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making a Centurion Timeline - looking for catalogs and any info

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Old 07-11-11, 12:19 PM
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making a Centurion Timeline - looking for catalogs and any info

Using information from Sheldon's site, i put together this timeline (higher end models placed towards the top)



I was wondering about the Caveletto which Sheldon's site says was 1985 only, but the catalog shows it in 1984. Also, the COMMUTER 5 is supposedly 1984 only but it's not in the 1984 catalog...?

the 1979 catalog shows the following models which are not listed on sheldon's site and thus have no time information

Semi-Pro
Super LeMans
Super Elite
Omega

Last edited by frantik; 07-11-11 at 12:26 PM.
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Old 07-11-11, 01:53 PM
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Most of what I know is hearsay:

OK on the Equipe
OK on the Turbo

Prestige appeared in 1985 and the only other one ever seen had what looked like 1989 decals.
I highly doubt they were made in between, and the 1989 Prestige had a 600 group, unlike the 1985's Dura Ace.
Something was therefore amiss, and I suspect the later Prestige was a non-US model.

OK on the Ironman Carbon
OK on the Comp TA
OK on the "standard" Ironman 1985 and 1986
OK on the Ironman Master 1987-1989, but that goes for the Expert, too. The "split" came with the 1987 model.
OK on the Facet

I'd double-check the Elite, as there were an Elite, Elite GT, and Elite RS.
The Elite RS seemed to be a a1985 and/or 1986 model, sharing most of the components with the 1985 and 1986 Ironman.

I haven't a clue on the Pro Tour, Semi-Pro, etc.

I'd check on the Lemans lineup, as I think it took a couple of years off during the Elite's time.
There was also a Lemans RS in 1984, and maybe in 1983, that seemed to drop off and pick up again in 1987-1989.

And that is the extent of what I may know or even think I know.
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Old 07-11-11, 02:35 PM
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Originally Posted by RobbieTunes
OK on the Ironman Master 1987-1989, but that goes for the Expert, too. The "split" came with the 1987 model.
yeah.. sheldon's site indicates that in 1987 there wasn''t a master though.. but i have no clue

IRONMAN EXPERT DAVE SCOTT (1987-1989): Lower, mid-range, triathlon model. Prompted by the success of the Ironman Dave Scott, it was a more economical version that used the same Tange #1 frame but featured more affordable Shimano 105 components.
IRONMAN MASTER DAVE SCOTT (1988-1989): Mid-range, triathlon model replacing the Ironman Dave Scott. The Master designation was added to differentiate it from the lower Ironman Dave Scott Expert. Tange #1 frame and Shimano 600 Ultegra components.
I'd double-check the Elite, as there were an Elite, Elite GT, and Elite RS.
The Elite RS seemed to be a a1985 and/or 1986 model, sharing most of the components with the 1985 and 1986 Ironman.
i got the impression the Elite became Elite R/S, and Elite GT was added as a touring bike. (GT = grand touring?)

I haven't a clue on the Pro Tour, Semi-Pro, etc.

I'd check on the Lemans lineup, as I think it took a couple of years off during the Elite's time.
There was also a Lemans RS in 1984, and maybe in 1983, that seemed to drop off and pick up again in 1987-1989.

And that is the extent of what I may know or even think I know.
thanks i wish there were more catalogs available. You can get every Schwinn catalog from the 80s but I only know of 2 Centurion catalogs and one Diamondback catalog from 1988


also been thinking of extending the timeline for the Diamondback line in the 1990s.. I know there is Prevail TG, Master TG and Expert TG but don't know much about them. i got a Master TG this weekend it matches my Ironman Master

Last edited by frantik; 07-11-11 at 02:39 PM.
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Old 07-11-11, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by frantik
i wish there were more catalogs available

I stopped by a bike shop that sold Centurions in the hope they might have some old catalogs buried somewhere. Not much luck there.
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Old 07-11-11, 05:02 PM
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Originally Posted by leftthread
I stopped by a bike shop that sold Centurions in the hope they might have some old catalogs buried somewhere. Not much luck there.
Been there, done that, over and over. I'm sure one shop has some packed away somewhere, but the effort to find them would be monumental.

yeah.. sheldon's site indicates that in 1987 there wasn''t a master though.. but i have no clue
Sheldon's site article was written by BF member A. Winthrop, with heavy input from T-Mar.
The omission of an '87 Master is likely a typo.

Eddy R and roccobike have 1987 Master models, seafoam green two-tone with white trim. (shown by EddyR on the Centurion Serial # database. It came with the last incarnation of Shimano 600 before it went "tricolor.")


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Old 07-11-11, 05:07 PM
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I thought the Elite went back into the 1970s.
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Old 07-11-11, 05:11 PM
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Originally Posted by wrk101
I thought the Elite went back into the 1970s.
It may well have, back with those Lemans and Super Lemans that had the funky 70's fonts.
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Old 07-11-11, 05:40 PM
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ok i updated the timeline for the ironman master

would love to have some definite info about the 70s line up

btw the time line is at https://cvbikes.wikia.com/wiki/Centur...urion_Timeline .. i started a c&v bike wikia but it's just barely started so i havent really announced it, but if anyone is interested feel free to sign up
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Old 07-11-11, 09:07 PM
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Thanks for your time and effort on this.
I certainly appreciate it.

Of course, they're Centurions. Everyone should.
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Old 07-11-11, 09:34 PM
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You should probably ask permission and give credit to Ashley Wright, as it seems his article is a major source of information for your wikia page. He's very accessible and would probably appreciate correspondence with you if you have questions, and he may have leads for you to investigate to fill in some blanks.

You should also probably get some people to read your wikia page for accuracy. For instance, Ashley Wright was very careful to note the Cinelli Equipe was a joint venture, but he never states that Cino Cinelli designed it. Instead, he quotes an advertisement which states this. There is some question about Cino's direct involvement, which may have been not much at all.

There's a hyperlink to Ashley Wright's email, or as Robbie says, you can contact him here by sending a message to member A.Winthrop.
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Old 07-11-11, 09:47 PM
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Originally Posted by RobbieTunes

There was also a Lemans RS in 1984, and maybe in 1983, that seemed to drop off and pick up again in 1987-1989.

.

I can vouch for 84 and 87 Lemans RS'. I have one of each.
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Old 07-11-11, 10:23 PM
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I have an 81 Elite. So I know it goes at least that far back.
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Old 07-11-11, 11:05 PM
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Originally Posted by JunkYardBike
You should probably ask permission and give credit to Ashley Wright, as it seems his article is a major source of information for your wikia page.
everything but the timeline was taken from Wikipedia which you don't have to ask permission for

i just copied and pasted it, havent done much editing except for the timeline. just getting started on the wiki but wanted to have some "placeholder" info
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Old 07-11-11, 11:09 PM
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I got the impression that the Elite RS drifted over into ’86 with the confetti finish effects and Miami Vice decal colors; then, sadly disappeared.
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Old 07-12-11, 02:14 AM
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yeah the elite definetly more than a 2 year model.. it went back at least until 79

i'm going through the serial # database thread trying to find examples of bikes in 70s. unfortunately the serial # formats arent known for those so unless the poster mentions the date on some components then it's hard to know when it was produced
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Old 07-12-11, 07:01 AM
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Originally Posted by frantik
everything but the timeline was taken from Wikipedia which you don't have to ask permission for
Well, Wikipedia gives credit to his article. Maybe you should cite Wikipedia?

This from wikipedia's terms of use policy:

Attribution: To re-distribute a text page in any form, provide credit to the authors either by including a) a hyperlink (where possible) or URL to the page or pages you are re-using, b) a hyperlink (where possible) or URL to an alternative, stable online copy which is freely accessible, which conforms with the license, and which provides credit to the authors in a manner equivalent to the credit given on this website, or c) a list of all authors. (Any list of authors may be filtered to exclude very small or irrelevant contributions.) This applies to text developed by the Wikimedia community. Text from external sources may attach additional attribution requirements to the work, which we will strive to indicate clearly to you. For example, a page may have a banner or other notation indicating that some or all of its content was originally published somewhere else. Where such notations are visible in the page itself, they should generally be preserved by re-users.
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Old 07-12-11, 08:13 AM
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The Accordo came out buy 1983 I bought and sold one this weekend. I also sold the 1887 Master last week that Robbie pictured above but I put all the original equipment back on it

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Old 07-12-11, 09:39 AM
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I have a 1986 catalog if I can answer any questions.I got it in 86 when I bought my ironman.
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Old 07-12-11, 12:01 PM
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Originally Posted by JunkYardBike
Well, Wikipedia gives credit to his article. Maybe you should cite Wikipedia?
perhaps if you feel so strongly about it, you should do it yourself. thats the beautiful thing about a wiki, anyone can make edits.

i just barely started working on the wiki and just copied and pasted some info to avoid having a blank page... relax dude..

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Old 07-12-11, 12:06 PM
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Originally Posted by schwinnderella
I have a 1986 catalog if I can answer any questions.I got it in 86 when I bought my ironman.
can you tell us what models are listed in the catalog?
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Old 07-12-11, 12:16 PM
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OK, here is what I think is a 1977 Elite. I bought it as a donor bike. A lot of the parts are not original. But I believe the SR Apex crankset is. Paint is deplorable, but I do like the chrome stays. This might be the first bike I would consider getting painted (PC).

The wheels are concave Weimanns with Schwinn hubs (1973), so those are not original.







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Old 07-12-11, 12:17 PM
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You are being obnoxious to my friend JYB, "dude", so you
get nothing more from me and I've got more '70s catalogs here
in front of me than you are ever likely to find. And I know
the serial number codes too.
.
There is no excuse for bad manners, even from Californians.
.
Ashley Wright
www.sheldonbrown.com/centurion
wow.. wtf...
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Old 07-12-11, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by frantik
wow.. wtf...
Well, at least you gave credit to the author of your "cut and paste" text this time.
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Old 07-12-11, 12:32 PM
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oooooh snap JYB, that was a good one

btw, still haven't seen you edit the wiki.. what's taking you so long, bruv? GET ON IT!!!!

i'm too busy reading all the crap PMs telling me how I'm a punk kid from your buddy Ashley to get to it right now..


anyways i've lost interest in this after getting pms like this so please just close the thread

Originally Posted by frantik
wow, so because i told your friend to chill out, now you're going to "take your ball and go home"?

and then you're going to talk about manners? give me a f-cking break. if you want to keep all the information to youself instead of sharing it with others, then go right ahead..
.
Even worse manners than I thought. A broken home, perhaps?
They often produce stinkers like you.
.
PS - If I wanted to keep all the information myself, I wouldn't
have written my Centurion Article on Sheldon's site now would
I?
.
Your just a punk, kid, the kind that got shot in the back in
Vietnam with an M16 because their buddies couldn't rely on them.
.
Grow up. Learn to be an adult. It will save from a lot more
grief than I will ever have time to give you.
.
This correspondence ends her. Blow the rest out your ass.
.

Post my last to you. That will seal your doom here, even if
the other doesn't.
.

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Old 07-12-11, 12:38 PM
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closing per request
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