 32's if I so desire.

My first objective was to acquire parts: Athena shifters from bulldogge. Campangolo "something" 28.6 FD from ColonelJLloyd. The Athena RD was on hand, as was the Chorus crankset. Chorus English BB from Harlan. Campagnolo Eurus 8-sp wheelset/cassette from norskagent. Saddle from KonAaronSnake. Veloce calipers, over a year ago, from bigbossman. The brake cables/housing were out of stock at V-O, but ColonelJLloyd again came to my rescue with a NIB kit, matching the derailleur cables that drrobwave bought to trade me for something. I take advantage of his confusion. Everything else from the box or the 'bay.

1st obstacle: Changing nutted calipers to recessed mount.
This is easier than it sounds, since I could do it. I could not simply drill out the rear brake bridge, as the bridge is reinforced inside, i.e. the bolt diameter carries all the way through the bridge. I simply used the front caliper on the rear, added a concave washer on the inside of the brake bridge, and used the 10mm nut from the GranCompes.


(drrobwave got the calipers, and the missing nut is his problem. He has 3 teen daughters; a missing nut is no big deal.

For the front, all I had left, of course, was the rear recessed mount Veloce. I pulled out the drill and enlarged the back of that pretty chromed crown to fit a recessed nut, and actually didn't have to use my longest recessed nut, the 1" worked just fine. Brake conversion, done.


My next problem was the DT cable stops. Modern ones would not bolt onto the shifter assembly. eBay had a nice set of Huret clamp-on posts, which have been drilled and tapped to accept modern DT cable stops. Nah! I wanted Campy, and BF member mrmw accommodated me in a trade. They are simple, but the holes were too small to accept a ferrule, so I cut off two ferrules to fit inside the stop.


Next up was the DT cable guide. I wanted to make sure the FD could be served by the cable, directly from the cable stops, and the RD, which had it's stop mounted on top of the L chain stay. The original Suntour FD had a built-in stop, and used a coiled stainless cable between the lower stop and the FD. Campy's #626 worked fine, advised to me by two BF C&V members, and I thank you both, you know who you are.




More on the next post...

There really were no other obstacles. Aaron's saddle drove the decision on the RavX Stitchwrap, and it was a major PITA to wrap. If it doesn't work, I'll switch to something more sane. Justin and Big Rob recommended the cable housing, as I had some very dark red for Plan B, and grey Jagwire for Plan C. JP's wheelset, lonely since I upgraded the Equipe to 10-sp, worked out fine. I did not cold-set the rear, the 130mm hub goes in fine. Not easy, but fine. The cogs do not rub, and shifting is smooth and reliable. The calipers barely reach, as this frameset had clearance for fenders and/or larger tires. The ProRace 3's will likely come off for some 28's or even 32's if drrobwave talks me into taking this on gravel roads.

I'd like to thank everyone for their assistance, and as with almost all of my builds, it's a Bike Forums, C&V assisted fiasco that just happens to still roll. If anyone thinks the Japanese couldn't make a frame to rival the Italian shops, well, come see it in person, and we'll go for a ride.

Stunning. Absolutely stunning. Amazing color too. Is the pinstriping original?

Sweet.

Beautiful!!!

Cheers,
Chris

Very clever and clean build RobbieTunes. It was neat how you worked out the recessed brake in front. Did you have to spread the rear to 130MM?

it gets my stamp of approval

I tip my glass to you. Very nice.

Very sweet! Nice job!

Yours has a really nice color sheme, with the pin striping setting it off.

It appears to have the very same frame as my '77 Pro, but mine has no striping at all.
I guess that mine pre-dates the numbering on the Tange Champion label.
Does yours have the chromed wraparound stay treatment? EDIT: I see that yours does!
I find these Centurion's very-relaxed geometry very comfortable, so I'm glad to have found mine in a larger size than my normal 58cm.

I have to say that Centurion's frame builders in Japan really created some luxurious finishes.
Your creation sufficiently motivated me to drag mine from the garage and share a pic.
The pearl orange paint on mine (in darkness) doesn't fully translate to a computer screen, but here it is anyway:

Very handsome, Robbie! She's got great karma, obviously. Not a fiasco, but almost a collaborative labor of love with you at the helm. The chrome lugs give it a heap of class!

Another signature build. Well done.

J

Exceptional build, Mr T. hope you enjoy it.

Maybe it's just the angle I'm seeing it, but are the shifter cable long enough to allow full turning of the bars?
The cable housings look short enough to almost not touch the frame at all.

Outstanding, both the blue with modern, and the orange traditional.

Very well done.

Oh, yeah! That looks so great. It looks faster than my bikes.

There are lots of great tires to choose from in the 28-32mm size range in both black and skinwall. Looks like your tightest spot will be at the chainstays.

Yes. I had a Shogun with the same striping. I've seen it on other bikes, too. Makes me wonder about the story behind that.

No, a little "oomph" works, even with a recently broken L hand, and no rub. I use a 9-sp chain, just to be careful.

Yes. Tried and working fine. I did something a little different, exiting the bar wrap earlier to reduce the angle of the bend. I know you're a cross-cable guy, but I want to try this for a while and see how it goes. They do touch the frame. I figure if it doesn't work, I spring for a new set of cables/housing. Because of the DT cable stop, crossing them was out of the question.

Awesome orange Pro. It was an orange Pro, frame only, first appearing here in C&V that put the itch for one of these frames in my head. I think it was in the upper midwest, and I've wanted one ever since. I think, at the time, it went for $500, then either it or another went for $700 later, frameset only. I then remembered the light blue one of mrmw, where he did some feats of engineering to make canti's work on a wheels size change; he became my advice guy on this one.

I figure Drillium Dude will end up with an orange one someday, when he decides to go slow.

All kind comments, folks, and appreciated. I'll try to keep my head down to normal size....

I found converting a frame a mere 6-8 years older than my "norm" to be a challenge, but not enough to make me say bad words. (Just one to be pleasantly surprised when something actually worked.) It came very close to getting a set of tubulars, but the weight of the frame would have negated any effect of the really light tubulars (and my Trek needed something to roll on, anyway).

I can't see building anything for quite a while, if ever, but more riding, to be sure.

Then again, there is an Equipe on Vegas CL, and another for sale in Austin.....

Nice work as usual, Robbie. A stunner. Love the head lugs and seat stay treatment!

Snazzy!

Further evidence of your "buildmeister" status.

Looks great Rob...glad the Ergos worked out!

dddd: My '77 Pro Tour, like your Pro, had the remnants of some of the letters of the decals, no indication of which series of Champion tubing, and no pinstriping. It did, however, have cool multicolor bands on the seat tube, but didn't have chromed lugs.

I love the Centurions of this era...

Sorry to be late to the party Rob.

Gorgeous build and it couldn't be in a better home.

Of course, I am feeling poorly for how slow I am moving on my build.

How on earth did I miss this thread? I feel like a month of my life was incomplete. That's a beautiful rebuild. I am just in awe of the build quality and paint on these bikes. There's such depth and shine in that paint job after so long - just incredible when contrasted with the silver bits. Well done.

I would click "like" if I could; but I can't so therefore I will state it: I like it!