Originally Posted by
fleslider
There was both a Centurion Carbon and a Ironman Carbon, the Ironman Carbon, Yes . The Centurion Carbon, no. But either one are rare and are always sought after, like the Prestige models.
The Ironman Carbon was an '88 with Dura Ace 2x7 and $1195. It had a noodly fork, was nowhere near as stiff as the steel frames, but was a very nice all-day rider, and light for the era. It was also for the US market, as far as I know, and fell victim to the yen's effect on the price at the time.
The Centurion Carbon-R was an updated model based on the Ironman Carbon frame, a year later, minimum, maybe even 1990. The shoulder of the fork was lowered and this greatly mitigated the noodle effect. I believe it was 600 tricolor 8-speed, but it may have been 7-speed; I'm not sure. If it was a US market item, I'd be surprised, as I've seen far more Asian market models. I have no idea the MSRP.
I'm guessing Dave Scott was not a marketing advantage in Australia or the Asian market, or was not licensed there. Many models of the US market were offered under different names in other markets.
Having owned and ridden both, I give the nod to the better riding Carbon-R.
I honestly can't remember if there was a Centurion Carbon vs. a Centurion Carbon-R. The possibility exists that there was a Centurion Carbon with the same frame but 600 tricolor vs. Dura Ace on the Ironman Carbon, and then the updated frame of the Carbon-R appeared later.
Pure conjecture. I dig my Carbon-R a lot.