jetboy 

I have the same bike and had to shelve it because the glue came undone at the head tube. Sucks 😞. So that squirrel that is yelling at at you might be a dire warning. Sorry to be the bearer of cautionary news. I have contemplated trying some sort of drill and pin situation..

jetboy 

A dreamer. I got a fantastic (in my opinion) deal from a forum member so my yard stick may be a few inches on the short side but that poster has gone too far. He thinks he has an actual Cinelli!

markwesti

His price would be a bit much for a actual Cinelli . IMO . Not to mention he says it needs a major over haul .

madpogue 

, and I also found a post by the Overfed Long-haired Leaping Gnome showing one of his head lugs cracking. So which end of the head tube came unglued on you? 'Course, I'll checked all the joints at both head lugs carefully, just wondering where to focus.

jetboy 

both! I think once one goes, the other follows. its still attached but the CF tube can twist in the lug at both top and down. sadly i found this out after I built it up and put all new decals on! first ride I was like... wtf?

madpogue 

EEK again, thanks for the intel. I guess it make sense, as one joint flexes in one direction, the other will probably flex in the opposite direction.

This is why I tend to apply an IT principle known as "work iteratively with feedback". First thing I did was put a spare wheelset, saddle/post and bar-stem on it, even with no driveline (just the crankset as shown), and kicked it, boneshaker / balance-bike style, down the street, to get an overall sense of the size. Then threw a chain, RD, rear shifter, one brake, and pedals on, just to be able to pedal it for a mile or two on the large chainring. And so on. I doubt I'll replace the missing decals (it only has the downtube and "Made in Japan" decals), and I'm running a bar/stem that had an existing tape / brake cable job, so basically no work that I can't undo. I'm still not convinced it's not just the noodly nature of the frame. I am running 700x28Cs on it (interesting how much tire headspace there is on this bike); I don't know if that has any impact on the ride compared to 23s or 25s.

madpogue 

Wondering if texaspandj and/or seypat would have a moment (and the inclination) to weigh in. Are these frames noodly even when everything with the bonds in normal? Or is that a warning sign? I'm not able to detect any movement between any of the tubes and the head lugs.

rccardr 

Not either of those gents but will weigh in here to say that, yes, they did tend to be somewhat noodley.
Said noodling could be somewhat reduced with a better front fork but not completely eliminated.

madpogue 

OK TY that's helpful to know. And, er, uh, wiping some egg off my face, turns out the headset needed tightened about 1/8 turn. Another shakedown ride after that adjustment, it feels less twitchy on fast turns. Still a bit noodly but less so. And there's no shimmy, even with no hands (BRIEFLY) at 25+ MPH on a descent.

texaspandj

Here's mine.
You definitely get what RT described as a "gyro effect". Similar to the bike called the sling shot. It's as if the front fork flexes then pulls back. Added to that the bottom bracket tends to move when you stomp on the pedals making the chainring rub. However it is the lightest of all the Ironman.
The thing you don't want to do is over tighten the the headset ala RT. He kept tightening it thinking it kept getting loose but actually the headtube had split.

PanYAgua

Here is mine. Size 58. Will be posting it for sale in the classifieds soon if anyone is interested

shoota 

Sweet. You sure it's a 58cm? Looks smaller. I have my purple one in the classifieds and it looks like the same size.

madpogue 

OK thank you, that answers my questions from posts # 10524, 10526. That pretty aptly describes how mine feels. The frame also seems to amplify anything slightly out of the ordinary. I mentioned the headset looseness above. And as a sort of parts-bin build, I realized I put an innertube with a couple of patches in the front tire. The barely detectable out-of-round effect of the patches was VERY noticeable while riding. Fresh tube, problem solved. Anyway, here's what I bought:


Included a bag with a Tricolor RD, 105 FD, the other chainring and the chainring bolts. The 88 serial number and the graduated thickness of the lettering tell me that it's an '88 Ironman Carbon, not an '89 Carbon-R. Does not explain why the few bits it came with are Tricolor and not DuraAce, as the seller assures me it's original (shrug).

As I'm riding it now:

Oddball 25.0 seat post is courtesy of Insidious C. , everything else is from the parts pile. Wheelset is a close mis-match; 105+Araya rear, 600EX+Matrix front, the black ano and profiles are about the same. Cockpit is a take-off from... somewhere (thus the joint in the middle of the rear brake cable housing). HG Cassette and IG chain are NOS. I *think* the shifters are Tricolor; they're that familiar gunmetal-ish blue color. Somehow I have only one (front) Tricolor brake caliper that color, so I opted for a slightly later pair of dual-pivot Ultegras. Continental 28s, since the kids these days are all into their super-fat tires. No, I have not cut the shift cables yet; I have another bar/stem already taped up for bar-ends, so I may go that route, esp since this bar is too wide.

Ride-wise, yes, it's a different experience. I think I've worked out the kinks in the overall ride, and it feels more "natural" with each ride. I think it's just something new to get used to. It definitely likes to get up and go. And for a quasi-Frankenbuild, everything just works. Braking and shifting are tight and crisp, took almost nothing to dial in. It's so good, I'm almost reluctant to try the bar-end shifter swap.

Edit - the other nice surprise - 172.5mm cranks. I think it my first bike with 172.5s. I have a few 175s and they feel "too long". I sense that 172.5 is just right, a la Goldilocks.

texaspandj

The Carbon Ironman was equipped with tricolor while the Carbon R was equipped with Dura Ace.
The Carbon Ironman was a one year release '88 while the Carbon R was two years, both '88 and '89.
One thing I would caution against is replacing the fork. To reduce the flex some (RT) have tried replacing the fork with a more rigid one and had disastrous affects. I think the flexy sexy fork helps prolong frame life.

madpogue 

OK that clarifies, I thought it was the other way 'round. The vintage-centurion site has scant info on the Carbons, at lease some of which (e.g. seat post) is just wrong.
Not in my plans, but good to know, and it makes sense. I think the rider's brain just needs to "dial in" to the different experience, akin to going to bifocals. And thanks also for the headset advice; repack is on the menu for tonight.

seypat

Are we talking about the carbon/glued frame? I've never had one, so I can't comment. As for beefy feeling frames, the Turbos that came in 83/84 are the most robust feeling frames.(to me) The 85 Prestige is a nice frame, but not the stiffest of frames for a person north of 180lbs. I'm afraid I might break that frame grinding up a hill. The Turbos also feel a bit smaller when compared to IMs of the same size. All of them are nice riding frames, but I'm partial to the Turbos. One of my Turbos came to me with a Prestige fork on it. Can't tell any difference from the other with the stock fork.

seypat

I heard from He Who Shall Not Be Named over the weekend. He's doing all right and getting good grades. His future's so bright, he's having to wear shades. Living large, cycling like a mad man and (for texaspandj) getting back into running. I think he'll be hunting for a Boston Qualifier in the coming year.

curbtender

All the lugged composite frames I've had have had that flex to them. Never had one fail but I've heard the stories. You could really feel it on fast downhill corners.

madpogue 

Oops, my bad. Somehow I associated you with the carbons. Mandela effect?

Speaking of which... I actually looked at one of these, same price, a year or so ago. https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...l#post22608065 . It may well have been the same frameset. Completely forgotten about, when I was tracking on the one I just bought.

texaspandj

I guess his back must be doing better, that's great to hear.
Meanwhile, I decided to take some time off from working out and letting my injuries heal. I know better now but it was a bad decision to do that. My back that I've mentioned here quite a few times got really bad. It was literally debilitating. I could barely walk, let alone run. I never tried riding because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to...then what. I couldn't stand without pain. Sitting for prolong periods wasnt much better. I had X-rays and MRI which revealed I had several things going on. Suffice it to say I thought the good times were gone for good. I thought I could defeat it with my mind so I never let my wife tell me specifically the 5 issues that were going on with my back. Instead I decided to sign up for 1 triathlon. I convinced my wife I wouldn't run and that it was the motivation I needed to lose some weight.
I biked 2 times before the triathlon and hurt my knee. I limped 2 weeks prior to and leading into the triathlon. I limped 2 weeks after triathlon too. The funny thing is during the knee issue my back stopped hurting... so much.
Now I'm on the mend , moving some and biking joy rides now and then. I went to see my martial arts teacher and he said " You got yourself in this mess, you can to get yourself out of it". That's what I'm doing.
Keep the rubber side down Ironkids.

jetboy 

I had taken a break from the forum when He Who Must was suddenly no longer to be named. Glad he is doing well and pass along my respects if you have a chance.

for IM content: I am jealous your frames are not damaged: here is a pic of mine that I rode once and then started crying. heh. it was gonna be my mountain climber with crazy gearing. it was so very pretty. (note, the decals are probably incorrect as a Carbon-R- but they were what He who Was not had on hand and sent me)

texaspandj

+1

smallfrontwheel

Sorry if this pic has been posted but it is pretty cool so here it is just in case.

smallfrontwheel

My heart had stopped and they showed me this picture and I came back to life! This is the coolest Centurion picture I have seen.
Which model of Centurion bicycle is this? I do not remember seeing it.
Victoria Principal, who starred for nine years as Pamela Barnes Ewing on the CBS nighttime soap, Dallas,
mounts a Centurian 10-speed. Principal authored several fitness and health books, including
The Body Principal in 1983. Also in the early ’80s, Principal had a Top 100 hit: a
duet with Andy Gibb, a redo of the Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do Is Dream.”

Classtime 

smallfrontwheel NOT IM!