Centurion Appreciation Society

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LugNut
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby LugNut » Mon Aug 19, 2013 8:37 pm

:D Great to hear, in the right hands for sure. Let us all see when it arrives, and please, a photo of all of your Centurions side by side!

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singlespeedscott
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:23 pm

rogerrabbit wrote:I have blessing from my better half to buy this, :-) which is a bit of a surprise!
giddy up :)
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rogerrabbit
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby rogerrabbit » Mon Aug 19, 2013 9:43 pm

The 72 Pro is finished with cables arriving today.

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The 1980 one will be a couple of weeks at least to pull together, but I promise some pics of them all together :-)

Roger

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singlespeedscott
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby singlespeedscott » Mon Aug 19, 2013 10:16 pm

rogerrabbit wrote:The 72 Pro is finished with cables arriving today.

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The 1980 one will be a couple of weeks at least to pull together, but I promise some pics of them all together :-)

Roger
Nice as usual Roger.
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LugNut
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby LugNut » Mon Aug 26, 2013 10:08 am

I'm currently surfing the Mexican equivalent of Gumtree looking for a bike for my partner who is over there on exchange, can confirm that bicycles are *cheaper* in Australia. :o

Anyway I came across this; as you'd know early Centurions were built in Mexico. It's a crapper, but interesting anyway.
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rogerrabbit
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby rogerrabbit » Mon Oct 14, 2013 8:00 pm

I have just received today an early 1970s The Centurion Catalog. I bought it because it has a picture and basic specs of the Mexican built Centurion Professional on the back page. I will get it posted onto Velobase as there are no documented early catalogs of Centurions. The feature page is for the 1972 Le Mans model.
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Sorry some are upside down :-(

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munga
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby munga » Wed Oct 16, 2013 5:56 pm

saw this and had to share:

http://dumptruckjunior.blogspot.com.au/ ... tiful.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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perko7
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby perko7 » Mon Dec 30, 2013 12:11 am

Hi all, new to this forum, found it while trawling for ideas on bicycle touring.

Thought i'd share some details of my favourite ride - its a 83-ish Centurion Elite RS, Tange 1 double-butted frame, Serial No N8E8423, all original gear apart from pedals and new stem to match my reach. Used to belong to my late brother, but i've had it for about 10 years now. Runs Shimano 105 brakes and 6-speed gears with bio-pace cranks and Araya alloy rims. I use it whenever i want to just ride for the joy of it, so it gets used at least once or twice a week. I have an Avanti Giro for commuting so i don't wear out the Centurion. When i work out how to add pics i'll post a couple.

Cheers.

cage
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby cage » Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:40 am

Not as old as some here but I thought I'd throw up a few pics of my Centurion Equalizer. Bought new in 93.
Tange 1 tubing with 105 through out, except back in the day when I use to race, I swapped out the 7 speed down tube shifters for some 8 speed STI's. There's one 'ghost' gear as I call it, but they work well.
Took her out a couple of months back after 18 odd years in storage and she still rides sweet, a lot nicer than my current Giant.

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Brochure from back then.

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If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

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koen
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby koen » Mon Dec 30, 2013 3:15 pm

cage wrote:Not as old as some here but I thought I'd throw up a few pics of my Centurion Equalizer. Bought new in 93.
Must've been old stock? The last Centurion before they all turned into DiamondBack or did Centurion roadies hang on a few more years than mtb's?

cage
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby cage » Mon Dec 30, 2013 3:33 pm

Aaaahhhhh.... now I've got to clear out the spare room to get her out and check what numbers she's got on the BB...thanks. :(

:lol:
If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

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QuangVuong
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby QuangVuong » Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:22 am

Cage, could you scan that brochure? I'm interested in the info on my Carbon R and Master models.

Here's what I picked up on Sat. It's a Triathlon Master with the splatter black paint scheme on white, with a nice purple sheen when in sunlight(purple flakes in the clear coat?). It's the export model, hence the different name. I aim to keep it as is. Maybe just swap to gumwalls and some different bar tape(any ideas? Maybe brown to match the saddle), and give it a overhaul. It has a weird geometry with a 57cm ST(c-c), with a 59cm TT(c-c).

This is how I bought it, and rode home for 5km or so. Will need to push that stem further down, and raise the saddle a bit.
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I believe it to be fully original, still with the Nitto stem and B115 bars.
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Perfect condition 6400 groupset. I dont think it has ever fallen down.
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Nice original suede Turbo from 89
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And heres the serial number - M0L01538. Does this mean a 1990 model made in the 21st/22nd week and is the 1538th frame? This seems consistant with the groupset being made in 1990, and the 89 saddle.
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cage
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby cage » Tue Dec 31, 2013 7:43 am

Not the best pics, will have to redo it later.

Centurion Brochure. http://s650.photobucket.com/user/s4_gs/ ... /Centurion


The BB on mine is stamped M1F01083. What year does that make it?

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If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

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QuangVuong
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby QuangVuong » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:19 am

Prob a 91 model made in the 5/6th weeks and was the 1083rd frame.

The only thing is that Centurion should've stopped production in 89, or the beginning of 90 according to the American dudes on BF. Both our bikes would have 89 style style decals, but the serials suggest a few years later. Try the Shimano date codes and saddle manufacture year stamp seeing that you've got the original components too.
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cage
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby cage » Tue Dec 31, 2013 8:36 am

Cant find any other stampings/marks other that the BB stamping. The saddle is a Vetta Gel with only 'Made In Italy', 'Vetta' & 'US Patent No. 4.815.361' written underneath. Seat post is a 27.0 SR SAKAE. Apart from the 8 speed shifters which I swapped out, the group set is 105 - 1055...including the huds.

A few more pics here. The tyres are 18 year old Michelin's.

http://s650.photobucket.com/user/s4_gs/ ... ion%20Bike
If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

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QuangVuong
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby QuangVuong » Tue Dec 31, 2013 9:23 am

PD on the crank suggests April of 91. NL on the RD suggests December of 89. The other components have that 2 letter stamp too and use this site to work it out.
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cage
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby cage » Tue Dec 31, 2013 10:41 am

Interesting, thanks.

I was just reading the Sheldon Brown Centurion page and it seems the meaning first letter on the BB is a mystery. Chevy engine blocks from the 60's & 70's had a similar code with one letter being the plant that the block was cast at. The first letter on the BB could be a factory where the bike it was made/assembled or even a region....pity no records where kept, guess we'll never know.
If drivers and riders spent more time worrying about their responsibilities than their rights then roads would be far safer.

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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby Lots of steel bikes » Sat Mar 29, 2014 3:17 pm

Just picked up this Centurion Sport DLX. Nothing special and too small for me but I couldn't resist. The condition of the paintwork is exceptional. For a 40 year old bike it hasn't seen much work.

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wqlava1
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby wqlava1 » Sat Mar 29, 2014 3:32 pm

That Sport DLX would be early/mid 80s not 70s. I've got an older ratty black one I use as a fixie. Rides very nicely for something so humble and lowly. Yours has all sorts of nicer stuff- like that seatpost.

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frailer5
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby frailer5 » Sat Mar 29, 2014 9:49 pm

Low mileage/low rust. Very nice.
Well, no, it's not a pushbike, otherwise I'd be pushing it...
Ricardo Elite, '87 Keith Davis/Pegasus, '92 Team Miyata Ti.

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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby Lots of steel bikes » Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:01 pm

wqlava1 wrote:That Sport DLX would be early/mid 80s not 70s. I've got an older ratty black one I use as a fixie. Rides very nicely for something so humble and lowly. Yours has all sorts of nicer stuff- like that seatpost.
Yep, meant to type 30 years. It's about an 85. Components aren't anything to write home about. Exage Action which I think fits mid range between the Motion and Sport. Ubiquitous biospace chainrings and dia compe brake calipers. Araya 700c rims.

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matt1986
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby matt1986 » Wed Apr 02, 2014 1:18 am

Never got around to posting the Triathlon Master I flipped for a friend - same model as Quang's, only not as pretty (white brake levers were all I had on hand).

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The Fixer
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby The Fixer » Wed Apr 02, 2014 4:56 pm

Picked this tired Novara up recently as a 'freebie'.

Everything on it is junk, but the (Tange) frame is clean and straight.

Gas-pipe? Maybe. Valuable? No.

But, I have the parts needed to turn it into a nice little bike, and plan to do so.

I'll probably then sell it, either privately or thru my Men's Shed.

I'll pop a few pics up when it's finished.

BTW: Nice one, Matt! :-)

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I don't care if it's a $20 Huffy or a $20k Colnago, as long as you're riding, and you're happy.

tiendang
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Re: Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby tiendang » Sat Apr 05, 2014 11:02 pm

My dad has a Centurion Team Pursuit with Tange 2 tubing. Suntour SVX 6 speed indexed shifting.
Can anyone tell me about these, there is nothing I can find on it!
Thanks

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QuangVuong
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Centurion Appreciation Society

Postby QuangVuong » Mon Apr 07, 2014 8:45 pm

If that is the Sid Patterson one, then i believe it's a Aussie issue model. Should have Suntour dropouts too. Its a better than average made frame made from Tange 2(3rd best out of Tange, behind 1, and Prestige), which has a nice pearl white paint job. Anyway, some info here. utedeej is a member here, and he might chime in with his one.
http://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vinta ... st13718121" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Last edited by QuangVuong on Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:11 am, edited 4 times in total.
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