Post your Centurion Ironman.. For the love of 80s paint jobs!
#8478
Dont fix whats not broken
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Unfortunately I don't have any photos to share (can't find them), but I've owned 3 Ironmans:
- '87 Master in Yellow/White (this one was a bit small for me and I ended up selling it)
- '89 Master in Red which I bought through my LBS as a frameset and built it up with 600 Tricolor (even had the seatpost) and wheels with 600 hubs and Campy rims. I sold this one when I moved, met my wife and needed $$ for our wedding.
- The last one was an '87 Expert in Red/White that I bought used in 2003 for a travel bike. I rebuilt the wheels on that one with Mavic rims, and replaced the saddle/seatpost. Other than that it was stock and I rode it until a kid in a car decided to hit me on a ride one day.
I believe that the first one was a 60, the second a 64 and the last a 62cm. All great bikes and I wish I still had any of them.
- '87 Master in Yellow/White (this one was a bit small for me and I ended up selling it)
- '89 Master in Red which I bought through my LBS as a frameset and built it up with 600 Tricolor (even had the seatpost) and wheels with 600 hubs and Campy rims. I sold this one when I moved, met my wife and needed $$ for our wedding.
- The last one was an '87 Expert in Red/White that I bought used in 2003 for a travel bike. I rebuilt the wheels on that one with Mavic rims, and replaced the saddle/seatpost. Other than that it was stock and I rode it until a kid in a car decided to hit me on a ride one day.
I believe that the first one was a 60, the second a 64 and the last a 62cm. All great bikes and I wish I still had any of them.
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#8480
Senior Member
#8481
Me duelen las nalgas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Texas
Posts: 13,513
Bikes: Centurion Ironman, Trek 5900, Univega Via Carisma, Globe Carmel
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Depends on the tire and rear brake.
No problems with Continental Ultra Sport II 700x25 on my '89 Ironman Expert. Excellent value in a very affordable tire. I've ridden 'em for more than two years in 700x23 and 700x25 on my Ironman.
But Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwalls (700x25 only, no other sizes available) just barely scraped the underside of the rear brake bridge on my Suntour GPX brakes. Carefully adjusting the rim to eliminate a very slight hop helped. But any time I rode through a puddle or a slight bit of sand or gravel, I'd hear scraping. Mostly I just had to ride the tire to wear it down, mostly on the indoor trainer. No problems the past 2-3 weeks. And a different brake might have enough clearance.
But those Conti GP Classics will go back on my '93 Trek 5900 after I finish putting that bike back together. No problems there.
The difference between the tires is the height, not width. Conti Grand Prix classics have a very 1980s style tread, with raised center tread with sipes, and shallow chevron tread on the shoulders. It's cosmetically appealing but doesn't ride any better than the lower priced Ultra Sport II, which are basically slicks with Conti's peculiar arrow shaped doodads on the shoulders.
So 700x25 tires that are slicks or have a slight tread but no raised center tread should be fine.
No problems with Continental Ultra Sport II 700x25 on my '89 Ironman Expert. Excellent value in a very affordable tire. I've ridden 'em for more than two years in 700x23 and 700x25 on my Ironman.
But Continental Grand Prix Classic skinwalls (700x25 only, no other sizes available) just barely scraped the underside of the rear brake bridge on my Suntour GPX brakes. Carefully adjusting the rim to eliminate a very slight hop helped. But any time I rode through a puddle or a slight bit of sand or gravel, I'd hear scraping. Mostly I just had to ride the tire to wear it down, mostly on the indoor trainer. No problems the past 2-3 weeks. And a different brake might have enough clearance.
But those Conti GP Classics will go back on my '93 Trek 5900 after I finish putting that bike back together. No problems there.
The difference between the tires is the height, not width. Conti Grand Prix classics have a very 1980s style tread, with raised center tread with sipes, and shallow chevron tread on the shoulders. It's cosmetically appealing but doesn't ride any better than the lower priced Ultra Sport II, which are basically slicks with Conti's peculiar arrow shaped doodads on the shoulders.
So 700x25 tires that are slicks or have a slight tread but no raised center tread should be fine.
#8482
Senior Member
Ya. The Nitto 115 is 25.4 but you can shim it and use a 26mm stem. I use a shim on my 86 to use my Nitto Dynamic 11 which is 26mm.
And more pictures? I've struggled with this decision for months--upgrade my brakes? Ride an IM without BioPace? I put some Dura holders on my Classic but they looked wrong and made the calipers head upwards too much for me. Then I put on some Ultegra dual pivots and the Gran Comp levers didn't pop back being springless. So I put on some late model Gran Comps which are much better with the newer brakes. Now without the bronze finish on the levers and brakes, the bronze BioPace chain rings had to go. I went whole hog and put on my TA crankset with a normal 39/53.
Proper place for Dura holders
Placeholders for SLR
Pretty Crankset
Is 10 speed next?
And more pictures? I've struggled with this decision for months--upgrade my brakes? Ride an IM without BioPace? I put some Dura holders on my Classic but they looked wrong and made the calipers head upwards too much for me. Then I put on some Ultegra dual pivots and the Gran Comp levers didn't pop back being springless. So I put on some late model Gran Comps which are much better with the newer brakes. Now without the bronze finish on the levers and brakes, the bronze BioPace chain rings had to go. I went whole hog and put on my TA crankset with a normal 39/53.
Proper place for Dura holders
Placeholders for SLR
Pretty Crankset
Is 10 speed next?
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#8483
Newbie
Here is my '89 Master, 50cm frame in white/grey marble! Shimano 600 all over (original I hope) and mostly clean! Love it.
Last edited by eugew23; 04-10-20 at 07:12 AM. Reason: Grammar
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#8484
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2015
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Ya. The Nitto 115 is 25.4 but you can shim it and use a 26mm stem. I use a shim on my 86 to use my Nitto Dynamic 11 which is 26mm.
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I don't do: disks, tubeless, e-shifting, or bead head nymphs.
I don't do: disks, tubeless, e-shifting, or bead head nymphs.
#8485
Senior Member
Another cool color that seems to be hard to find. Love it! I am about done building a 50cm 87 Expert for my daughter. Nothing original on it since I bought it as a bare frame & fork with a stuck seat post.
#8486
Senior Member
I remember having the '86 and '87 catalogs. fleslider Do you know if there was an '88 and '89?
hoping to find them someday..
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#8487
Newbie
#8488
Senior Member
As soon as she rides it a little so we can see how she wants the brake levers and we get some bar tape on it I'll take some & post them. She is pretty busy homeschooling her 5 girls and still working some. She just got her midwife certification. I am thinking she will be a lot busier in about 9 months.
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#8490
Senior Member
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#8491
Senior Member
that would the infamous IronGent RobbieTunes
just picked it up. Very rough with mismatch components and only rides in 4 gears since he literally shoved 9speed campagnolo wheelset in there
Last edited by N2motorsports; 04-11-20 at 02:07 PM.
#8493
Senior Member
#8494
Senior Member
#8495
Senior Member
#8496
Senior Member
I finally hit the wall with my Ironman frame touch-up project. My initial goal was to get it looking OK from 10 feet - I told myself not to go totally anal on the project. Just get it ready to ride. Yeah . . . right! After about a month of mixing paint, I feel I got the color at about 98% - you can tell the spots when you’re at 2 feet. Every time I did a spot, my wet sanding (800 grit) would take it down to the primer. I tried airbrushing, but my skills were suspect, at best. Eventually, I returned to the airbrush and got a much better result. I haven’t been able to get out and find the appropriate color to mix for the yellow, yet, but that will be less of a hassle. I just needed to get this bike put together! Today, I installed the bottom bracket, the headset, the brakes, rear axle stops, and handlebars. The cables and housing should be here tomorrow (white braided). I’ll start out with the white saddle and maybe switch to the yellow one once I figure out how to get the leather to wrap around the difficult curves. Bar tape will be yellow/gold. I will likely go back and retouch a few spots, but for now, I just want to get out and ride!
#8497
Senior Member
My daughter's 87
My daughter picked her bike up this morning for a test ride. The saddle is a sort of raggedy one that came on my m/v. I have a lot better one for it that Seypat sent. She is pretty picky about saddles so this one is just for testing, I'm sure she will change it. We haven't picked out bar tape yet we wanted to see how it fit. So far she says it feels good. It got rainy before she had a chance to ride it much. We had to repaint part of the green and the parts store didn't get it matched very well. She said she sort of likes it, I am wishing we had painted the whole seat tube, but it looked a lot closer until it dried. We also repainted some of the white and I think it came out good. I don't really like the black chain rings but that's what I had. They are 30/39/50 with a 11-28 10 speed cassette. She wanted something that would climb hills and I think it will fit the bill.
Last edited by TXsailor; 04-11-20 at 10:52 PM.
#8498
Senior Member
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I basically read through this old thread a couple times: https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-v...ur-saddle.html
The problem with this saddle is that it has a some fairly sharp angles to deal with, and I don’t want to have the leather bunch up. I may have to do some darts in the leather or maybe even have a separate piece cover the backside of the seat. I’ll have talk with my daughter (a seamstress) about that. I want it to look good. When I get going again on it, I’ll take some pictures and do a little addendum to the above thread.
The problem with this saddle is that it has a some fairly sharp angles to deal with, and I don’t want to have the leather bunch up. I may have to do some darts in the leather or maybe even have a separate piece cover the backside of the seat. I’ll have talk with my daughter (a seamstress) about that. I want it to look good. When I get going again on it, I’ll take some pictures and do a little addendum to the above thread.
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Some days, it's not even worth gnawing through the restraints.
Some days, it's not even worth gnawing through the restraints.
#8500
Senior Member
TXsailor here's a pic I took from the bay of the original white cover for your '87 expert. You had the OEM saddle then Seypat sent you another one. But the vetta suede saddle originally came with a white synthetic cover.
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